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Larry Gorenflo

Professor of Landscape Architecture, Geography, and African Studies
Portrait of Larry Gorenfo

Larry Gorenflo is a professor of landscape architecture, geography, and African Studies, and serves as the faculty-in-charge of the Environmental Inquiry minor.

Gorenflo is internationally recognized for his research that reveals opportunities for integrative conservation efforts, due to his research that identifies the co-occurrence of important linguistic or cultural conservation areas with key global biodiversity hot spots. He seeks to address the concern that as we approach the end of the second decade of the 21st century, our planet is losing natural and cultural heritage at rates virtually unknown in its past. In the face of such challenges, designed spaces are absolutely essential to maintaining the natural and human diversity on Earth. Gorenflo’s work explicitly addresses the problem of creating such spaces through examining apparent links between cultural and biological diversity in places that claim high levels of both.

  • Education
    • B.A. in Anthropology from The Pennsylvania State University in 1979 (with Highest Distinction)
    • M.A. in Anthropology from The University of Michigan in 1981
    • Ph.D. in Geography from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1985
  • Courses Taught

    Larry Gorenflo teaches both methodological topics and applied courses. The former includes LARCH 311/321, the studio-seminar course on landscape systems that involves introducing geographic information system technology and basic concepts from landscape ecology and planning to problems in landscape architecture. Applied courses consist of depth studios, where he focuses on conservation planning and urban design with an ecological emphasis. At present, Gorenflo is involved in a multi-year depth studio that focuses on urban design in Baltimore; begun with Professor Barry Kew, now at the University of Cincinnati, this course collaborates with the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (a National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research project), the Baltimore Office of Sustainability, and the non-profit organization Parks and People. He also teaches seminars on conceptual topics, including cultural ecology and water use for people with nature—in general keeping with the integration of designed human environments with their natural surroundings.

    Beginning in 2010, Gorenflo joined Brian Orland in offering a triad of courses—a depth studio, seminar, and colloquium—in the context of a service-learning environment in south-central Tanzania. Based at Udzungwa Mountains National Park, this education abroad opportunity integrates students within a multi-year community design research effort that he now co-directs with Carter Hunt, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. The aim of that research is to identify design solutions that help villages near the park meet their needs without compromising the remarkable biodiversity that characterizes the reserve. Summer activities vary, depending on the research requirements of a particular season, and involve roughly 12 students from different departments who engage in fieldwork in addition to classroom and studio work.

  • Honors + Awards

    2016

    • Eleanor R. Stuckman Chair in Design, Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University.

    2014

    • Stuckman Professorship of Innovative Design, Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University.
  • Exhibitions + Productions

    2013

    • Gorenflo, L.J., B. Orland, and M. Kambi. Household Resource Demands in the Vicinity of Udzungwa Mountains National Park: Preliminary Implications for Human Pressure on Biodiversity Conservation. Paper presented at the Ninth Scientific Conference of the Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, Tanzania.
    • Gorenflo, L.J. Exploring the Co-occurrence of Linguistic and Biological Diversity in Tanzania. Paper presented at the Ninth Scientific Conference of the Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, Tanzania.
    • Gorenflo, L.J. Linguistic Diversity in the Biodiversity Hotspots and (especially) High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas. Paper presented at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Cambridge, England.
    • Gorenflo, L.J. The Human Dimensions of High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas: Changing Conditions, Emerging Threats, and Conservation Opportunities. Paper presented at the Tenth World Wilderness Congress, Salamanca, Spain.
    • Romaine, S., and L.J. Gorenflo. Linguistic Diversity in the Context of Natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Paper presented at the conference “Balancing Untouched Nature with Local Cultures: How to Manage Inhabited Natural Sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List,” Cleremont-Ferrand, France.

