Landscape Architecture Faculty Receives National ASLA Merit Award for Creative Regionalism
The landscape is never just scenery. It is culture, environment, ecology, and identity made visible. In Creative Regionalism, Associate Professor of Practice of Landscape Architecture David Hopman argues that the places we inhabit should do more than function: they should tell the evolving story of who we are.
That vision has now earned an important recognition, as the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) awarded the book a prestigious Merit Award, a distinguished professional distinction.
For Hopman, the award is especially meaningful because it affirms one of the book's goals: bridging the divide between professional practice and academic research.
"The ASLA Merit Award is a rare recognition for a peer-reviewed, single-author book," he said, "and it signals that this effort to connect the practitioner and professor worlds succeeded."
Produced and published by George Thompson Books and the Center for the Study of Place, and distributed by the University of Virginia Press, Creative Regionalism explores how landscape architects, planners, and designers can create places rooted in local culture, ecology, and human experience while remaining innovative and globally relevant.
The book presents regionalism as a creative, cosmopolitan, and critical framework for environmental design. Drawing from 150 years of regionalist thought, Hopman combines historical scholarship, philosophical inquiry, interviews, literature reviews, and reflection with compelling photographs and written descriptions of 20th- and 21st-century projects from around the world.
Together, these examples demonstrate how environmental psychology, cultural values, personal creativity, and the poetics of the natural environment shape the experience of where we live, work, and play.
Portland Keller Fountain Park. Photo by Hopman-2008
"Creative Regionalism is intended for thoughtful practitioners of landscape architecture, advanced students, urban designers, architects, planners, and others interested in exploring the purpose and meaning of 'landscape', buildings, and how people experience them," Hopman emphasized.
A central theme of the book is the role of design in helping regions adapt to accelerating cultural, environmental, and ecological changes. By embracing critical regionalism, Hopman argues that designers can create landscapes that are contextual, legible, nuanced, and responsive to both local heritage and future needs.
Lily Yeh House Mural. Photo by Hopman-2006
Additionally, Hopman's interest in the subject has been shaped by decades of practice, teaching, and international experience.
"Regionalism and places are indispensable vessels for developing and reinforcing the identity of an area," he said. "An identity that encourages local inhabitants' appropriation of a region, leading to increased happiness and well-being."
Victoria BC. Photo by Hopman-2008
That perspective has been informed not only by scholarship, but also by lived experience. Hopman points to places such as Bilbao, Spain, where he lived as a child, as well as Stockholm and Vancouver, as cities that demonstrate how regions can evolve while preserving a strong sense of self. Whether reinventing after disruption, curating centuries of heritage, or adopting the best global ideas to form new expressions, these cities have deeply shaped his thinking about placemaking.
Chihuly glass sculpture. Photo by Hopman
The book has already earned praise from some of the most respected scholars in design and planning. In the foreword, Frederick R. "Fritz" Steiner, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design, writes that Hopman "seeks to renew the aesthetics of landscape design through critical regionalism" and shows how regionally based designs can improve people's lives.
Daniel Nadenicek, former Dean of the University of Georgia's College of Environment and Design, describes it as "the most insightful treatise on the study and use of landscape theory in print today."
The ASLA recognition highlights not only the academic impact of Creative Regionalism but also the broader applicability of Hopman's work for students, practitioners, and communities seeking to design places with deeper meaning and resilience.
As environmental and cultural challenges continue to reshape cities and regions worldwide, Hopman's award-winning book offers a timely reminder that the most successful landscapes honor both place and possibility.
To view the full book information page from the publisher, click here. You can also purchase the book from the University of Virginia Press.