Eisenman, Theodore S.

Job Title

Associate Professor, PhD, MLA, MPS

Last Name

Eisenman

First Name

Theodore S.

Discipline

Landscape Architecture
Urban Studies and Planning

Introduction

Professor Eisenman's principal scholarly interest concerns the historical, scientific, cultural, and design bases of urban greening, which he defines as a social practice of organized or semi-organized efforts to introduce, conserve, or maintain outdoor vegetation in urban areas. This research encompasses urban tree planting initiatives (TPIs), urban ecosystem services and disservices, human health and wellbeing links with urban flora, design and planning norms, equity, and governance. It also includes emerging areas of interest: 1.) urban greening in a globalizing world, encompassing international comparative analysis of landscape design and governance norms; and 2.) travelscapes, the spaces people move through on a daily basis that are a prominent way people experience landscapes.

Show all metadata

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 51

Open Access
Review – Greening Berlin: The Co-production of Science, Politics, and Urban Nature, by Jens Lachmund.
(2013) Eisenman, Theodore S.
Open Access
A Watershed Moment in Green Infrastructure
(2005) Eisenman, Theodore S.
Open Access
Street Trees for Bicyclists, Pedestrians, and Vehicle Drivers: A Systematic Multimodal Review
(2021) Eisenman, Theodore S.; Coleman, Alicia F.; LaBombard, Gregory
Multimodal Complete Streets have emerged as a prominent aspiration of urban planning to ensure safe access for all users of streets including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit users. Concurrently, municipal leaders are pursuing ambitious tree planting initiatives. These co-arising trends are potentially good news, as trees are important elements of livable cities and Complete Streets. Yet, street trees may have different health and safety benefits and disbenefits for various circulation modes. To advance a multimodal approach to research and practice, we undertook a systematic literature review with goals to (1) identify the scholarly literature addressing links between street trees, human health, and safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicle drivers; (2) depict the principal disciplines, themes, and conceptual scope of this research; and (3) discuss the implications for urban planning and design practice and research. This review drew upon 13 scholarly databases and yielded 63 relevant articles spanning 15 countries, of which 49 constituted original research. The systematic analysis covers eight research categories. Findings show exponential growth in related scholarship over the past two decades, especially for pedestrians. Journals oriented toward interdisciplinary planning and public health and safety are leading this rise, and benefits far outweigh disbenefits. Yet, there are multimodal tensions especially as it relates to the role of street trees in relationship to drivers and pedestrians. Implications for research and practice are discussed, with an eye towards governance, design, and equity.
Open Access
Reflecting on urban greening at an historic inflection point with Theodore Eisenman
(2025) Eisenman, Theodore S.; Laskey, Allison B.
For a transdisciplinary perspective on urban greening at this particular juncture in history, we spoke with landscape architect and urban planner Theodore S. Eisenman about the contemporary upswell of interest in urban tree planting and related greening initiatives.
Open Access
Beyond 'trees are good': Disservices, management costs, and tradeoffs in urban forestry
(2020) Roman, Lara A.; Conway, Tenley M.; Eisenman, Theodore S.; Koeser, Andrew K.; Barona, Camilo Ordóñez; Locke, Dexter H.; Jenerette, G. Darrel; Östberg, Johan; Vogt, Jess
The provision of ecosystem services is a prominent rationale for urban greening, and there is a prevailing mantra that ‘trees are good’. However, understanding how urban trees contribute to sustainability must also consider disservices. In this perspective article, we discuss recent research on ecosystem disservices of urban trees, including infrastructure conflicts, health and safety impacts, aesthetic issues, and environmentally detrimental consequences, as well as management costs related to ecological disturbances and risk management. We also discuss tradeoffs regarding species selection and local conservation concerns, as well as the central role of human perception in the interpretation of ecosystem services and disservices, particularly the uncritical assertion that ‘everybody loves trees’. Urban forestry decision-making that fails to account for disservices can have unintended negative consequences for communities. Further research is needed regarding life cycle assessments, stakeholder decision-making, return-on-investment, and framings of services and disservices in urban forestry.