    2011

    • Gorenflo, L.J. The Human Context of Protected Areas in Tanzania and Challenges under Changing Climate. Paper presented at the Eighth Scientific Conference of the Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, Tanzania.
    • Gorenflo, L.J., and B. Orland. Human Resource Demand and Biodiversity Conservation at Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania: Challenges and Opportunities through Community Design. Paper presented at the Eighth Scientific Conference of the Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, Tanzania.

    2008

    • Gorenflo, L.J., S. Romaine, R.A. Mittermeier, K. Walker, and C.G. Mittermeier. Linguistic diversity in the high biodiversity hotspots and wilderness. Invited paper presented at the National Geographic Enduring Voices Symposium “Global Mapping for Languages, Cultures and Biodiversity,” National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, 21–22 February.
    • Gorenflo, L.J., Linking Conservation and Development: Implications for Human Health and Biodiversity. Invited paper (closing plenary) presented at cohab2008 “Second International Conference on Health and Biodiversity,” Galway, Ireland, 25–28 February.
    • Gorenflo, L.J., Environmental Impact Analysis: Integrating Landscape Ecology to Address Ecosystem Services and Human Health. Invited paper presented at cohab2008 “Second International Conference on Health and Biodiversity,” Galway, Ireland, 25–28 February.
    • Gorenflo, L.J., S. Romaine, R.A. Mittermeier, K. Walker, and C.G. Mittermeier. Linguistic diversity in the high biodiversity hotspots and wilderness. Invited paper presented at the American Museum of Natural History Symposium “Sustaining Cultural and Biological Diversity in a Rapidly Changing World: Lessons for Global Policy.” 2–5 April.
    • Gorenflo, L.J. Linking Freshwater Conservation and Development. Invited paper presented at the National Council on Science and the Environment “Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World,” Washington, D.C., 8–10 December.
    • Gorenflo, L.J., Future Impacts of Water Demand in Regions of High Biodiversity. Invited paper presented at the National Council on Science and the Environment “Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World,” Washington, D.C., 8–10 December.
  • Publications + Presentations

    SELECTED BOOKS/BOOK CHAPTERS

    2020

    • Gorenflo, L.J., and Sanders, W.T.  Prehispanic Settlement Patterns in the Temascalapa Region, Mexico.Occasional Papers in Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University (forthcoming).
    • Parsons, J.R., and Gorenflo, L.J. Why is Aztec II Black-on-Orange Pottery so Scarce in the Zumpango Region? A Regional Perspective from the Basin of Mexico on Tula’s Collapse and its Aftermath. In A. Martinez, L. Martos, and R. Cobean (eds.) Homenaje a Alba Guadalupe Mastache Flores. Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Anthropología e Historia (forthcoming).

    2017

    • Gorenflo, L.J., and Garraty, C.P. Aztec Regional Settlement History and Chronology. In Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs, edited by D.L. Nichols and E. Rodríguez-Alegría, pp. 77–91. New York: Oxford University Press.

    2016

    • Gorenflo, L.J. Beyond Protected Areas: Defining a New Geography for Biodiversity Conservation. In Tropical Conservation: Perspectives on Global and Local Priorities, edited by A.A. Aguirre and R. Sukumar, pp. 7–28. New York: Oxford University Press

    2014

    • Gorenflo, L.J., Romaine, S., Musinsky, S., Denil, M., and Mittermeier, R.A. Linguistic Diversity in High Biodiversity Regions. Arlington, VA: Conservation International.

    2012

    • Gorenflo, L.J. Human Health in the Biodiversity Hotspots: Applications of Geographic Information System Technology and Implications for Conservation. In A. Aguirre, R.S. Ostfeld, and P. Dascak, (eds.), Conservation Medicine: Applied Cases of Ecological Health, pp. 505–520. New York: Oxford University Press.

