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The LAF Research Grant in Honor of Deb Mitchell supports research projects that are relevant and impactful for the professional practice of landscape architecture.

Each year, one $25,000 grant is awarded to support a research project that can be completed in a 12- to 18-month period.


2024-26 Grant Cycle

2024 Grant Recipient

Ethically Sourcing: Specifying Forced-Labor Free Materials in Landscape Architecture

This 12-month research project will evaluate landscape architecture’s exposure risk to materials produced through forced labor and research how landscape architects can use project specifications and procurement processes to address these critical issues and help advance fair labor practices. An estimated 28 million people worldwide are ensnared in forced labor today, and the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is one of the most at risk of unwittingly supporting forced labor practices through material specifications. The research team’s main objectives are to develop improved specification language samples for landscape architecture that integrate a social life cycle assessment as well as a framework for scalable landscape materials research. 

Principal Investigators

Noriko Maeda, RLA, ASLA, MNLA
Franca Trubiano, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

4/4/24 - 2024 grant recipient announcement

2024 Shortlisted proposals 

In addition to the above grant recipient, the following applicants were selected to submit full proposals for consideration.

  • Soundscapes in Urban Design: A Study of Acoustical Health Benefits in the Public Realm – Mikyoung Kim, FASLA, Mikyoung Kim Design, and Carl Geigold, FAIA, Threshold Acoustics  Topic(s): noise pollution, health and well-being
  • Scaling Biochar in Designed Landscapes: Overcoming the Disconnect Within the Biochar Production-Utilization Ecosystem – Rebecca Popowsky, ASLA, RLA, OLIN, and Nicholas Pevzner, ASLA, University of Pennsylvania   
    Topic(s): soils, carbon, specification

2023-25 Grant Cycle

2023 Grant Recipient

Heat Waves: Visualizing Thermal Disparities 

This 18-month research project will collect and analyze temperature data for Omaha, Nebraska using commercially available thermal visualization tools in order to evaluate the positive impacts of nature-based solutions on mitigating extreme heat. The primary output will be a toolkit for landscape planners and policymakers to make better-informed decisions in designing more just and equitable cities by using thermal visualization tools to show positive design impacts at a level that is more granular and reflective of the lived experience of extreme heat in formerly redlined communities. Outputs will also support the City of Omaha’s climate action and resilience plan.

Principal Investigators

Keenan Gibbons, PLA, Associate, SmithGroup
Salvador Lindquist, Professor, University of Nebraska

4/5/23 - 2023 grant recipient announcement
12/18/23 - Research update article
9/5/24 - Webinar on research and findings

View/Download Final Report

 

2023 Shortlisted Proposals

In addition to the above grant recipient, the following applicants were selected to submit full proposals for consideration.

  • Quantifying Biodiversity Net Gain: Adapting a Framework for use by Landscape Professionals in North America – Kelly Farrell, Sasaki, and Tim Nuttle, Oikos Ecology
    Topic(s): Biodiversity, metrics and methods
  • Healing Landscapes — McKenzie Wilhelm and Shane Coen, Coen + Partners
    Topic(s): Inclusivity, collective memory, mapping

2022-24 Grant Cycle

2022 Grant Recipient

Engagement by Design: Intergenerational Communities to Promote Social Equity and Healthy Aging in Place

This 18-month research project will utilize expert interviews, focus groups, and surveys to identify essential physical elements and features of intergenerational communities and their associations with intergenerational interactions, age-related social equity, and health among older adults and children. The primary output will be a series of Intergenerational Community Assessment Tool (iCAT) toolkits that will include community-scale and site-scale assessment tools and checklists that provide practical guidance for designing (and retrofitting) mixed-age communities. 

Principal Investigators

Sinan Zhong, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning and with the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M University
Chanam Lee, PhD, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning and Founding Director of Design Research for Active Living at Texas A&M University

4/19/22 - 2022 grant recipient announcement
6/27/23 - Research update article
9/24/24 - Webinar on research and findings

 

2022 Shortlisted Proposals

In addition to the above grant recipient, the following applicants were selected to submit full proposals for consideration.

