Reports

Research monographs and professional reports contain important information, but they are rarely collected by libraries. Here are some reports from my experience in research and professional practice. Feel free to read and share, but please remember always to cite both this webpage and the full source of original publication.

Card image cap
Power of Place: Visions for Our Mill Creek Neighborhood

1997

“Anyone with any doubts about the power of our young people in shaping the future of our City and its neighborhoods should read this book. I commend this pioneering effort of these young ‘city planners’ in envisioning greener neighborhoods for Philadelphia in the 21st Century.” Happy Fernandez, Philadelphia City Councilwoman

In fall 1996, my students and I embarked on an adventure with teachers and students at Sulzberger Middle School in West Philadelphia’s Mill Creek neighborhood. Our goal was to explore how a new curriculum organized around “The Urban Watershed” could combine learning, community development, and water resource management. This booklet by the middle school students is one product of that quest.

Read More

Card image cap
West Philadelphia Digital Database: An Atlas and Guide

1996

Since the 1980s, the West Philadelphia Landscape Project has pioneered the application of geographic information systems (GIS) and the Web to make information accessible to people and organizations serving low-income neighborhoods.

West Philadelphia Digital Database: An Atlas and Guide presents maps of the city’s physical and natural environment and explains their significance. The data were compiled from diverse sources, including federal agencies, municipal departments, research reports, and field work.

This report is among the early products of the West Philadelphia Landscape Project, a decades-long, award-winning, action research project.

Read More

Card image cap
The West Philadelphia Landscape Plan: A Framework for Action

1991

“As a guide to a coherent, intricate and transformative approach to landscape architecture and urban design, Anne Whiston Spirn is a visionary of the first order whose innovative work on the ground has transformed and enhanced the quality of life in low-income urban neighborhoods in deep and lasting ways.” Charlotte Kahn, The Boston Foundation

The West Philadelphia Landscape Project (WPLP) is a long-term, action-research project that has integrated research, teaching, and community service since 1987. This report provides an overview of the first phase (1987-1991) of this decades-long, award-winning project.

Read More

Card image cap
Vacant Land: A Resource for Reshaping Urban Neighborhoods

1991

“The West Philadelphia Landscape Project was twenty years ahead of its time: it anticipated today’s concerns with urban water management, sustainability, and the relationship between physical and social infrastructure.” Jane Wolff, University of Toronto

Vacant Land describes diverse types of vacant land, how they came to be abandoned, how they fit into the larger natural and social systems of the city, and the opportunities they afford for community development. It suggests general design ideas for potential uses that can be tailored to fit the needs of particular people and places.

This report is among the early products of the West Philadelphia Landscape Project, a decades-long, award-winning, action research project. It inspired City of Philadelphia policies and plans for vacant land.

Read More

Card image cap
Models of Success: Landscape Improvement and Community Development

1991

Models of Success documents successful cases of landscape improvements that have served as a catalyst for community development. It summarizes lessons learned from these examples and highlights the stories of exceptional cases. Each model is an inspiration for other people and other places.

The report is among the early products of the West Philadelphia Landscape Project, a decades-long, award-winning, action research project.

Read More

Card image cap
Shaping the Block

1991

Shaping the Block focuses on the block as a social space and explores how residents can reshape the block they live on to better support their needs and activities.

This report is among the early products of the West Philadelphia Landscape Project, a decades-long, award-winning, action research project.

Read More

Card image cap
“This Garden is a Town”

1990

“This Garden is a Town” explores the community garden as a microcosm of community and a model for neighborhood planning and design. It compares eight community gardens and describes common patterns underlying the gardens’ diverse forms. “This Garden Is a Town” is also an exhibit, originally mounted in 1991 and updated in 2018.

This report is among the early products of the West Philadelphia Landscape Project, a decades-long, award-winning, action research project.

Read More

Card image cap
Air Quality at Street-Level: Strategies for Urban Design

1986

This study of air quality at street level investigated how urban design can reduce the concentration of pollutants and human exposure to them. The report summarizes factors that influence air quality at street level and describes urban design strategies to reduce both the level of air pollutants and human exposure to them.

Read More

Card image cap
Plants for Passive Cooling

1981

The use of plants for passive cooling, particularly in temperate humid climates, affords an opportunity to reduce air-conditioning in small structures. This study surveyed the literature, identified a range of design strategies for reducing the surface and interior temperature of buildings through the use of plants, and illustrated a variety of design applications.

Read More

Card image cap
Environmental Resources of the Toronto Central Waterfront

1976

Toronto’s Central Waterfront is an active harbor framed by parkland, institutions, businesses, and industry, and also a habitat for rare plants and animals.

The report describes the environmental resources of the Central Waterfront and offers guidelines for design and planning. Its value, beyond Toronto, lies in its comprehensive treatment of natural processes in the city and its systematic examination of the interplay among natural processes and human purposes.

Read More

Card image cap
National Planning Landmark, American Planning Association

1976

“Sanibel changed the nature of municipal planning within Florida when it made the island’s sensitive ecology the basis of its plan.” Wayne Daltry, Lee County Smart Growth Task Force.

Since its adoption in 1976, Sanibel Comprehensive Land Use Plan has withstood legal challenge and has been cited as a benchmark of successful integration of environmental and legal concerns. It was an early example of the use of performance standards to guide and regulate development.

Read More

Card image cap
Pardisan: An Environmental Park

1975

Pardisan was envisioned as a unique recreation and education enterprise to be located outside Tehran, Iran. Its theme was the process of adaptation in plants, animals, and humans as illustrated by exhibits of the major ecosystems of the world, each with their characteristic plant, animal, and human communities.

Planning and design for Pardisan influenced and inspired subsequent zoo design in North America.

Read More

Card image cap
Woodlands New Community: Guidelines for Site Planning

Wallace McHarg Roberts & Todd 1973

Woodlands, Texas, north of Houston, has been recognized as a model for the integration of environmental and economic concerns in a highly successful real estate development.

Guidelines for Site Planning filled a crucial gap between environmental planning studies and their application in site planning and design. For years it was distributed to developers and architects working at Woodlands.

Read More