greenspace design institute

 photo Alissa Salmore

Like many rural and urbanizing areas in the West, Utah faces development pressure that threatens open space, diminishing accompanying benefits such as functioning ecosystems, public health and cultural heritage. To help meet this environmental challenge, The Swaner Green Space Institute was established in 2003. The Institute is an endowed unit within the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at Utah State University made possible with a leadership gift from Dr. Paula Margets Swaner-McCreary and Sumner Swaner.

Green Space Design refers to the identification of community assets, cultural, environmental, agricultural, and recreational resources- that could be enhanced through strategic planning for both development and open space investment. Through the generation and dissemination of academic research, The Green Space Institute supports the planning and implementation of green space strategies within both urban and urbanizing landscapes.

 The director of the Greenspace Design Institute is Dr. Carlos Licon - Swaner Professor
With funding from the GDI and LT and JT DEE Foundation, graduate students in LAEP can obtain funding for work on their thesis.