  • Visualizing Urban Flooding Due to Climate Change, a Design Problem of Growing Urgency — Chris Ellis, University of Maryland
    Topic(s): Virtual reality, effectiveness of visualization tools
  • Outside and Empowered — Lauren Iversen and Kas Kinkead, Osborn Consulting
    Topic(s): Green schoolyards, post-occupancy evaluation
  • Designing Resilient Green Infrastructure for an Uncertain Future — Sonja Vangjeli, Waterfront Toronto
    Topic(s): Green infrastructure on sites with variable groundwater

2021-23 Grant Cycle

2021 Grant Recipient

Developing a Disaster Adaptation Framework for Rural Resilience

This 18-month research project examines in-place adaptation to climate change as a viable and necessary alternative to relocation for rural communities and small towns. Through geospatial analysis, the study will assess national disaster relief policies against rural “buying power” and geographic mobility patterns of disaster survivors. The research will produce a transferable framework that highlights actionable approaches landscape architects can take to support under-resourced rural communities.

Principal Investigators

Travis Klondike, Assistant Research Professor at the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab and the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at the North Carolina State University College of Design
Andrew Fox, FASLA, PLA, Professor and University Faculty Scholar in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at the North Carolina State University College of Design and Co-Director of the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab

4/13/21 - 2021 grant recipient announcement
6/27/22 - Research update article
2/23/23 - Research wrap up article
2/28/23 - Webinar on research and findings

View/Download Final Report


2021 Shortlisted Proposals

In addition to the above grant recipient, the following applicants were selected to submit full proposals for consideration.

  • Flood Lots: A Case Study of the Management, Perception, and Performance of Harris County Buy-Out Properties — Isaac Stein and Maggie Tsang, Department LLC
    Topic(s): Flood-prone buyout lots, open space management
  • The Beauty Way to Healing Lands: Synthesizing Indigenous Knowledge and Landscape Architectural Practice — Michael Miehaus, Studio Balcones and Alta Piechowski-Begay, Hozho Center
    Topic(s): Preservation of Indigenous heritage, cultural land management practices
  • Rural Resilience In Appalachia: Understanding Citizen Response to Climate Adaptation Strategies in the New River Watershed — Celen Pasalar, Mosaic Civic Studio and Teresa Buckwalter, North Carolina State University
    Topic(s): Rural communities, climate change adaptation strategies, design communication
  • Community-Scale Wildfire Mitigation: Landscape Strategies for Living with Fire — Jonah Susskind, SWA
    Topic(s): Land management practices for wildfire mitigation
  • Measures of Resilience: Practices and Protocols of Wildfire Risk Mitigation — Helen Kongsaard, Studio Kongsgaard
    Topic(s): Land management practices for wildfire mitigation

2020-22 Grant Cycle

2020 Grant Recipient

Greenscapes to Brownscapes: A Study on Impacts to Contaminant Levels in Landscapes Adjacent to Highways

This 18-month research project will look at deposition and accumulation of traffic-related air pollutants in landscapes along the I-95 corridor in Philadelphia. The pilot study will add to the limited existing research on how a new site accumulates contaminants and could inform design, programmatic recommendations, and maintenance schedules to assist in minimizing exposures to secondary air pollution sources in existing and new landscapes near highways.

Principal Investigators

Allison Kaye Harvey, Project Director at OJB Landscape Architecture
Andrew Adams, CHMM, Vice President and Principal Scientist at W&M, a Division of Braun Intertec

3/23/20 - 2020 grant recipient announcement
4/21/21 - Research update article
3/23/22 - Webinar on research and findings
8/1/24 - Article on continued research post-grant 

View/Download Final Report

 

2020 Shortlisted Proposals

In addition to the above grant recipient, the following applicants were selected to submit full proposals for consideration.

  • Who Goes There?: A Framework for Evaluating Gender Inclusivity in Public Space — Jessica Canfield, Kansas State University and Chelina Odbert, Kounkuey Design Initiative
    Topic(s): Gender inclusive public space, site assessment
  • Social Media for Impactful Landscape Design: Integrating Research and Professional Practice with Big Data — Bo Yang, University of Arizona and Allyson Mendenhall, Design Workshop
    Topic(s): Social media data, site assessment
  • Where We Stand: Women in Landscape Architecture — Samantha Solano, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and TJ Marston, Florida International University
    Topic(s): Gender equity in the landscape architecture discipline 
  • Park Tough — Rae Vassar and Leigh Ann Campbell, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
    Topic(s): Plant palettes for high-use, low-maintenance parks

 


LAF Research Grant in Honor of Deb Mitchell
Overview
Eligibility & Expectations
Application Process
Grant Recipients

LAF is grateful to the many individuals and organizations that provide financial support towards fulfilling our mission to support the preservation, improvement, and enhancement of the environment.

Much of what LAF is able to accomplish would not be possible without the thought leadership and financial investment of our major supporters, including ASLA, which provides over $125,000 of in-kind support annually.

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