Elizabeth Brabec, Director
Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
Culture and heritage, and how they affect our perceptions of land and nature are central to my research. Currently my research focuses on the role of heritage in identifying our place in the world, a critically important understanding given the tremendous forces of migration and displacement that are facing us due to armed conflict and the slower onset of climate change. I study the role of land, our connection to it and how we organize our communities within it, particularly in the realm of urban agriculture and food systems. Cultural landscapes and the heritage embodied within them, landscapes produced by the interaction between humans and nature, are key to sustainable development practices. Since different cultures have very different ways of shaping their communities and understanding nature, I work cross-culturally with communities in the United States and in locations around the world including resent projects in Canada, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belize, and the Bahamas. Understanding other cultures illuminates our own, and understanding indigenous and traditional lifeways can often lead to the reemergence of sustainable practices.
Before joining the University of Massachusetts as a Professor and Department Head, I served as Professor and Department Head in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at Utah State University and as an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment. With a Master in Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph, Canada, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland, I founded and managed the landscape planning firm, Land Ethics, Inc. for 15 years until I turned to academia.
For access to my research publications, please go to http://works.bepress.com/elizabeth_brabec/
Emeritus Director
Elizabeth Chilton, 2009 to 2015. Currently Chancellor, Washington State University Pullman
The Center’s Steering Committee
The Center is guided by an interdisciplinary committee of faculty, who’s work intersects with the role of heritage in contemporary society in a wide variety of disciplines.