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VIEWPOINT Editor John Kmitta | jkmitta@epgmediallc.com Gearing Up for the Future What will the future of urban green spaces look like? This month's cover story on page 12 seeks to answer that question — based on a global survey Husqvarna conducted of more than 500 landscape design and landscape architecture students. Also, how will those future green spaces affect the professional landscape industry? And, as a result, how will those urban green spaces be managed? Husqvarna's leaders recently invited me, and other members of the media, to Miami to answer some of those questions, and share their vision of the future. They painted a picture of urban spaces that are lush, vibrant gardens, green roofs, and buildings that feature cascading flora. They also envision a landscape professional who utilizes drones to deliver parts and accessories to field crews; who is equipped with heads-up virtual-reality displays for precision hedge trimming; who uses the Husqvarna Automower as part of a commercial mowing operation; whose equipment is predominantly — if not entirely — battery powered; and who recharges that equipment by utilizing solar-powered landscape trailers. Those last two visions are already becoming a reality with some landscape companies converting their trailers to solar power to recharge their battery-powered equipment lineup. At the Miami event, Husqvarna's leaders were clear about their goal of being the market leader in professional battery solutions, and they stated a range of benefits regarding battery-powered equipment over gas-powered units: including reduced noise emissions, more environmentally friendly, and lighter weight. Overall, it was a very clear directive to drive the growth of battery-powered equipment and tout its strengths over those of gas- powered equipment. As run times for battery-powered equipment increase, the benefits will become increasingly enticing to landscape company owners — especially if the price of battery units in the future falls more closely in line with that of their gas-powered cousins. I will be honest that I have difficulty envisioning a future where contractors replace mowing crews with Automowers as part of their commercial fleets, or where they use a drone to deliver string trimmer line to their crews in the field. But these concepts are "what if" scenarios that reflect an effort to think ahead and envision how technology will fit within our industry. The real here-and-now message is that battery-powered technology is not slowing down. There is a concerted push on the part of equipment manufacturers to replace gas equipment with lighter, cleaner, less-noisy options; and R&D efforts — and money — are being heavily invested in the future of this technology. Let us know how you are using technology in your landscape business. Are you already converting to battery? Have you retrofitted your trailers with solar panels? Are you using an Automower or other technologically advanced equipment as part of your business model? If not, what do you see as challenges to this vision of the future for the landscape industry? We would love to hear from you regarding all aspects of this discussion. Please feel free to e-mail me at jkmitta@epgmediallc.com or post your thoughts to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Landscape.and.Irrigation.Mag/. LI EPG Media & Specialty Information 10405 6th Ave. N., Ste 210 Plymouth, MN 55441 www.landscapeirrigation.com EDITORIAL STAFF Group Publisher David Voll Associate Publisher, Editor John Kmitta (763) 383-4405 jkmitta@epgmediallc.com Products Editor Steve Noe (763) 383-4407; fax (763) 383-4499; snoe@epgmediallc.com PRODUCTION TEAM Art Director Jean Blackmer Production Manager Angela Scott ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVES: EAST Chris Pelikan Senior Account Manager (763) 383-4408 cpelikan@epgmediallc.com MIDWEST Peggy Tupper Senior Account Manager (763) 383-4429 ptupper@epgmediallc.com WEST Leslie Palmer Senior Account Manager (763) 383-4460 lpalmer@epgmediallc.com DIRECT MAIL LIST SALES MeritDirect, Jim Scova, (914) 368-1012 jscova@MeritDirect.com REPRINT SERVICE Robin Cooper, rcooper@epgmediallc.com CIRCULATION For subscription inquiries and customer service questions, please call (763) 383-4491, or fax (763) 383-4497 customerservice@epgmediallc.com business hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. EST Publisher's Notice: We assume no responsibility for the validity of advertising claims in connection with items appearing in this special edition. Commercial product names are used for the convenience of the reader. Mention of a commercial product does not imply endorsement by EPG Media & Specialty Information, or preference over similar products not mentioned. www.landscapeirrigation.com Landscape and Irrigation April 2017 5