Center for Resilient Metro-Regions
The Center for Resilient Metro-Regions (CRM) draws from the expertise of faculty and students at the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning to provide strategic planning and design services for communities. Working at a range of scales, from small towns to complex metropolitan regions, CRM conducts applied research with a focus on sustainability, climate resilience, green infrastructure, open space, land use, housing, and economic development. Community-driven projects are often organized as studio projects. These projects provide service-learning opportunities for UMass students and offer benefits for the communities that fund the studios. CRM also collaborates with communities through consulting contracts and student internships.
Director: Wayne Feiden
Center for Heritage and Society
The Center for Heritage and Society (CHS) is a multidisciplinary initiative for the development of new theory and implementation for heritage conservation around the world. CHS works with scholars internationally to develop multi- and interdisciplinary research in heritage-related fields such as archaeology, history, environmental science, landscape architecture, regional planning, architecture, European studies, Native American Indian Studies, Afro-American Studies, Classics, legal studies, and public policy among others. Additionally, CHS provides undergraduate and graduate students with training and experience in heritage planning and management.
Director: Elizabeth Brabec
Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning
The Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning is held every three years to bring together experts who are influencing landscape planning, policy-making, and greenway planning from the local to international level. The conference aims to highlight recent trends and expand the literature about landscape and greenway planning. The conference also explores how landscape architects and planners from different countries have approached greenway planning and how greenways have been tailored to each county’s unique geographical, cultural, and political circumstances. The conference provides an opportunity to publish full papers in printed proceedings.
Conference Committee: Mark Lindhult, Robert Ryan, Jack Ahern, & Theodore Eisenman
The UMass Design Center
The Design Center is a collaboration among the UMass Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, the Department of Architecture, the Building Construction and Technology Program, and the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. The center supports a wide range of planning and urban design projects and research focused on addressing the challenges facing cities and towns in Massachusetts and beyond.
Associate Director: Frank Sleegers
The Center for Economic Development
The Center for Economic Development is a research and community-oriented technical assistance center that is partially funded by the Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Directors: Henry Renski & John Mullin