Kate Orff of SCAPE

Is it possible to work at a systems-wide level, recognize how deeply interconnected our world is, and still avoid being paralyzed by its complexity? 

In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Kate Orff, founding principal of SCAPE and the first landscape architect to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.

Kate explains why parks, greenways, coastlines, and living ecosystems should be treated as essential urban infrastructure. Drawing on work in Memphis, Jacksonville, Atlanta, New Orleans, and New York, she explores the power of connected landscapes to cool cities, protect communities, and bring people together. She also shares how cities can move beyond climate “doom and gloom” by imagining the future they want and building toward it step by step.

Closer is a conversation hosted by Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace about the strategies that make cities more social—and why that is the smartest investment in the urban toolkit.