Kenneth J. Kokroko

Kenneth J. Kokroko is a landscape architect with unique experience leading a community-based planning and design process for park, open space and neighborhood planning projects. His research background in anthropology, environmental science and community development brings a fresh, holistic perspective to his design approach.  

Through his work in community-based projects, Kenneth became passionate about meaningfully connecting people with the built environment to improve social and ecological outcomes. His multidisciplinary training and experience collaborating with community partners from diverse backgrounds have also informed his approach to implementing equitable and inclusive engagement, planning and design strategies for public open space development.  

As a staunch advocate for racial and environmental justice in design, Kenneth’s approach embodies a critique of historic design practices, and a vital redefinition of what design success means in a community context.

Courses

• LAR 201 Design Studio I
• LAR 301 Design Studio III
• LAR 302 Design Studio IV
• LAR 401 Design Studio V
• LAR 611 Design Studio IV
• LAR 612 Design Studio V
• LAR 460/560 Professional Practice

Select Publications & Creative Scholarship

• Kokroko, K. J. (2025). Inclusive Community Engagement for Equitable Development of Vacant Land in Underserved Communities: Lessons from Detroit's Joe Louis Greenway. In R. Zhu & G. Newman (Eds.), Vacant Land Regeneration: Novel Strategies for Maximizing Local Impact. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003628064 
• Zuniga-Teran, A. A., Kokroko, K. J., Radonic, L., Hovis, M., Brown, A., Gaxiola, I. Sandoval, F., Bryson, M., Aguilar-Murrieta, C., Rodriguez-Ponce, O. A., Baldwin, B., Gupta, N., Cortes, I., Barron-Gafford, G. A. (2025). Beyond native plants: Aligning Greening Programs with Disadvantaged Communities’ Landscape Needs for More Equitable Green Infrastructure Planning. Geoforum, 166(104393), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2025.104393
• Kokroko, K. J., Leipold, W., & Hovis, M. (2024). Applying a Pedagogy of Interdisciplinary and Cross-cultural Collaboration as Socio-ecological Practice in Landscape Architecture Education. Socio-Ecological Practice Research, 6, 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-023-00175-5  
• Spanning Boundaries Service-learning Project Video. (2025).Short documentary of community-engaged teaching.
  Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ib_6nhiyCc 
• Southwest Urban Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) Interdisciplinary Design Challenge. Founder and organizer.
  Webpage Link: https://sw-ifl.asu.edu/sw-ifl-interdisciplinary-design-challenge 

Upcoming Publications

• Kokroko, K. J., Hall, C. (Accepted). Reflections on Applying Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Cross-cultural Exchange, and Community Engagement in Studio-based Learning. Landscape Journal.
• Kokroko, K. J., Hovis, M., Zuniga-Teran, A. A., Radonic, A., Gupta, N., Gaxiola, I. Bryson, M., Sandoval, F., Cortes, L. I., Aguilar-Murrieta, C., Rodriguez-Ponce, O. A., Baldwin, B., Barron-Gafford, G. A. (Accepted). The Dream Garden Game: Integrating Gamification and Playful Design to Support Public Participation in Urban Greening Policymaking. Journal of Participatory Research Methods. 
• Kokroko, K. J. (In review). Design Competitions for Climate Resilience: Reflections from the Southwest Urban Integrated Field Laboratory Interdisciplinary Design Challenge. Landscape Research Record.