Mía Lehrer to Present 'Advocacy By Design: Urgency to Act Now' Lecture Online on March 29

Image courtesy of Studio-MLA

A living wall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Nature Gardens.

Mía Lehrer will present the virtual lecture "Advocacy By Design: Urgency to Act Now" at 4 p.m., Monday, March 29, as part of the spring lecture series in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.

Lehrer, a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), founded Studio-MLA with a vision to improve quality of life through landscape architecture. With offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the robust and multidisciplinary team works to address urban issues through environmental systems planning and built resilience strategies.

The Fay Jones School's spring lecture series is presented in collaboration with Places Journal, an internationally respected online journal of architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism, and the U of A Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The series is also made possible in part by a gift from Ken and Liz Allen of Fayetteville, part of an overall set of commitments the Allens have made to the school's programs and initiatives in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Registration for the lecture is available on Zoom.

In her lecture, "Advocacy By Design: Urgency to Act Now," Lehrer will discuss how, in recent decades, accelerating numbers of people are sounding the alarm about global climate shifts, human and wildlife migration, and worldwide socioeconomic inequity. Each urban center is, in its own way, re-examining the nuanced relationship between critical resources and the health of its food, energy, air and water systems.

Landscape architects are in the fortuitous position to analyze the pressing issues impacting cities via a layered and systematic approach. They can identify holistic strategies to recalibrate ecological and social systems and re-envision future infrastructural needs using processes that empower communities. Indeed, the health and well-being of a community rely on the strength of its social fabric, the prosperity of its economy and, perhaps most importantly, an urgent recalibration towards a balanced relationship with its natural surroundings that is intrinsic to its resilience. 

Lehrer founded Studio-MLA to create places that inspire human connection, unite communities and restore environmental balance. The studio is aligned with impassioned and proactive groups and professional organizations that advocate for the issues of today. Through their voices and abilities to create design solutions, Studio-MLA is committed to work that improves the well-being of cities. This results in establishing new approaches that reflect local cultures and native ecologies, raising awareness about environmental issues and highlighting personal and collective stories centering on the nexus between natural and urban landscapes.

Over the past 25 years, Studio-MLA has led many revitalization projects throughout California and around the world that span ecological site planning and design. They treat each project-yet-to-be as an elder, someone interesting that you would want to lean into, study and learn from - not something that you want to stuff with what you already know. These efforts are well received by politicians, nonprofits and government agencies and can even lead to new legal policies. Their hope is to contribute to a greater collective legacy promoting a balance between nature and cities for future generations via lived commitment, action, resourcefulness, technological innovation and a reverence for the natural world. 

Lehrer has led the design and implementation of ambitious public and private projects, including the Hollywood Park Racetrack redevelopment and its new SoFi Stadium and associated public parks, Fair Park Community Park in Dallas, Levi's Plaza in San Francisco, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Nature Gardens, Vista Hermosa Natural Park in Los Angeles and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. She has also led many urban river-related projects, including the Rio Tietê in São Paulo, the Los Angeles River Taylor Yard G2 Park and the Upper Los Angeles River and Tributaries Plan.

She is internationally recognized for progressive landscape design, advocacy for sustainable and people-friendly public places and catalyzing work for a climate-appropriate future.

Educated at Tufts University and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Lehrer lectures and teaches around the world. Among her recent accomplishments, she is the newest commissioner of the all-female Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, served on President Barack Obama's Fine Arts Commission and was honored with the ASLA LaGasse Medal.

The school is pursuing continuing education credits for this lecture through the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Landscape Architects.

This virtual lecture is open to the public. For details on watching the lecture, please visit the Fay Jones School's lecture page. To register for the entire lecture series, complete this form on Zoom.

For more information, contact 479-575-4704 or fayjones.uark.edu.