[Last Updated:
October 19, 2008]
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ASHWANI VASISHTH
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street. SH 208
Northridge, CA 91330-8259
(323) 462-2884
http://blogs.csun.edu/sustainability
EMPHASIS:
Application of Òan ecosystem approachÓ to
environmental policy, using urban ecology in the design of integrative regional
sustainability-oriented
interventions.
FOCUS:
Urban regional policy and planning, based on smart growth
and green infrastructure principles;
The design and implementation of environmental policies
supporting urban habitat conservation planning, urban forestry, native
vegetation, impervious surface management and heat island mitigation based on
the principles of urban ecology and ecosystem resilience;
Campus sustainability planning based on integrative
approaches to curriculum reorganization, multidisciplinary research, and
stakeholder-based community activism.
Participatory community-based environmentally-oriented
sustainability policy and planning research
EDUCATION:
Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD, 2006)
School of Policy,
Planning and Development, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA:
Regional environmental planning, urban ecosystem management, land use and
community planning, international development. Dissertation: Getting Humans Back Into Nature: A Scale-Hierarchic
Ecosystem Approach To Integrative Ecological Planning.
Master of Science in Architecture Studies (MSc, 1987)
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA: Developmental planning, design of
shelter delivery programs, and the role of institutional evaluation in
designing international development interventions.
Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch., May 1979)
School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India: Community-driven ecological design and self-help housing, role of appropriate technologies in development strategies. Context-sensitive pre-disaster planning and the design and implementation of post-disaster interventions.
ACADEMIC
EXPERIENCE
Assistant
Professor. Department of Urban Studies and Planning. California State
University, Northridge, CA (2005-current): Cities and the Third World;
Growth and Development of Cities; Planning the Multi-ethnic City; Planning for
the Built and Natural Environment; The Planning Idea.
Lecturer. School of Policy, Planning and Development.
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. (1999-2004): Environmental
Issues; Sustainability Planning.
Lecturer. School of Architecture. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (2000-2001): Urban Landscapes and Urban Ecology.
Lecturer. Urban Studies and Planning Program. California State University, Northridge, CA. (1998-2000): Cities of the Third World; International Applications of Land Use and Environmental Management.
Lecturer,
Department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
(1981-1984): Design studios, research into alternative and appropriate
technologies, design theory, ecological architecture.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR RESEARCH PROJECTS:
CSUN Campus
Greening Project. An integrative effort in four parts Ð
the establishment of an Institute for Sustainability to serve as a fulcrum for
inter-disciplinary research linking the University with its region; the
reorganization of various parts of the undergraduate and graduate curriculum to
create a coherent emphasis for sustainability planning and sustainable
development; the initiation of a research-based Òstate of the campusÓ footprint
reporting protocol, intended to integrate students and faculty into the
measurement of ecological impacts; and the creation of a stakeholder group
comprising students, staff and faculty, intended to generate activism-oriented
sustainability projects across the campus. The Institute for Sustainability has been established as a
University-wide entity, both to encourage multidisciplinarity and to promote
broader ownership.
Green Los Angeles. A broad-based coalition of community and environmental
activists and academic researchers involved in participatory, action-oriented,
research projects across Southern California. Involvement includes efforts to design green ordinances for
cities in the Southland, mapping of cumulative pollution impacts to enhance
environmental justice outcomes, and the use of urban ecology interventions to
enhance environmental health conditions.
San Fernando Valley Green Team. A coalition of community and economic
development stakeholders concerned with moving the SF Valley toward
sustainability, working to help the region attain a diverse set of climate
change, carbon footprint, recycling and food planning goals. CSUNÕs recently established Institute
for Sustainability will take the lead in shaping the ecological footprint
analysis for the San Fernando Valley stakeholder group.
California Community Forestry Advisory Committee. An stakeholder committee comprising of
urban forestry activists and academic researchers that works to advise the
California Department of Forestry on community and urban forestry issues.
PUBLICATIONS:
Books:
Vasishth, Ashwani. 2008. Getting Humans Back Into Nature: An Ecosystem
Approach to Integrative Ecological Planning.
