Kofi Boone explains how the design of landscapes has the ability to harm, or to heal. He reflects on the environment in which he grew up in Detroit, and shares the work he and his students have done in Ghana.
Well-designed urban landscapes can nurture creativity and well-being and buffer or even help mitigate the negative effects of global change. But often, such landscapes are the exclusive purview of the wealthy. That needn’t be the case. Drawing insights from a recent, visionary paper outlining a history of Black landscape architecture, Kofi Boone considers how we might work as communities to locally create landscapes that are equitable, just and sustaining, even in light of global change. This video features cities/sites including Accra, Ghana (where Boone led a study abroad program), Detroit, Michigan (Kofi’s hometown), and cities in North Carolina.
Kofi Boone is a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (FASLA), a University Faculty Scholar and a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at NC State in the College of Design. Boone is a Detroit native and earned his bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources and master’s degree in landscape architecture at University of Michigan. His work is in the overlap between landscape architecture and environmental justice with specializations in democratic design, digital media, and interpreting cultural landscapes.
Crowther, B. (2021). Freeways Without Futures. Congress for the New Urbanism.
Boone, K. (2020). Notes Toward a History of Black Landscape Architecture. Places Journal, October 2020. Accessed 20 Jul 2021.
Caldwell, J., Dozier, T., Kaelin, J., Kaur, M., Outlaw, B., & Wilson, R. (2015). Ghana International Design Studio: Playtime in Africa | 2015 ASLA Student Awards. American Society of Landscape Architects.
The Green New Deal Superstudio covers a year-long collective effort between hundreds of teams and thousands of students and practitioners developing project ideas that promote green jobs, environmental justice, and decarbonization.
The American Society of Landscape Architecture describes the leading professional organization representing landscape architects.
The Landscape Architecture Foundation describes the thought-leading organization in landscape architecture.
NC State Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning describes the NC State program.