Rural Transformations Co-Op

Forbes Lipschitz was recently awarded a Linkage and Leverage Grant from The Ohio State University for her proposal “Rural Transformations Co-Op: Identifying Strategies for Landscape Architectural Engagement with Climate Smart Agriculture.”

Conventional agriculture represents the largest type of anthropogenic land use in the world. It contributes to and is uniquely impacted by climate change. While landscape architects have been at the forefront in developing adaptation strategies in urban environments, designers have been largely absent from this process in the agricultural landscape. As climate change promises to reshape agricultural landscapes in the coming century, this project draws together an interdisciplinary team to identify meaningful opportunities for landscape architectural engagement in rural landscapes. Building upon existing climate-smart strategies, the team will develop new field standards that move beyond mitigation by prioritizing ecology alongside economy. The team will develop these strategies through farmer engagement and a multi-regional analysis of existing climate-resilience practices. This will culminate in a 3-day participatory design workshop
in Ohio.

Forbes Lipschitz, OSU, Knowlton School (Principle Investigator)
Billy Fleming, University of Pennsylvania
Shoshanah Inwood, OSU, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Sarah Thomas Karle, University of Lincoln-Nebraska
Brett Milligan, University of California, Davis
Zoe Plakias, OSU, Dept. of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics
Christine Sprunger, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Peter Summerlin, Mississippi State University