all Richard Forman stories

Barcelona works

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:35:47 -0400

A pioneer in his field, Richard forman has helped forge the basic concepts of landscape ecology, a science that sees the surface of the Earth as a complex mosaic linked by movements of people, animals, water, energy, nutrients, and other elements. It is a vision that goes well beyond urban planning in that, for example, it views cities as embedded in and dependent on natural processes. It also goes beyond traditional ecology in that it includes humans and their needs as very much part of the picture. "If ecological principles only apply to wilderness, then they're not very robust," said Forman, a professor at the Graduate School of Design who also teaches in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Environmental Science and Public Policy Program. Forman recently used his ecological principles to prepare a land-use study for Barcelona, Spain. The study was finished in early 2003, and a Spanish translation, "Mosaico territorial para la region metropolitana de Barcelona" has recently been published. "There are resources out there, places that people need for fresh food, clean water, and recreation. We want those resources within the urban region to improve over the next 10 and 50 years, despite growth and development. In the process, fish and wildlife movement and biodiversity can be enhanced."

Keys to the highway

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:26:59 -0400

Even though they have a massive effect on the natural world, roads have been pretty much ignored by ecologists, who prefer to focus on open areas - the territory between the roads. Nor have engineers and other specialists who design, build, and maintain roads been much concerned with the ecological effects of their creation. Richard Forman, a landscape ecologist at the Graduate School of Design, wondered why there was such a disconnect between these two groups and what could be done to get them talking. He decided that what was needed was a book that would bring together all that was known about roads and their impact on the landscape, but he knew that if such a book was to become the catalyst he hoped it would be, he could not be its sole author.

Roads scholar visits most remote spots

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:12:26 -0400

In the United States there are 4 million miles of public roads, which are used by at least 230 million vehicles. Obviously, these roads have a huge effect on their environments, including aspects of the natural ecology that many people seldom think about. "They impact wildlife movement, biodiversity, vegetation, water quality, sedimentation of streams, and other natural things for miles around," says Richard Forman, Harvard University professor of landscape ecology. Forman ventures into the most remote regions of the United States in order to determine the effects of roads on wild areas. His work began after he was appointed to a committee of the National Research Council charged with studying the future of transportation in the context of a sustainable environment.