BLArch Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Practice And Ethics 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Environmental justice in landscape architecture practice means:
- Designing only in high-income communities that can afford quality landscapes
- Ensuring equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across all communities regardless of income or race (Correct answer)
- Prioritizing LEED certification on all public projects
- Following EPA permitting requirements for hazardous sites
Correct answer: Ensuring equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across all communities regardless of income or race
Environmental justice requires that no community bears a disproportionate share of environmental harms or is excluded from environmental benefits.
Question 2: Which federal act most directly governs the landscape architect's responsibilities when designing in wetland areas?
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Clean Water Act Section 404 (Correct answer)
- Endangered Species Act
- National Historic Preservation Act
Correct answer: Clean Water Act Section 404
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act regulates the discharge of fill material into wetlands and requires Army Corps of Engineers permits.
Question 3: A landscape architect working on a federally funded project must comply with which review process for potential impacts on historic resources?
- LEED Historic Buildings credit pathway
- Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Correct answer)
- State Historic Tax Credit application process
- NEPA categorical exclusion process only
Correct answer: Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
Section 106 requires federal agencies and their permittees to identify and consider effects on historic properties and consult with the State Historic Preservation Office.
Question 4: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design affect landscape architecture primarily by:
- Restricting use of natural materials on accessible routes
- Setting minimum requirements for accessible routes, parking, and site amenities in public accommodations and commercial facilities (Correct answer)
- Applying only to interior building spaces, not exterior landscapes
- Requiring universal design on private residential projects
Correct answer: Setting minimum requirements for accessible routes, parking, and site amenities in public accommodations and commercial facilities
ADA standards establish minimum requirements for accessible paths of travel, parking, ramps, and outdoor amenities at covered facilities.
Question 5: A landscape architect is approached by a potential client while still under contract with a competing firm on a similar project. The most ethical first step is:
- Accept the new project immediately since clients choose freely
- Assess whether a conflict of interest exists and disclose it to all relevant parties before proceeding (Correct answer)
- Decline all future work in that project type permanently
- Consult only the new client and let them decide
Correct answer: Assess whether a conflict of interest exists and disclose it to all relevant parties before proceeding
Identifying and disclosing conflicts of interest to all affected parties is a foundational ethical obligation before accepting new commissions.
Question 6: Professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance protects landscape architects against claims arising from:
- Employee workplace injuries on the jobsite
- Negligent acts, errors, or omissions in the performance of professional services (Correct answer)
- Contractor defaults on construction contracts
- Property damage caused by storm events after project completion
Correct answer: Negligent acts, errors, or omissions in the performance of professional services
E&O insurance covers financial losses resulting from professional mistakes or failures to meet the standard of care in design and consulting services.
Question 7: When a contractor submits shop drawings, the landscape architect's review obligation is to:
- Certify that the contractor's fabrication methods are correct
- Check for conformance with design intent while the contractor retains responsibility for dimensions and means of construction (Correct answer)
- Approve all material substitutions automatically if the contractor requests them
- Stamp and seal shop drawings as project documents of record
Correct answer: Check for conformance with design intent while the contractor retains responsibility for dimensions and means of construction
Shop drawing review verifies design conformance; the landscape architect is not responsible for construction accuracy or contractor fabrication methods.
BLArch Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Practice And Ethics 4
Environmental justice in landscape architecture practice means: