FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH: A Time to Honor and Learn

"Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done."
W. E. B. Du Bois
See recommended resources from faculty and students.

Research on Regional Housing Needs Allocations in Southern California

Professor Ramsey-Musolf published an analysis of the allocation of housing growth to 185 cities in the Southern California region. This study determined that the regional planning agency directed housing growth to the city of Los Angeles and the region’s outlying cities as opposed to increasing density in the central and coastal cities. In addition, the study determined that the allocated housing growth was statistical associated with increased housing inventory, housing affordability, and housing growth rate.

Carolina Aragón Unveils Public Art Installation Depicting Future Flood Levels in Boston

Visitors strolling the Boston Harborwalk along Fort Point Channel will now be able to visualize the scientific predictions for future flood levels and their proposed solutions, thanks to a new public art installation created by University of Massachusetts Amherst artist and landscape architect Carolina Aragón.

Georectification of Historic Maps Show Effects of Land Use Over Time

Photographs from a project to map the land cover of Massachusetts using aerial photography in the 1950s. Recognizing the research value of the photographs, SCUA began digitizing them three years ago. Forrest Bowlick of the geosciences department was involved in the process from the beginning now collaborating with Camille Barchers, a professor of landscape architecture and regional planning.

LARP 2019 Planning Studio awarded "Student Project Award"

The LARP Fall 2019 Regional Planning Studio’s project “Economic Development in Boxborough, MA” was awarded the “Student Project Award” by the Massachusetts chapter of the American Planning Association.

Professor Jack Ahern Retires

Professor Jack Ahern, FASLA retired at the end of the Spring 2020 semester after 34 years in LARP at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Jack was the very model of a modern landscape architect, rooted in sustainable design with a passion for plants, landscape ecology, greenway planning, and ecosystem services. He had a positive influence on the thousands of students who took his classes and the ones whom he mentored.

Welcome Samantha Solano, Assistant Professor!

The Department would like to welcome, Samantha Solano as an Assistant Professor. Samantha will be teaching LandArch 297B Special Topics- Studio II and LandArch 501 Studio I. Samantha joins us from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) where she was an assistant professor in landscape architecture. Her innovative research and creative professional work centers on urban ecological design in arid landscapes through the lens of climate change resiliency and equitable design and practice in landscape architecture. Samantha is an emerging voice in issues related to diversity and inclusion in the profession of landscape architecture and is the leader of the newly formed, Visualizing Equity in Landscape (VELA) project.

SustComm Student Wins Public Transit Scholarship

Henry Mulvey, senior BS in Sustainable Community Development major and prospective MRP/MS Civil Engineering dual-degree candidate, has been awarded the American Public Transportation Foundation Dr. George M. Smerk Scholarship for 2020, given to an applicant dedicated to a career in public transit management.

LARP Students Win BSLA Merit Awards

Graduate students in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP) and one alum recently won merit awards from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.

MRP and MS Geography Candidate Has a Profile in A.T. Communities!

Jessica Schottanes, dual MRP and MS Geography candidate, has a profile in the summer 2020 edition of A.T. Communities, a newsletter of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, related to her Master's Thesis research.