While the business of landscape design follows many of the same trends as the rest of the design and construction industry, the surge in business is especially high, deep and wide among these firms. Even if the economy does not hold its momentum, there are several reasons to believe that there is a new, underlying level of support for landscape architecture and design services. Private developers are still very optimistic, and taxpayers are supporting the construction of more infrastructure, parks, schools, trail systems and community centers. Land is scarce. Paradoxically, the fewer building sites available, the greater the market for landscape design services.
Scarcity brings value, and value opens doors and purses for design services.
Developers want to bring the best value on line for their land costs, and new and established communities want outdoor amenities close to home. They call on landscape professionals to help make the best use of the land. Growth controls and the public demand for walkable, livable communities has focused public investment in land-based planning and landscape design. Light rail stations, to green streets, to trails, watershed restoration, and neighborhood pea patches, landscape design is at the heart of many projects. A generation of schools, cultural and institutional facilities are at the end of their lives.