Saarbruken, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller.
Articles:
Vasishth, Ashwani. (Under consideration). ÒUrbanizing
Habitat Conservation Planning Using Landscape Ecological Interventions: An
Ecosystem Approach,Ó Landscape and Urban Planning.
Vasishth, Ashwani. 2008. ÒA Scale-Hierarchic
Ecosystem Approach to Integrative Ecological Planning,Ó Progress In
Planning, In Press (October 1, 2008).
Book Chapters:
Vasishth, Ashwani. (Accepted for publication). ÒAn Ecosystem Approach to the Ecological Resurrection of the
Lower Mississippi Delta,Ó in Land Use and Natural Resources: Context of
Disaster Reduction and Sustainability, Anil K. Gupta & Amit Pal &
Pallavee Tyagi (eds.).
Vasishth, Ashwani & David C. Sloane. 2002. ÒReturning to Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach to Understanding the City,Ó pp343-366 in Michael Dear (ed.), 2002, From Chicago to LA: Making Sense of Urban Theory, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Book Reviews:
Vasishth,
Ashwani. (Under
consideration). ÒScaling
Urbanization in International Development: Review of Marcotullio &
McGranahan (eds.), 2007, Scaling Urban Environmental Challenges: From Local
to Global and Back; and Saunier & Meganck, 2007, Dictionary and
Introduction to Global Environmental Governance.Ó Journal of the American Planning Association,
submitted for publication.
Vasishth,
Ashwani. 2008. ÒDownslope Energetics: Review of Odum, 2007, Environment,
Power, and Society for the Twenty-first Century: The Hierarchy of Energy,Ó American Society for Environmental
History, January 9, 2008.
Vasishth, Ashwani. 2006. ÒPerlman & Milder, 2005, Practical Ecology for Planners, Developers, and Citizens.Ó Journal of the American Planning Association, v 72n1 (Winter 2006: 130-131.
Vasishth, Ashwani. 2005. ÒFoltz & Frodeman (eds.), 2004., Rethinking Nature: Essays in Environmental Philosophy.Ó Environmental History, v10n3 (Jul 2005): 545-546.
Conference Presentations:
ÒCSUN Greening Project: Climate
Change-oriented Campus Sustainability,Ó 7th UC/CSU/CCC
Sustainability Conference, July 31-August 3, 2008, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
ÒUrbanizing
Habitat Conservation Using Urban Ecology Landscape Interventions: An Ecosystem
Approach,Ó 4th
Joint AESOP-ACSP Conference, July 6-11, 2008, Chicago, Illinois.
ÒUsing the
Levels-of-Organization Concept to Establish Context and Consequence in Planning
Depictions: The Case of Goods Movement In Southern California.Ó 48th Annual Conference, Association of
the Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) 2007, October 18-21, 2007, Milwaukee,
Hilton Milwaukee City Center
ÒAn Integrative Ecosystem
Approach To A More Sustainable Urban Ecology: Heat Island Mitigation, Urban
Forestry, and Landscape Management Can Reduce the Ecological Footprint of Our
Cities.Ó 47th Annual
Conference, Association of the Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), 9-12
November, 2006, Fort Worth, TX
ÒUsing Urban Forestry in Heat Island Mitigation as a
Case Study for Developing an Ecosystem Approach to Ecological Planning,Ó
Greening XV Conference, 28 January, 2006. Los Angeles, CA.
ÒUsing Process-function Ecology to Urbanize Habitat
Conservation Planning,Ó 2004 Annual Conference of the California Chapter of the
American Planning Association (CCAPA), ÒPlanning for TomorrowÕs Bright Future,Ó
17-20 October, 2004. Palm Springs
CA.
ÒHeat Island Mitigation As Urban Ecology: A
Process-Function View,Ó 2003 Annual Conference of the American Planning
Association (APA), 29-31 March, 2003.
Denver, CO.
ÒUrbanizing Ecology In An Ecosystem Approach to
Regional Planning,Ó 2002 Annual Conference of the International Society for Ecosystem
Health (ISEH), ÒHealthy Ecosystems, Healthy People,Ó
6-11 June, 2002. Washington DC.
