Utah State LAEP Students Excel at Utah Real Estate Challenge
Two teams that brought together the skills of Utah State University Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) and Jon M. Huntsman School of Business (USU Huntsman) students showcased their talent and ingenuity in the 2025 Utah Real Estate C...
David Anderson creates campus-wide impact as a champion of community engagement
David Anderson, a faculty member in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, was recently honored with the 2025 CAAS Faculty University Service Award for his many contributions to Utah State University. Anderson chairs USU’s Co...
Dr. Daniella Hirschfeld Envisions Resilient Environments
Assistant Professor Daniella Hirschfeld, in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, was recently recognized as the 2025 CAAS Early Career Researcher of the Year for her contributions to urban ecology and environmental planning...
Following in their Footsteps: Landscape Architecture Legacy Spans Generations
An internship in the Dixie National Forest helped this landscape architecture family play a role in documenting and preserving beautiful Utah landscapes. By retracing her parents’ footsteps and continuing the project they began as USU students, Callie saw...
USU Student Helps Get Spiral Jetty Recognized as National Historic Place
The Spiral Jetty is one of the most written about, least known historic works of art in the United States. Built by Robert Smithson in 1970, Spiral Jetty is generally regarded as the most famous example of land art. The Utah landmark was only recently lis...
USU Landscape Architecture Student Wins Prestigious Scholarship, Design Award
Bailey Guinn, a master’s student in landscape architecture at Utah State University, has been awarded the prestigious JSR Foundation Scholarship and BLT Built Design Award for her "Waking Water" project. Her design aims to heal the Warm Springs and North ...
USU Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Hosts Zoo Design Charrette
An international design firm recently assisted Utah State University students in a zoo charrette: a gathering of stakeholders in a project to discuss and develop creative solutions.The charrette was led by LAEP associate professor Benjamin George and stud...
USU Researchers Develop AI Tool to Identify Accessibility Issues at Intersections
To help cities find intersections with accessibility issues, USU researchers are developing an AI tool that can be trained to identify these problems. Sidewalks and crosswalks can easily be taken for granted. But cities are, sometimes, not as connected fo...
Sustainable Solutions: Student Identifies Ways to Save 8 Million Gallons of Water a Year at USU
Utah's population growth has made it imperative to address the consequences of drought and the detrimental effects it brings to the Great Salt Lake. Mary Claire Jennings is passionate about water conservation and points out that “grass lawns are especiall...
Research Landscape: The Great Salt Lake Charrette Process with David Anderson
David Anderson is a former Research Landscapes presenter and an LAEP program faculty member at Utah State. For this event, Dave focused on the charrette process and how it works to equip local authorities and community leaders with the tools to envision s...
Aggies Sweep Salt Lake City's Contest to Reimagine Baseball Park
Utah State Aggies swept a Salt Lake City contest to help officials decide what's next for Smith's Ballpark, seen here in 2015. When the owners of the Salt Lake Bees announced they were moving their minor league baseball team to the suburbs, Matthew LaPlan...
Brent Chamberlain Earns International Award for Excellence in Research
Brent Chamberlain, associate professor in Utah State University’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, was recently recognized with a Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Excellence in Research and/or Creative Works A...
Planning for the Rising Seas
When Daniella Hirschfeld led workshops last year that brought together community planners, engineers, and policymakers to focus on adapting to rising sea levels, the conversations did not begin with questions about whether or not the water is rising and w...
Managing for the Public and the Land
LAEP Alumna Allysia Angus, M.L.A, '99, has cared for the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument for more than two decades in her role as a landscape architect for the Bureau of Land Management in Utah.
Civil Engineering Students Part of Interdisciplinary Team Recognized in National Competition
Civil engineering undergraduate students Ryan Richens, Trevor Wilson, Grace Sunderland and Robert Gordon worked with landscape architecture and environmental planning graduate student Justin Jaques to redesign the Aggie Village.
A Space For Everyone
Like all built landscapes, they are physical manifestations of the attitudes, perceptions, and values of the people who create them. The problem is that often the creators don’t fully consider how people who are different from themselves might want to use...
Opportunities on the Path to Becoming Professor Christensen
Professor Keith Christensen has been promoted to the rank of professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning.
Taking a Virtual Leap: Landscape Architecture Professor Helps Design Studio Transition Online
Due to unprecedented events resulting from the spread of COVID-19, faculty at USU and colleges and universities across the country faced the challenge of moving their classes online in just a matter of days.
Beyond Ramps & Buses: Studying Obstacles to Community Living for People with Disabilities
USU's faculty members Keith Christensen and Ziqi Song were recently awarded a $2.5 million grant to examine community planning and policies throughout communities on Utah’s Wasatch Front and the participation of individuals with disabilities.
USU LAEP Students' Studio Project Receives Second Statewide Award
During the Fall 2018 semester, students in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning’s (LAEP) Urban Theory and Design studio, led by Caroline Lavoie, completed a project with the City of Ogden.
Virtual Reality and the Future of Design
Virtual reality (VR) isn’t the wave of the future. It’s now. VR allows us to immerse ourselves in another world without leaving the comfort of our homes.
LAEP Welcomes New Faculty Members
Daniella Hirschfeld and Todd Johnson, FASLA, have accepted faculty positions within Utah State University’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning.
International Sketching Artist Visiting USU April 11-12
The Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) Department is hosting international sketching artist, Jim Richards, for a public forum, all-day sketching workshop and a sketch walk the second week of April.
Sean Michael named Fellow of CELA
Professor Sean Michael, head of Utah State University's Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) is among the five professionals inducted as 2019 Fellows of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).
Caroline Lavoie Teaching Award
Caroline Lavoie, associate professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, is the recipient of the 2019 Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Faculty Award of Excellence in Design Studio Teaching at the Senior Level.
Building Landscape Architects in Bengaluru
Moving to Bengaluru, India, for an internship, a city with more people on one street than in the entire town of Inkom, Idaho, was a big step for Ashely Casperson, a Utah State University senior.
Students and Faculty Work Together for Design Charrette
Students, professors, and friends of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning recently came together to create a comprehensive plan for the City of Layton during the annual Charrette.
USU Research Investigating How the Shape and Size of Greenspace Can Promote Urban Human Health
Exposure to greenspace, as scientists call it, is linked to reduced stress and anxiety, lower rates of allergies and diabetes, better pregnancy outcomes, and even shortened recovery times from surgery, among other benefits. However, this relationship brin...



























