11.08.23 In-Class Lecture | Fadi Masoud: Parks in Action - Landscape Architecture is Resilient D...

The lecture is part of Behnaz Assadi's ARCH 141A Design IV Studio Course.
This talk highlights the role of parks, open spaces, and the public realm in fostering climate action in urban conditions. Urban green spaces range from expansive ravine networks to pocket gardens, and from street rights-of-ways to school yards and green roofs. Regardless of their scale, they are valuable tools for urban climate change mitigation and adaptation. From the early work of Fredrick Law Olmsted to contemporary design competitions, we find embedded disciplinary knowledge, strategies, and frameworks in landscape architectural discourse, practice and tools that remain critical for cities’ resilience in the twenty-first century.
The conversation will be moderated by the Behnaz Assadi.
Fadi Masoud is an associate professor of landscape architecture and urbanism at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Centre for Landscape Research. His research and teaching focuses on the relationships between environmental systems, multi-scalar urban design, and public policy. Masoud currently leads projects on urban climate adaptation and the design of equitable and resilient public open space. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, Masoud held teaching and research appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He is the editor of Terra-Sorta-Firma (Actar 2020), an atlas of urbanism on reclaimed land. Masoud currently sits on Waterfront Toronto’s Design Review Panel and was a member of the City of Toronto’s Urban Flooding Working Group that helped launch the city’s first Resilience Strategy.