ÒScale-hierarchic Ecosystem Ecology as a
Framework for Organizing and Describing Complex Subject Matters.Ó 40th Annual Conference,
Association of the Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), 5-8 November, 1998.
Pasadena, CA.
ÒBringing Process-Function Ecology to
Ecosystem Management: Getting Beyond Organismic Biophilia and Human Land Use.Ó
39th Annual Conference, Association of the Collegiate Schools of Planning
(ACSP), 6-9 November 1997. Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
ÒÔThink Globally, Act LocallyÕ? An
Ecosystem Approach to Scale in Environmental Planning.Ó 2nd ACSP/AESOP Joint
International Congress, 25-28 July 1996. Toronto, Canada.
ÒNew Methods of Community Involvement in Community Health.Ó (with David C. Sloane) 2nd ACSP/AESOP Joint International Congress, 25-28 July 1996. Toronto, Canada.
ÒImplications of Evolution for Planning: Beyond Preservation and Conservation.Ó 37th Annual Conference, Association of the Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), 19-22 October, 1995. Detroit, MI.
ÒEvent, Entity, and Process: Or How Our Conceptions of Ecology and Ecosystems Must Affect Planning for Sustainability.Ó 36th Annual Conference, Association of the Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), 4 November, 1994. Tempe, AZ.
Research Reports:
Sloane, David C. & Ashwani Vasishth. 1996. Building a Healthier Long Beach: Community Health Research Study. Los Angeles, CA: Lusk Research Institute & Community Health Councils, Inc.
Sloane, David C. & Ashwani Vasishth. 1995. The Community and the Police:
Community Impact Teams and the 23rd Street Neighbors. Los Angeles, CA: Lusk
Research Institute.
PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE
Regional Environmental Planner. Southern California Association of Governments, Los Angeles, CA. (1993-1996; 1998-2005).
Design and deliver an integrative regional environmental planning
protocol to direct development in Southern California. Prepare environmental
plans and policies to support SCAGÕs regional transportation planning
activities. Assist in the preparation of Program Environmental Impact Reviews
and Environmental Impact Assessments based on the Regional Comprehensive Plan.
Support the implementation of smart growth-oriented development strategies, and
devise Best Management Practices for environmental resource areas. Design and
assess the effectiveness of strategies to deal with the air quality and
environmental implications of regional transportation planning. Conduct
issue-specific research to support the design, testing and adoption of regional
planning policies. Design and conduct research into the potential of innovative
strategies such as urban heat island mitigation, photo-catalytic reduction of
pollutants, and innovative transportation control measures. Prepare grant
applications and administer projects in support of interdisciplinary,
stakeholder-based research pertaining to regional-scale environmental planning.
Provide support for participatory, multi-agency, cross-scale decision-making
protocols.
Research Assistant. USC, Los Angeles, CA (1992-1996)
Designed and conducted studies in community policing and community health care using participatory research techniques. Implemented multiple stakeholder panels in research conceptualization, data spatialization, and analysis. Designed and conducted research into the history and practice of habitat conservation and the theory of ecosystem ecology.
Consultant. Public Interest Communications, VA. (1988-1992)
Design and implementation of presentations to evoke public support for environmental conservation projects, programs, and policies.
Program Representative. Massachusetts Small Cities Program, Boston, MA. (1988)
Administered and monitored Community Development Block Grants within the Massachusetts Small Cities Program. Assisted communities and cities with grant application process, and provided technical assistance to civic organization working on neighborhood revitalization.
Research Associate. Building Systems Group, MIT , Cambridge, MA (1987-1988)
Conducted evaluation of pilot Facilities Maintenance Management System (FMMS) for preventive maintenance of state-owned facilities. Designed, prepared and presented recommendations and guidelines for state-wide expansion of the FMMS program.
Practicing Architect, Various Firms, New Delhi, India (1979-1984)
Diverse
experience with project design, construction management, research and
photodocumentation of vernacular architecture in India.
MEMBERSHIP
American
Planning Association
American
Society for Environmental History
Ecological
Society of America
Society
for Conservation Biology
REFERENCES
Available
on request