FACULTY

Biography

John Danahy is a Professional Landscape Architect (OALA Councillor) and an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture. He practices andh as graduate training inUrban Design (Copenhagen) and Urban Planning (MSc. Urb.Reg.Pl., Toronto). He has taught full-time at the U of T since 1981. He teaches design studio and lectures in landscape architecture, architecture, urban planning, urban design and computer science.His primary areas expertise and research are advanced computing for design, community design, urban design, urbanity and social behavioural factors. His practice and research are predicated on the assumption that better access to information permits a democratic and more equitable approach to the solution of complex value-laden environmental problems. As an educator, his mandate is to improve the overall spatial literacy of society. Better information and better ways of operating on data needed to debate design issues are central products of his research. With respect to computational research and creative practice, Professor Danahy’s efforts are focused on the development of information technology as a more powerful medium for intellectual inquiry and creative design of the environment. The projects he undertakes seek to improve design thinking through the addition of computational technology to professional design and public decision-making. The Centre for Landscape Research (CLR), the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI), and the Integrated Centre for Design Visualization and Manufacturing at the University of Waterloo and Laval (ICVDM) are the primary academic settings for his current work. Professional application of techniques pioneered in research are most often transferred into practice via the National Capital Commission, the City of Toronto and community organizations such as the Friends of Fort York and Citizens for the Old Town.

Keywords
Advanced computing for design, community design, urban design