Dense Matter: Hard, Tough, and Ferocious
Paula’s engagement with landscape is from a political
perspective and she sees the act of design as agency for change. Her current research on the materiality of landscape includes the introduction of organic life into hostile, human-altered
environments within the context of human experience. Much of her work relates
to the transformation of impervious surfaces such as asphalt, and she investi-
gates urban forests as the discipline’s most effective means to address climate
change while improving the health and wellness of people. Her current research
investigates forestation practices with the development of an experimental
forest on the land-grant university’s Waterman Farm.
Her presentation, Dense Matter: Hard, Tough, and Ferocious, focuses on the
ferociousness of urban hard surfaces, its relation to inequity, & how one
might challenge that.
