M. Paul Friedberg, RLA, FASLA died on February 15, 2025, at the age of 93 from complications of covid. His passing was shared by The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

 
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recognized the Landscape Architect in 1979 in that year's Class of Fellows, then in 2004 he was awarded with its Design Medal, and finally he was bestowed the association's highest honor, the ASLA Medal in 2015.

Friedberg was renowned for his ability to design public urban sites during a time when open spaces were declining. He attended Cornell University and studied horticulture before returning to New York City in 1958 to start M. Paul Friedberg - now MPFP. From there, he designed the then unorthodox take on playgrounds at public housing complexes in the city like the Carver Houses (1963) in Harlem and the Jacob Riis Houses (1965) in Manhattan. The latter. became one of his most recognizable designs as it integrated a total play environment that focused on exploration and discovery.

Following the success of Jacob Riis Plaza - which was demolished in 2000- he designed numerous large scale projects, including two outside of New York in Minneapolis the Loring Greenway and Peavey Plaza (1974, 1975), State Street Mall in Madison, Wisconsin (1977-78), Pershing Plaza in Washington, D.C. (1981), Olympic Plaza in Calgary (1987), and public spaces in Israel and Japan.

Friedberg was an active professor and instructor across the country including Harvard University, Columbia University, and Pratt Institute, but he established the Urban Landscape Architecture program in 1970 at the City College of New York, which marked the first program of its kind.

Paul Friedberg is survived by his wife, Dorit Shahar, their daughter Maya, and by his sons Mark and Jeffrey.