Tag: Q&A


Cultivating Resilient Spaces in the City: A Q&A with Dr. Erika Svendsen

Open Voices is taking the opportunity to get to know some of the different team members from our National Awards grantee projects. You can find previous interviews with other team members here. When one thinks of the U.S. Forest Service, you wouldn’t necessarily think of New York City. That is not the case for Dr. Erika…

Resilient Design: An Interview with Nancy Chikaraishi and Traci Sooter

Open Voices is taking the opportunity to get to know some of the different team members from our National Awards grantee projects. You can find previous interviews with other team members here. Neither Nancy Chikaraishi, AIA, or Traci Sooter, AIA , LEED AP,  are strangers to applying their skills as architects to help their local community….

Learning a Love of Nature in the City: A Q&A with Sara Hobel

Open Voices is taking the opportunity to get to know some of the different team members from our National Awards grantee projects. You can find previous interviews with other team members here. Building on her previous experiences as an advocate for the benefits of nature, such as leading up the Urban Park Rangers in New…

Designing the Naval Cemetery Landscape: An Interview with the Landscape Architects of Nelson Byrd Woltz

The landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz is dedicated to the integration of respect for nature and design. They will be partnering with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, one of our National Award winners, on the Naval Cemetery Landscape project to develop a peaceful natural space for commuters along the greenway. We had a chance to…

Biophilic Cities: A Q&A With Tim Beatley

“We are an increasingly urbanized planet, so we’ve got to imagine how urbanites can have that close connection that they absolutely need with the natural world.” An interview with the founder of the Biophilic Cities Project, about why nature in urban areas is more important today than ever before.

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Protecting Urban Ecosystems: An Interview with Timon McPhearson

Timon McPhearson came to our attention when we stumbled across his wonderful article for The Nature of Cities, about the important potential social and ecological benefits of vacant lots in cities. Turns out he’s a bit of an expert in the area — McPhearson is a professor of Urban Ecology at The New School’s Tishman…

Creating Urban Density With Reflective Spaces: A Q&A With Green Developer Jonathan Rose

Back when we were at the Greater & Greener Conference, we attended a panel by green real estate developer Jonathan Rose. Our ears perked up when he mentioned incorporating a labyrinth into one of his housing projects — as you might know about us, we love labyrinths and believe that quiet, nature-filled spaces in urban…

Making Real, Large Changes in Your Community: A Q&A with Erin Barnes of ioby

How can you be the opposite of a NIMBY? Join ioby (in our backyard), an online platform that funds local environmental and community projects. We talked to one of ioby’s founders about how neighborhoods can green vacant lots, get support from donors to make green changes, and more.

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Health Benefits of Urban Greening: A Q&A with Kathy Wolf

In this interview, we talk about health benefits and necessities of urban greening, urban landscapes, why trees aid cities in everything from transportation to shopping, and much more.

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“Places of Urban Sanctuary for Humans”: A Q&A with TKF’s Tom Stoner

After a momentous visit to England in 1995, Tom Stoner, and his wife, Kitty, returned to the United States with a commitment to building urban greenspaces in cities across the United States. Their foundation, the TKF Foundation, was born in 1996, and since then they’ve helped fund and create more than 130 open spaces in…

"Peace. Love. Health. Joy. Safety. Serenity. Prosperity. Contentment. All are mine as I walk the ThanksGiving Place labyrinth. I am drawn back again and again."

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