Gina Ford: Design as an Act of Optimism

Gina Ford, FASLA, is the cofounder and principal of Agency Landscape + Planning, in Cambridge, MA, a practice dedicated to addressing social equity, cultural vitality and environmental resilience through design excellence, strategic planning and community engagement. A recipient of the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship, Ford is personally committed to the design of public places, and her many honors include awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Planning Association, and the American Institute of Architects.

She will focus on Chicago’s Riverwalk, for which she was the lead designer of the Sasaki team while a principal at that firm. For this project, new land was added along the Chicago River to create a continuously connected, public space that includes aquatic habitats, boating wetlands and fishing piers. An award-winning project, Riverwalk transformed an iconic part of downtown Chicago.

Gina Ford will be in conversation with Agency principal, urban planner Brie Hensold, and they also will discuss new projects in Sarasota, Florida; Indianapolis’ White River; and Boston’s Lawn on D.