WE ARE BECOMING AWARE​
OF OURSELVES...
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My passion is grounded in ecological urbanism and landscape ecology which are interdisciplinary fields that use diverse frameworks for understanding built and natural landscapes.
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Ecology begins as the vision of a better world – it is often an abstract idea of the interrelations that are often unclear and must be made concrete and visible. Technology places ecologies within motion. My designs serve to bring awareness in the realisation of abstract ideas – in our case nature, ecology, and culture.
Details
Dr. Rick leBrasseur is an Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture at Dalhousie University. My research focuses on the relationship between individuals, communities, and the natural environment. Rick researches these connections using spatial and statistical tools to better understand how the natural world impacts people’s socio-emotional wellbeing.
Dr. leBrasseur completed his PhD at The University of Edinburgh working closely with Dr. Catharine Ward-Thompson. He also completed a Masters in Landscape Architecture at the University of Michigan serving as a Research Assistant to Dr. Rachel Kaplan and a Bachelors in Landscape Architect from the University of Connecticut.
Prior to his arrival at Dalhousie University he was Program Developer and Director of UC Berkeley’s interdisciplinary Sustainable Environmental Design & Stewardship Extension Program. He then served as the Sumner Margetts Professor of Landscape Architecture at Utah State University and subsequently led The Center for Green Infrastructure Design (CGID) within the University of Utah’s City & Metropolitan Planning Department.
Prior to entering academia, Rick contributed over 20 years in professional practice as a landscape urbanist in the United States with Charles Anderson Atelier, Hargreaves Associates, EDAW/AECOM, and CRJA developing global projects and contextual socio-ecological strategies. Richard collaborated on internationally recognized and award winning projects including the Olympic Sculpture Park (CAA), the General Motors Tech Center (Hargreaves), and Ft. Devens Federal Medical Center (CRJA).
Richard’s research assesses on the impacts of urbanizing landscapes upon human-based ecosystem services and their corresponding interstitial green structures. He studies human-environment interactions through the lens of environmental psychology in order to provide evidence-based design solutions. His teaching weaves together landscape urbanism, hybrid infrastructures, and human ecology and in order to inform eco-spatial relationships.
Education
The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, Scotland
PhD, Doctor of Philosophy by Research 2018
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Dissertation : The eco-spatial benefits of green infrastructure: Examining landscape fragmentation within interstitial peri-urban green spaces and its impacts upon human wellbeing
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The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
MLA, Masters of Landscape Architecture 1992
Horace A. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
School of Natural Resources & Environment
Thesis : Grand Island National Recreation Area: A Master and Management Plan
The University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
BSLA, Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture 1990
College of Natural Resources
Awards : Distinguished Graduate; CT Garden Club Scholarship; Student CT-ASLA Honor Award
Continuing Education
Statistical Literacy - SCOIL07001 (2012)
Postgraduate Research Methods - CACE11001 (2012)
Introduction to Research Design - EDPS 6030 (2010)
Interpreting Research - PRT 6550 (2010)
Environmental Ethics - HUM 6900 (2009)
Introduction to GIS - GEOG 3140 (2009)
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Successfully concluded modules
Developing Green : Integrating Sustainability with Success
Urban Land Institute (2009)
Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice: Application to the Study and Management of Forests
United States Forest Service (2008)
Green Infrastructure - Land Conservation Workshop
The Conservation Fund (2008)