Catherine Seavitt Nordenson, FASLA

City College of New York, New York City
by Staff

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Catherine Seavitt Nordenson is widely recognized for her advocacy for expanding the influence and scope of the profession through education, research, and scholarship. Her research on design adaptation to sea level rise in urban coastal environments, as well as novel landscape restoration practices, has made a significant impact on the design fields. Structures of Coastal Resilience and Waterproofing New York are examples of her focus on hydrological networks and her development of a cohort of diverse scholars, crossing boundaries between landscape, engineering, architecture, and urban design. Catherine's focus in both her teaching and practice is on the transdisciplinary integration of public space, policy, and the design of infrastructure. Her many books, essays, and journal publications present her brilliant explorations of political power, environmental activism, and public health, particularly as these intersect with the design of equitable public space. Catherine's research and publications on coastal resilience have had significant influence on municipal, state, and federal policy makers. As professor and director of the graduate program in landscape architecture at CCNY, she serves as the founding faculty editor of the annual landscape architecture journal PLOT, a nationally awarded journal now in its tenth year of publication. She emphasizes the critical role that landscape architects play in connecting environmental, social, and multispecies justice to equitable public space and celebrates the program's visionary and activist graduate students.