April Economides is a healthy communities strategist and cross-sector connector who helps innovate and lead sustainable design projects – from multimodal streets and public spaces to new programs and partnerships – connecting design innovation with community, culture, and economic strategy. She holds an MBA in Sustainability and specializes in the 'triple bottom line’ – making the business case for complete streets and other sustainable design initiatives, and helping civic leaders understand how people-friendly design not only benefits our health and planet, but also local and regional economies. As a communications strategist, she helps teams integrate strategy, storytelling, and data to build more joyful and resilient cities.
Jim Crow Robbed America of Public Pools. It’s Time to get Them Back.
Disparity amongst who can and can’t swim in America isn’t an accident — and it's deadly. Let’s reclaim the community pool as an essential public space.
Seven Brilliant Projects Keeping New Orleans Safe from Stormwater
20 years post Katrina, New Orleans has shored up and reinvented itself to absorb millions upon millions of gallons of stormwater. Their success holds lessons for landscape architects all over the world.
In a Warmer, Wetter and More Disaster-prone World: “Nature is the Greatest Designer”
A conversation with the American Society of Landscape Architects’ CEO Torey Carter-Conneen and board president Kona Gray.
The Panacea of Outdoor Human Movement
Humans relish in over-complicating things, but the sweetest and healthiest things in life are the simplest.
Post-Helene Reflections on Solastalgia and Community
Solastalgia is an increasingly relevant word that refers to the homesickness one feels when still at home, caused by distress due to environmental change in one’s home environment – for example, after a hurricane or wildfire.