This lecture features Anne Whiston Spirn’s remarkable work at the intersection of urban design, ecology, and social justice. She shares her insights on what it means for a city to be both ecologically robust and socially equitable, and how these principles can be put into practice. Drawing on four decades of research and teaching, Spirn demonstrates how collaborative, action-based approaches—working with communities in real places—can generate meaningful change. Her initiatives, including Philadelphia’s groundbreaking “green” infrastructure project, showcase how urban design can address environmental challenges while promoting social equity and educational reform.

Anne Whiston Spirn is the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning at MIT. The American Planning Association named her first book, The Granite Garden: Urban Nature and Human Design (1984), as one of the 100 most important books of the 20th century. Other books include The Language of Landscape (1998), Daring to Look (2008), and The Eye is a Door (2014). Her current book-in-progress is The Buried River: Restoring Nature, Rebuilding Community. 

Since 1987, she has directed the West Philadelphia Landscape Project, an action research program whose goal is to restore nature and rebuild community through strategic design, planning, and education programs (www.wplp.net). Spirn is the recipient of Japan’s 2001 International Cosmos Prize for “contributions to the harmonious coexistence of nature and mankind,” IFLA’s Geoffrey Jellicoe Award, and the 2018 National Design Award for “Design Mind.” Her homepage is a gateway to her work and activities: www.annewhistonspirn.com.