Deni Ruggeri is an Associate Professor in the Institute for Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Norway. His research focuses on the social dimensions of landscape and urban design and the promotion and evaluation of bottom-up, participatory redevelopment processes that promote equitable access to landscape resources. The starting point of his work is investigating the impact the landscape plays on people's place identity and attachment. He is also interested in complementing analog methods for assessing livability in urban areas with digital techniques and strategies for participatory co-creation and landscape democratic transformations at all scales, from regions to small communities. Guided by Participatory Action Research principles, Prof. Ruggeri has been an active partner in various professional and research partnerships around online education, landscape-based community redevelopment, urban design, and landscape planning in Italy, Norway, and the United States.
Prof. Ruggeri has authored 25 publications and is a co-editor of "Defining Landscape Democracy. A Path to Spatial Justice" (Glos, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019). Deni Ruggeri's education includes a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and Masters' degrees in Landscape Architecture and City Planning from Cornell University. He has practiced landscape architecture in California and Colorado and has International experience in leading community design and visioning processes and workshops. He serves as the Executive Director of the Environmental Design Research Association, where he has been a Board member and Chair of the Board of Directors in 2018 and on the staff of the LE:NOTRE Institute in the Netherlands. Before joining NMBU, Deni has been a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Oregon and assistant professor at Cornell University. He is currently a lecturer at UC Davis and the University of California, Berkeley.
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