Congratulations to Ryan De Jong, a Master of Landscape Architecture graduate (MLA 2024) who was awarded an American Society of Landscape Architects Student Honor Award in the research category based on his thesis work entitled "Leveraging the Potential of Spontaneous Pavement Vegetation."

Given the abundance of grey pavement in cities, it is argued that plants such as spontaneous vegetation should be better integrated into streets and sidewalks. To develop such pavement designs, Ryan wandered over 420 km in Southern Ontario cities, photographing spontaneous pavement vegetation for design inspiration. Photos were then classified and referenced with city standard drawings to develop pavement designs. The eleven designs generated have the potential to provide ecosystem services such as improved stormwater management and pollinator patch connectivity between larger green spaces. Moreover, they show that grey spaces can offer moments of beauty and joy, helping grey to be green again. The ASLA Jury referred to Ryan's work as valid, creative, beneficial and clearly communicated. Ryan's thesis advisor was Dr. Karen Landman.

Image:  Ryan De Jong, MLA 2024

Ryan's sixteen-page submission to the ASLA can be found under the 2024 ASLA Student Awards [1].