UTA associate professor elected as fellow of American Society of Landscape Architects

Diane Jones Allen, director of the Landscape Architecture program in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs at The University of Arlington, has been elected to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Council of Fellows.

Election to the Council of Fellows is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and is based on their works, leadership, management, knowledge and service.

Allen, an associate professor, is one of 22 fellows in this year’s class.

Vistasp Karbhari, University of Texas at Arlington president, said Allen’s ASLA election to fellow marks a career milestone and demonstrates her impact on the field.

“I am pleased that Dr. Allen’s scholarship and leadership in the profession is being recognized by her elevation to the rank of fellow by the ASLA,” Karbhari said. “Dr. Allen’s research around transit deserts and social justice as well as sustainability are shaping the future of resilient design practices, and already her work is helping mold the future of the DFW Metroplex as we grow to megacity levels. Through her work and that of her students, UTA continues to positively impact the communities we serve.”

Nominees must be full members of the American Society of Landscape Architects, or ALSA, and in good standing for at least 10 years. In addition, they must be recommended for the Council of Fellows by the Executive Committee of their local chapter, the ASLA Executive Committee or the Executive Committee of the Council of Fellows.

CAPPA Dean Adrian Parr said Allen’s work in post-Katrina New Orleans is inspiring and continues to shape how communities recover from natural disasters.

“That research has had a tremendous impact, not just in New Orleans but globally, as we continue to consider the impact of natural disasters on communities both in the stages of recovery and in the future,” Parr said. “This is a tremendous honor for Diane and our college.”

Allen said the honor is especially sweet because it comes from within her own industry.

“To be honored by your peers is humbling,” Allen said. “I look forward to continuing the great research that UTA, my academic colleagues and I have started in the landscape architecture area, and feel very fortunate to be at an institution that supports and is a leader in the study and work of environmental and social/cultural sustainability and resiliency.”

In 2017, Allen was named to a national panel to make public-policy recommendations incorporating resilient design to better cope with climate change events such as recent natural disasters.

She wrote a book, “Lost in the Transit Desert: Race, Transit Access, and Suburban Form,” in 2017, calling for solutions to reversing transit deserts that exist in some of the nation’s urban centers.

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