
We look to publish the annual landscape architecture trends to inform and inspire the landscape architecture profession and start discussions with design firms and schools about future trends. You can read the Review of 2024 landscape architecture trends to see how I did last year.
Due to the nature of landscape architecture and its profession, trends can take years and sometimes decades to develop. However, I have tried to look at trends that may impact the profession in 2025. I hope you enjoy reading my predictions and take the opportunity to share them with your colleagues and allied professionals.
DESIGN
Decarbonisation through change
Over the past few years, landscape architects have focused more on the carbon footprint of their projects. This focus has led to a greater understanding of emissions of products and inputs of projects with the use of tools such as Pathfinder and Carbon Conscious. Design firms are now using this data to decarbonise (reduce the carbon footprint) their projects through design, such as changing materials, reducing hard paved areas, increasing planting areas and seeking more local products. This trend will continue in 2025 but will only be part of the focus of landscape architects.

Hard Decisions in Planning
Due to the increase in extreme weather events (fires, flooding) over the past decade, insurance companies have refused to insure high-risk areas, and governments seemingly lack the financial or management resources to assist people in these areas. Governments and communities will need to make some hard decisions about permitting people to rebuild (houses and businesses) in high-risk areas. This trend will take decades as governments try to balance political and social needs against increased environmental pressures.
Indigenous people involvement
Landscape architects have been turning to Indigenous people (acknowledged differently in various countries) for greater involvement in the design process and seeking knowledge about landscape management practices (cool burns, etc). This trend will increase in some countries over the coming years as the impact of climate change increases, as well as the recognition of their country’s colonial histories.
Need for greater biodiversity
During 2025, biodiversity will be an essential part of design as landscape architects seek to address climate change and biodiversity loss within their planning and design projects. Governments will emphasise biodiversity by setting species quotas and project biodiversity assessments (scoring). This trend will flow through to the nursery industry as they see a shift in species lists requiring a greater diversity in requested plant species.


Reinventing green spaces and transforming grey ones
As governments and developers try to address the housing shortage in many cities by increasing density whilst increasing walkability, there will be more emphasis placed on the quality of green space. Landscape architects will be tasked with reimagining public spaces, whether parks, waterfronts or leftover spaces. The challenge will be that legacy parks and spaces designed for past uses will now need to be transformed for the future while retaining the past’s cultural landscape.
Cities seeking to transform grey spaces (streets and laneways) into public spaces will also turn to landscape architects for ideas on how to best transform these spaces with shrinking budgets. We can already see New Yorkers commenting on social media about the opportunities that their streets offer after the recent implementation of a congestion zone; maybe they can take lessons from London and Paris, who have transformed their streets over the past few years.

TECHNOLOGY
Artificial intelligence continues to dominate
This is a global trend that will continue to influence our industry directly (design, planning, regulation) and indirectly (software, news, social media). The move has begun to shift from generative AI (generating images) to predictive AI (determining possible outcomes). Predictive AI will assist in understanding and developing possible scenarios and designs for sites based on data sets. Although AI is set to become more prevalent in the industry, for those who fear it may steal away our ability to design, we need to remember that AI still requires people to set parameters, review data and make decisions about the best outcome. The adage “garbage in, garbage out” still exists, so there is a need to have rigour around design aided by AI.

AI Agents connecting data
In 2025, we will hear more about AI Agents as software companies seek to profit from investments in large language models and processes. We have already seen these start to appear in various software, such as Adobe and Microsoft.
AI Agents collect data across various documents, and then complete tasks. For example, they might collect take-off quantities from a project and connect that with a standard rate table to determine an approximate project cost. Think of them as sophisticated chatbots for now. We will also see them involved with
Walled Garden AI to provide internal insights
Many landscape firms have been using open AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.). However, there is some trepidation due to issues surrounding inputting confidential data and company intellectual property (IP) into open AIs. Design firms will start to look for software (some are already available) to input company data to analyse, review, predict, and generate materials (text, images, etc.).
Data Analysis to provide real-time and future solutions
We have seen various programs, and AI used for data analysis of visual images (aerial photos, three-point cloud), more recently, the use of camera footage of the Los Angeles fires to analyse and develop possible responses to immediate and future issues.

Maintenance Automation
Some machinery manufacturers have showcased automated electric commercial mowers that can mow lawns once a pattern has been selected. These automated mowers have already been available for homeowners, now we start seeing them as part of maintenance teams in 2026. This seems to be the start of the automation of commercial maintenance within the landscape industry.

EDUCATION & PRACTICE
Change in Tracks for Education
Anecdotally, there are still declining numbers in landscape architecture programs, and the reasons for this decline range from changes in younger generational aspirations (fame, money), lack of jobs in the industry, lack of understanding of possible career pathways, lack of industry profile, competition from other industries (design and data based) and not selecting landscape as their major after design foundation (first year). Some schools are changing their programs to entice new students by including Technology (data, computational) and Professional tracks.
Sticking to fundamentals
Overall, the landscape architecture trends in 2025 will continue the reliance on governments and allied professionals on the knowledge and skills of landscape architects. As many cities and towns try to address a multiplicity of issues, landscape architects will need to ensure that they are not distracted by trends and seek to stick to the fundamentals of creating spaces for people but also protecting the planet.
Greater responsibility for Landscape Architects
A trend from previous years that will continue throughout 2025 is the increased responsibility of landscape architects to lead projects and conversations within their cities and communities. Governments recognise the value of landscape architecture to drive positive outcomes within their cities.
I aim to list possibilities and ideas for landscape architects to consider. When writing this article, I often have many more ideas and trends than I could cover in a single article, but for every year, I hope to provide a summary of what I think will inspire the profession to move ahead and take on the opportunities that this year presents. I hope you enjoyed reading 2025 Landscape Architecture Trends and have a great 2025.
2025 Landscape Architecture Trends by Damian Holmes, Founder & Editor of World Landscape Architecture
DISCLAIMER: This article is for educational purposes only. The content is intended only to provide a summary and general overview of matters of interest. It’s not intended to be comprehensive nor to constitute advice. You should always obtain professional advice appropriate to your circumstances, before acting or relying on any of that content. This advice is general in nature.