Theodore Eisenman
Theodore Eisenman
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning

Theodore Eisenman
Office: Design Building 333
Tel: 413-577-0858
Email: teisenman[at]umass.edu
Bio

Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania
M.L.A. Cornell University
M.P.S. in Natural Resource Management, Cornell University
B.S. in Journalism, University of Maryland

My principal scholarly interest concerns the historical, scientific, cultural, and design bases of urban greening, which I define as a social practice of organized or semi-organized efforts to introduce, conserve, or maintain outdoor vegetation in urban areas. This research encompasses urban tree planting initiatives (TPIs), urban ecosystem services and disservices, human health and wellbeing links with urban flora, design and planning norms, equity, and governance. It also includes emerging areas of interest: 1/urban greening in a globalizing world, encompassing international comparative analysis of landscape design and governance norms; and 2/ travelscapes, the spaces people move through on a daily basis that constitute our dominant experience of landscapes.

I believe that design is a powerful tool for enhancing human and ecological potentials, and this informs my approach to landscape architecture and urban planning education and scholarship. Prior to starting at UMass, I was an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in the Humanities Institute at The New York Botanical Garden, and my work is animated by the environmental humanities and themes related to the Anthropocene. I have been a regular contributor to Landscape Architecture Magazine on ecological design topics, and my career spans research and practice with a range of federal, municipal, and nonprofit organizations. Raised in Sweden and the U.S. and having traveled extensively including work as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, I am broadly interested in international and cross-cultural perspectives on landscape planning and design.

Courses
  • SUSTCOMM 533: Urban Greening Theory & Practice
  • LANDARCH 502: Introduction to Landscape Design II
  • SUSTCOMM 314: Writing in Community Development & Landscape Architecture
  • LANDARCH 494LI: Landscape Planning & the Cultural Landscape
  • HONORS 391AH: The Anthropocene – An Introduction and Contemplative Inquiry