Addressing Social and Environmental Issues: Kenneth J. Kokroko, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
Five Questions with Kenneth J. Kokroko, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture
“Establishing a positive, collaborative and interactive studio culture is important for developing designers and landscape architects who can work together and think critically to address social and environmental challenges.”
What brought you to CAPLA and the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning?
Ron Stoltz, a CAPLA professor of landscape architecture at the time, first sparked my interest in the college. He visited one of my classes while I was an undergraduate studying anthropology here at the University of Arizona to encourage students to join the Master of Landscape Architecture program. I did just that, and after graduating, was fortunate enough to work in professional practice for an interdisciplinary firm doing community-driven public works and urban design projects in Detroit, Michigan, before returning to teach.
Kenneth J. Kokroko collaborates with a community member to prioritize streetscape improvements.
What is your current research and what most excites you about this work?
Having been trained in applied anthropology before pivoting to landscape architecture and urban design, my research interests have always focused on community-based and participatory methods for solving pressing social and environmental challenges alongside the people facing them. Recently, I have been exploring models of inclusive and collaborative planning and design of urban trail networks, as well as how practitioners can increase access to and equity in public engagement or decision-making processes of trail development. Supporting, engaging with and learning from stakeholders who are often not authentically included in planning or design processes is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.
What are you teaching this semester, and what do you most enjoy about teaching?
As a new faculty member, this will be my first semester teaching at CAPLA, and I couldn’t be more excited to be teaching the Landscape Architecture Design Studio I for Bachelor of Landscape Architecture students. I will also by making guest appearances in some of the advanced MLA studio courses. For me, establishing a positive, collaborative and interactive studio culture is important for developing designers and landscape architects who can work together and think critically to address social and environmental challenges. I’m really looking forward to learning and thriving in that kind of studio environment.
Kenneth J. Kokroko walks a resident through a planning exercise for a proposed bike and pedestrian trail.
Beyond research and teaching, what are your passions?
I’m a self-identifying plant nerd, so one of my biggest hobbies is collecting and caring for cacti, succulents and other specimens that can tolerate our hot and mostly dry climate. I also love to cook and spend time in the kitchen. In fact, I like it so much that preparing meals at my house can be quite a drawn-out event, to the chagrin of my family.
As a former CAPLA student, what advice do you have for new or current CAPLA students—in your studios or otherwise?
Never stop asking questions of others or of yourself. Be unapologetically curious. Be unafraid to not know and zealous in finding out. Critique don’t criticize. And don’t take critiques personally. Be kind. Get to know your classmates, they’ll become lifelong friends. Draw. Read. Be yourself. Take care of yourself.
