Sara Hadavi

Sara Hadavi joined the Stuckeman School's Department of Landscape Architecture on Aug. 1, 2024 as an assistant professor. She was previously an assistant professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning with the College of Architecture, Planning and Design at Kansas State University where she taught master’s and advanced-level studios from 2019 to 2024.

She previously taught in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Hadavi’s research interest lies in the planning and design of everyday urban landscapes through interdisciplinary work, linking environmental psychology, planning and design to improve neighborhood satisfaction, wellbeing and quality of life in urban environments. Through her teaching and scholarship, she examines urban greening in high-vacancy areas and explores ways to improve equity and quality of life in racially segregated communities. Her recent research efforts have focused on social dimensions of resilient urban food systems including community health and food insecurity.

Hadavi has co-authored several papers in both peer-reviewed and professional journals and has written chapters in two publications: “Handbook of Quality of Life Research: Place and Space Perspectives,” edited by Robert Marans, Noah Webster and Robert Stimson (Elgar Publishing, 2024) and “Handbook of Behavioral and Cognitive Geography,” edited by Daniel R. Montello (Elgar, 2018).

She is the co-chair of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture’s People-Environment Relationships track and she serves on several American Society of Landscape Architects professional practice networks and committees.

• Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
• M.L.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• M.S. in Environmental Design, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
• B.S. in Landscape Engineering, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Invited Book Chapters

• Hadavi, S. (2024). Residential neighborhoods, nearby nature, and quality of life. In Marans, R., Webster, N., & Stimson, R. J. (Eds.). Handbook of Quality of Life Research: Place and Space Perspectives. UK: Elgar Publishing.
• Hadavi, S. and Sullivan, W. C. (2018). Environmental aesthetics. In Montello, D. R. (Ed.). Handbook of Behavioral and Cognitive Geography. UK: Elgar Publishing. pp.307-321.

Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals

• Rigolon, A., Banerjee, D., Gobster, P., Hadavi, S., and Stewart, W. (2021). Transferring vacant lots to private ownership improves care and empowers residents: Evidence from Chicago. Journal of the American Planning Association, 1-15. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/62613
• Hadavi, S., Rigolon, A., Gobster, P. H., and Stewart, W. P. (2021). Resident-led vacant lot greening and crime: Do ownership and visual condition-care matter? Landscape and Urban Planning, 211, 104096. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/62504
• Gobster, P. H., Rigolon, A., Hadavi, S., and Stewart, W. P. (2020). The condition-care scale: A practical approach to monitoring progress in vacant lot stewardship programs. Landscape and Urban Planning, 203, 103885. https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/60442
• Gobster, P. H., Rigolon, A., Hadavi, S., and Stewart, W. P. (2020). Beyond proximity: Extending the “greening hypothesis” in the context of vacant lot stewardship. Landscape and Urban Planning, 197, 103773. https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/jrnl/2020/nrs_2020_gobster_002.pdf
• Gobster, P., Hadavi, S., Rigolon, A., and Stewart, W. (2020). Measuring landscape change, lot by lot: Greening activity in response to a vacant land reuse program. Landscape and Urban Planning 196, 103729. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/59264
• Hadavi, S., Kaplan, R., and Hunter, M.C. (2018). How does perception of nearby nature affect multiple aspects of neighborhood satisfaction and use patterns. Landscape Research 43 (3): 360-379. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2017.1314453
• Hadavi, S. (2017). Direct and indirect effects of the physical aspects of the environment on mental wellbeing. Environment & Behavior 49 (10): 1071-1104. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916516679876
• Hadavi, S. and Kaplan, R. (2016). Neighborhood satisfaction and use patterns: Multidimensionality and two-way relationships. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 19: 110-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.05.012
• Hadavi, S., Kaplan, R., and Hunter, M. C. (2015). Environmental affordances: A practical approach for design of nearby outdoor settings in urban residential areas. Landscape and Urban Planning 134: 19-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.10.001

• Co-chair, CELA People-Environment Relationships Track — 2022-present
• Landscape Research Record Journal Co-Editor — 2022-present
• ASLA Urban Design Professional Practice Network Co-Chair — 2022-present
• ASLA Landscape Architecture Magazine Editorial Advisory Committee member

Stuckeman School’s landscape architecture department expands faculty