BS, 2005, Korea University; MA, 2007, Kyung Hee University; PhD in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, 2012, University of California, Berkeley

Yekang Ko is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture where she teaches advanced planning and design studio, design for climate action, and landscape planning and analysis. Her research focuses on sustainable energy landscapes, green infrastructure, and physical planning and design for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Her teaching and professional projects are based on community service-learning and outreach, collaborating with governments, non-profits, professionals, and educators locally and internationally. She is currently directing the undergraduate (BLA) program and the Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Hub of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). She is also the co-founder of the Landscape for Humanity (L4H) Lab, which supports social and environmental justice through design research and education. In L4H, she is a project lead for the Opportunity Village Project funded by the UO Resilience Initiative and UO Foundation.  

Her research, teaching, and community engagement were recognized with the 2020 CELA Excellence in Research Award, the 2019 Town and Gown Sustainability Award, the 2018 Sustainability Award for Excellence in Teaching Honorable Mention, and the 2018 EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge (1st place). Find out her story in the Oregon Quarterly Summer 2018. 

Recent Teaching Examples

LA 440/540 Landscape Planning and Analysis (Spring 2020) - Planning for a Green New Deal: A Transect Approach for Oregon Energy Landscapes

LA 410/510 Design for Climate Action (Winter 2020) - Climate Action Recommendations for the City of Silverton

LA 494/549 Studio (Fall 2019) - Planning for Home: A Landscape Approach for Resilient Transitional Housing

LA 459/559 Sustainable Energy Landscapes (Winter 2019) - Opportunity Village Eugene Project

Selected Publications

Pevzner, N., Ko,.Y., and Dimond, K. 2021. Power Player. Landscape Architecture Magazine, June 2021 

Ko, Y. and Parker, C. 2020. Landscape Architecture Tackles Homelessness and Shelter in the Pandemic, ASLA The Field

Ko, Y., Barrett, B.F.D., Copping, A.E., Sharifi, A., Yarime, M., and Wang, X. 2019. Energy Transitions Towards Low-Carbon Resilience: Evaluation of Disaster-Triggered Local and Regional Cases. Sustainability 11, 6801. Open Access

A.W. Foss and Ko, Y. 2019. Barriers and opportunities for climate change education: the case of Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas. The Journal of Environmental Education, 50:145-159

Cease, B., Kim, H., Kim, D., Ko, Y., and Cole, C. 2019. Barriers and incentives for sustainable urban development: An analysis of the adoption of LEED-ND projects. Journal of Environmental Management 244: 304-312.

Ko, Y. 2018. Trees and vegetation for residential energy conservation: A critical review for evidence-based urban greening in North America, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 34: 318-335

Ko, Y, Jang, K., and Radke, J.D. 2017. Toward a solar city: Trade-offs between on-site solar energy potential and vehicle energy consumption in San Francisco, California, International Journal of Sustainable Transportation 11(6): 460-470.

Ko, Y., Roman, L.A., McPherson, E.G., and Lee, J. 2016. Does tree planting pay us back? Lessons from Sacramento, CA. Arborist News. June 2016: 50-54.

Adil, A. M. and Ko, Y.  2016. Socio-technical evolution of Decentralized Energy Systems: A critical review and implications for urban planning and policy, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 57: 1025–1037.

Lee, J., Ko, Y., and McPherson, E.G. 2016. The feasibility of remotely sensed data to estimate urban tree dimensions and biomass, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 16: 208-220.

Ko, Y, Lee, J., McPherson, E.G., and Roman, L.A. 2015. Long-term monitoring of Sacramento Shade program trees: Tree survival, growth and energy-saving performance, Landscape and Urban Planning 143:183–191.

Ko, Y, Lee, J., McPherson, E.G., and Roman, L.A.  2015. Factors affecting long-term mortality for residential shade trees: Evidence from Sacramento, CA, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 14: 500–507.

Ko, Y. and Radke, J.D. 2014. The effect of urban forms on residential cooling energy use in Sacramento, California. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 41(4): 573 – 593.

Ko. Y. 2014.The effect of urban trees on residential solar energy potential. Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture 42(1): 41-49.

Ko, Y. 2013. Urban form and residential energy use: A review of design principles and research findings. Journal of Planning Literature 28(4): 327-351.

Yoon, J. and Ko, Y. 2013. STS student learning model: An effective approach to identifying environmental problems and solutions. The International Journal of Science in Society 4(2): 133-147.

Ko, Y., Schubert, D.K., and Hester, R.T. 2011. A conflict of greens: Green development versus habitat preservation—the case of Incheon, South Korea. Environment 53(3): 3- 17. 

Pevzner, N., Ko,.Y., and Dimond, K. 2021. Power Player. Landscape Architecture Magazine, June 2021