At EDR, landscape architecture is the art and science of analysis, planning, design, management, preservation and rehabilitation of the land.
EDR is an award-winning land planning and design firm. Our principals and staff of registered and LEED™ -certified landscape architects and designers have decades of professional experience creating and implementing projects that integrate natural and cultural resources.
EDR has been “green” long before the term crept into our everyday vocabulary. As dedicated practitioners of sustainable design, EDR considers the natural systems of a site a guiding principle for planning and development. Planning and design specialties include: parks and greenways, commercial developments, private estates, streetscapes, waterfront development, bikeways, athletic facilities, art in the landscape, monuments, interpretive signage, historic landscapes, ecological site restorations, sustainable campus landscapes, and urban farms.
EDR’s solutions for site development are dependent on highly-skilled civil and water resources engineers who can assist owners with addressing stringent demands and regulations for stormwater, utilities, civil design, and project management.
EDR’s licensed professional engineers provide the planning, design, and construction services necessary to provide municipalities, agencies, districts, authorities, and corporations with innovated solutions. Our staff is comprised of highly qualified professionals who specialize in water and wastewater infrastructure, site, civil, and structural engineering.
Our engineers are certified and specialty-trained to practice erosion and sediment control design; stormwater management; green infrastructure; storm and sanitary sewer design; stream restoration; watershed and floodplain management; hydrologic and hydraulic studies; watermain extensions; culvert scour and analysis; and construction administration, inspection and environmental monitoring.
Successful compliance with federal, state and local environmental regulations and documentation requirements is a process that requires navigation with expert understanding, strategic approaches and creative solutions.
EDR provides strategic regulatory consulting services to industrial, government, municipal, and private clients. We provide a range of expertise and specialized services, which emphasize environmental regulatory compliance, natural resource management, environmental impact assessment, ecological surveys, and construction monitoring. Our firm has an extensive background in local permit strategies, permitting under the federal Clean Water Act (Sections 401, 404), state stream and wetland permit programs, New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), and multiple state utility/energy licensing programs.
We assist our clients in identifying specific regulatory responsibilities and provide technical knowledge and experience required to successfully navigate through State and Federal permit processes. We have an established positive reputation with relevant agencies. We often assist clients in formal and informal negotiations on permit terms, monitoring requirements, and identifying mitigation obligations. We know how to balance the technical, scheduling and financial needs of our clients to achieve effective and efficient solutions that address environmental regulatory compliance and resource management issues.
See Environmental Permitting & Ecological Resource Management examples
Planning for the future of a community requires an appreciation of the past, an understanding of the present, and a vision for the future.
EDR planners possess the flexibility and creativity to progress clients through the process of discovering and celebrating the character of their community, and then prioritizing and protecting their unique assets. We have the understanding to engage stakeholders and maintain their enthusiasm, the knowledge to define and detail the components of a sustainable plan, and the skill set to help communities implement their preferred vision and achieve comprehensive, realistic, and actionable solutions.
At EDR, a Certified Planner/Municipal Attorney is supported by a staff of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialists, landscape architects, civil engineers, and cultural resources, environmental regulatory compliance and visualization professionals. And, because many of our staff serve as officers and members of their own community planning boards and review organizations, they offer a unique perspective. Specialty areas include: public participation and outreach, inter-municipal comprehensive planning, Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP), Brownfield Opportunity Area Program (BOA), grant writing, Smart Growth initiatives, New Urbanism, and Form-Based Zoning Codes.
Cultural resources are the places that embody and convey our shared history – historic buildings, landscapes, and archaeological sites. EDR’s Cultural Resources practice is focused on the responsible and respectful stewardship of these special places.
Our historic preservation practice assists private landowners, corporations, non-profit organizations, municipalities, and agencies with stewardship, planning, and programming for the historic properties under their care. Our archaeology team undertakes Phase IA/IB sensitivity assessments and surveys, Phase II site investigations, and Phase III data recovery excavations. We maintain strong relationships with State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) staff and preservation organizations in the geographies where we work.
EDR’s senior cultural resources staff meet the qualifications identified in the U.S. Secretary of Interior’s Guidelines for Professional Qualifications in Archaeology, History, Architectural History, Historic Architecture, and Architecture (36 CFR Part 61). Our team includes Registered Professional Archaeologists, preservation planners, architectural historians, and a preservation architect. We are well-versed in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, the National Register of Historic Places eligibility criteria, and state and local preservation ordinances.
The ability to see a project before it is built is invaluable during the design and approval phase of a project.
EDR’s Visualization Services and products provide the foundation upon which design intent can be effectively portrayed to the public, and allows for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the potential impacts that a project may have on a local landscape. EDR provides a broad range of visualization, visibility assessment, and visual impact analysis services – including inventory of aesthetic resources, viewshed analysis, use of helium-filled balloons for visibility studies, photo simulations, perspective renderings, digital 3-D modeling, animations, and visual impact analysis.
The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the management, analysis and presentation of spatial and environmental data is essential to the success of our projects.
EDR’s GIS staff are expert cartographers who provide specialized analyses of site features using orthoimagery, lidar, and customized data sets for natural, physical and cultural resources. Our GIS team overlays environmental features on project maps to assess project alternatives, evaluate project impacts, guide facility siting, support field studies, and prepare cartographic displays of project concepts.
EDR’s GIS team provides data management, analysis, and mapping support to all of our Practice Areas and clients. Areas of specialized expertise include applying GIS in visual impact analysis, viewshed mapping, transmission routing studies, project siting, alternatives analysis, ecological community mapping, field data collection and management, archaeological sensitivity models, shadow-flicker analysis, web maps, and numerous other applications. Our staff include certified Geographic Information Systems Professionals (GISPs).
All of our EDR’s professional services and specialist Practice Areas are supported by our excellent Operations team. Our internal support includes Administrative, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, and Communications professionals.
Our Marketing & Communications team plays a vital role in promoting the firm as a business and supporting the mission of our organization. This team coordinate and produce all materials that represent the business, define and promote our brand, direct campaigns, organize trade shows and conferences, plan and host events, produce promotional materials, news releases, and publications, create content for the website, monitor and oversee social media, and develop internal and external communications.
EDR’s Finance team is responsible for coordinating client billing and collections, developing and monitoring internal operations budgets, regular financial reporting, and assisting the firm’s Shareholders to develop and implement successful business strategies.
The Human Resources team directs employee policies and procedures, coordinates benefits and compensation, coordinates EDR’s Leadership Development initiative, and supports staff recruitment, hiring, on-boarding, retention, and transitions.
EDR’s Administrative staff directly support our Practice Areas to produce deliverables, coordinate logistics, review agreements and contracts, manage office infrastructure and equipment, and otherwise support the mission and goals of EDR.