Open Access
Art of Land
(2005) Eisenman, Theodore S.
Open Access
Starting an Environmental Nonprofit: An Untapped Opportunity for Landscape Architects
(2004) Eisenman, Theodore S.
Open Access
An integral lens on Patrick Geddes
(2017) Eisenman, Theodore S.; Murray, Tom
Patrick Geddes is a significant figure in the landscape and urban planning canon. In addition to situating cities within a regional context and advancing a socioecological understanding of urbanization, he viewed cities as the principal artifact of, and theater wherein, human culture evolves. This expansive view of cities may be one of the more challenging aspects of Geddes’ legacy to assimilate. Working during a late 19th and early 20th century period when the limitations of modernity were becoming increasingly apparent, much of Geddes’ aspirational thinking can be seen as an effort to create what he described as a “larger modernism.” In this regard, Geddes can be counted amongst those whom we portray as integrative holistic thinkers, people whose worldview draws them toward meaning-making narratives and frameworks that include the many dimensions of the human condition. Today, a new generation of holistic approaches called “metatheories” – and “integral theory” in particular – provides an orienting lens through which to review, assess, and potentially extend the work of Geddes in the 21st century. Towards that goal, this Article first provides an introductory primer to some of Geddes’ noteworthy “thinking machines” as well as integral theory. We then assess correspondence between the two, focusing on Interdisciplinary Holism; Evolution, Development and Complex Systems; Human Agency and Ethics; and Spirituality. A closing discussion addresses prospects for future research, and suggests that the holistic, evolutionary, and generative orientation of our principal subjects may have particular relevance in an anthropogenic biosphere characterized, in part, by significant environmental challenges and the concentration of humans in cities.
Open Access
Review – Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction, by Erle C. Ellis.
(2021) Eisenman, Theodore S.
Open Access
Urban tree survival and stewardship in a state-managed planting initiative: A case study in Holyoke, Massachusetts
(2019) Breger, Benjamin S.; Eisenman, Theodore S.; Kremer, Madison E.; Roman, Lara A.; Martin, Deborah G.; Rogan, John
Stewardship is essential for the survival of trees planted in challenging urban conditions and for reaching canopy cover goals and anticipated benefits. The governance structure of the stewardship network can dictate stewardship efficacy and ultimately, tree survival. While many planting initiatives are managed locally, the stewardship network and survival rates of a state-managed initiative are not commonly addressed in scholarly literature. The Greening the Gateway Cities Program (GGCP) in Massachusetts is planting thousands of trees in post-industrial cities around the state. We carried out a mixed-methods case study of 2014 to 2016 tree planting in Holyoke, a GGCP pilot city, to assess the factors that influence survival. Specifically, we interviewed program stakeholders and coupled that data with field monitoring of trees planted along streets and on commercial and institutional landscapes. A logistic regression model shows that trees stewarded by state foresters were approximately 5.18 times more likely to survive, and trees which were not impacted by a summer 2016 drought were approximately 2.80 times more likely to survive. However, the drought impact was muted for trees stewarded by the state, and species characteristics were not significantly related to survival. Importantly, stewardship and planting site type strongly overlapped, providing insight into links between tree survival and stewardship network. At program launch, local recipients and partners agreed to water newly planted trees. But interviews revealed that tree recipients had neither the time nor staffing to adequately care for their trees. The GGCP intended for the local municipal public works department to assume stewardship responsibility, but the latter was unable and/or unwilling to do so due to a lack of funding and misalignment of goals, leaving stewardship as the state’s responsibility. Dedicated funding and staffing for maintenance is essential for strengthening stewardship networks and improving survival of large-scale urban tree plantings. Additionally, urban tree survival can be more strongly mediated by stewardship actors than some biophysical factors.