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
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
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
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
