Green New Deal Superstudio Curated Projects and Full Archive Released

Explore a set of 55 curated projects or browse the complete archive of 670 submissions that spatially manifest the principles of the Green New Deal.

The Green New Deal Superstudio was an open call to give form to policy ideas by translating the core goals of decarbonization, justice, and jobs into place-specific design and planning projects.

Some 670 projects were submitted as part of the year-long initiative, which attracted the participation of over 90 universities in 39 states and 10 countries, as well as hundreds of practitioners from across the design disciplines. The projects range from pragmatic to speculative and cover a wide variety of issues, innovation, scales, and geographic regions.

The full set of submissions are catalogued as part of the Green New Deal Superstudio archive in the JSTOR digital library, where they are freely accessible. Each submission includes three image boards and descriptive text.

A curated set of 55 projects were selected to illustrate the breadth of work submitted. The projects are organized into 6 categories: Adapt, Empower, Energize, Remediate, Retrofit and Cultivate. This sample was not intended to be the "best" designs, but rather a set of projects that serve to catalyze conversation. The projects were chosen through a two-step review process. Twenty-five invited reviewers helped with the daunting task of taking the 670 submissions, pulling out key themes, and distilling the work down to a manageable set. They worked in teams to ensure that each submission was evaluated by at least three reviewers, and their input informed the final curation process. Thank you to the reviewers!

A national climate plan like the Green New Deal will be understood by most people through the landscapes, buildings, infrastructures, and public works agenda that it inspires. The Superstudio was a concerted effort to give form and visual clarity to the unprecedented scale, scope, and pace of physical landscape transformation that it implies.

In the press conference announcing H.R. 109, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez remarked that the public should view the non-binding resolution as a "Request for Proposals…we’ve defined the scope and where we want to go. Now, let’s assess where we are, how we get there, and collaborate on real projects." 

The 670 Superstudio submissions and the ongoing conversations they will engender is our contribution to Ocasio-Cortez’s request. This work can support policymakers and advocates to advance Green New Deal ideas and approaches. The projects will also inform a national conversation on policy and design at a Landscape Architecture Foundation summit in April 2022.

Join us October 28 to explore themes and takeaways

In a virtual Superstudio Showcase on October 28 at 12pm EDT, four of those tasked with reviewing and curating the submissions will critically reflect on the body of work, highlight key themes, and show representative examples from the submitted projects.

Running from August 2020 through June 2021, the Green New Deal Superstudio was an open call to translate the goals of decarbonization, justice, and jobs into local and regional design and planning projects. The organizing partners are:
Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF)
Weitzman School of Design McHarg Center
Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes (CRCL)
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA)