Chingwen Cheng

Chingwen Cheng began her role as director of the Stuckeman School on July 1, 2023. Previously the program head and associate professor of landscape architecture, urban design, and environmental design at the Design School at Arizona State University, Cheng is a climate justice design educator and advocate for climate actions through co-designing nature-based solutions with communities.

A recipient of grants from the National Science Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, and others, Cheng has received more than half a million dollars in funding for her research from 2013-2023. She was twice named Landscape Architecture Foundation Case Study Investigator to document landscape performances in sustainability outcomes. Cheng founded and directed the Hydro-GI Lab, focusing on the evaluation of both design process and outcomes of nature-based solutions for climate justice design. Her studies include evaluation of social-ecological landscape performance and investigation of sustainable and resilient urban water systems design through hydrological modeling and field experiments, as well as surveys and participatory engagement. In addition, Cheng integrated theories in social vulnerability and environmental justice to create the “Climate Justicescape” assessment framework, which identifies priorities for green infrastructure investment in communities.

Cheng has collaborated across disciplines to assess the state of knowledge in green infrastructure and stormwater control measures, and to determine the sustainability outcomes and ecosystem services provided by landscapes and outdoor environments toward urban resilience. Over the last decade, she has published 19 peer-reviewed journal articles and nine book chapters, including pieces in high-impact journals such as Landscape and Urban Planning, Environmental Management, Urban Climate, Sustainability, Ecosphere, Frontiers in Water, and others.