    2011

    • Cincotta, R. and Gorenflo, L.J., eds. Human Population. Its Influences on Biodiversity. Berlin: Springer.
    • Cincotta, R., and Gorenflo, L.J. Introduction: Influence of Human Population on Biological Diversity. In R. Cincotta and L.J. Gorenflo (eds.), Human Population. Its Influences on Biodiversity, pp. 1-9. Ecological Studies, Vol. 214. Berlin: Springer.
    • Gorenflo, L.J. Human Demography, Land Use, and Conservation in the Apache Highlands Ecoregion, US-Mexico Borderlands.  In R. Cincotta and L.J. Gorenflo (eds.), Human Population. Its Influences on Biodiversity, pp. 153–178. Ecological Studies, Vol. 214. Berlin: Springer.
    • Gorenflo, L.J., Corson, C., Chomitz, K., Harper, G., Honzák, M., and Özler, B. Exploring the Relationship between People and Deforestation in Madagascar.  In R. Cincotta and L.J. Gorenflo (eds.), Human Population. Its Influences on Biodiversity, pp. 197–221. Ecological Studies, Vol. 214. Berlin: Springer.

    2008

    • Parsons, J.R., and Gorenflo, L.J. The Patterning of Settlement. In J.R. Parsons (ed.) Prehispanic Settlement Patterns in the Northwestern Valley of Mexico: The Zumpango Region, pp. 61–99. Memoir 45, The University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, Ann Arbor.
    • Smith, M.L., Farrell, T.A., and Gorenflo, L.J. Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation in the Face of Climate Change. In R.A. Mittermeier, C.G. Mittermeier, and M. Totten (eds.), Climate for Life, pp. 223–231. Mexico City: CEMEX.

    2007

    • Gorenflo, L.J., and Sanders, W.T. Archaeological Settlement Pattern Data from the Cuautitlan, Temascalapa, and Teotihuacan Regions, Mexico.Occasional Papers in Anthropology, Number 30, Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University.
    • Sanders, W.T., and Gorenflo, L.J. Prehispanic Settlement Patterns in the Cuautitlan Region, Mexico.Occasional Papers in Anthropology, Number 29, Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University.
    • Gorenflo, L.J., and Brandon, K. Living in the Gaps: The Human Dimensions of Expanding the Global Protected Area System. Arlington, VA: Center for Applied Biodiversity Science.

    2002

    • Gorenflo, L.J. The Evaluation of Human Population in Conservation Planning: An Example from the Sonoran Desert Ecoregion. Publications for Capacity Building, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA.

    SELECTED JOURNAL ARTICLES

    2016

    • Gorenflo, L.J., and Warner, D.B. Integrating Biodiversity Conservation and Water Development: In Search of Long-term Solutions. WIREs Water 3:301–311.

    2015

    • Gorenflo, L.J. Compilation and Analysis of Precolumbian Settlement Data in the Basin of Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 26:197–212.
    • Fowler, W.R., Gorenflo, L.J., and Robertson, I.G. Special Section: Taking Stock of Basin of Mexico Archaeology in the Early Twenty-First Century. Introduction. Ancient Mesoamerica 26:371–373.
    • Fowler, W.R., Robertson, I.G., and Gorenflo, L.J. Special Section: Taking Stock of Basin of Mexico Archaeology in the Early Twenty-First Century. Introduction. Ancient Mesoamerica 26:127–133.

    2013

    • McLung de Tapia, E., Tapia-McLung, R., and  Gorenflo, L.J. Biodiversity and Landscape Development in the Teotihuacan Valley, Basin of Mexico. Lessons from Eco history for Modern Society. Journal of Cultural Symbiosis Research 8:185–192.

    2012

    • Gorenflo, L.J., Romaine, S., Mittermeier, R.A., and Walker, K. Co-occurrence of Linguistic and Biological Diversity in Biodiversity Hotspots and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 109(21):8032–8037.

    2006

    • Gorenflo, L.J., and Brandon, K. Key Human Dimensions of Gaps in Global Biodiversity Conservation. BioScience 56:723–731. [paper was the focus of the editorial in the same issue].

    2005

    • Gorenflo, L.J., and Brandon, K. Agricultural Capacity and Conservation in Forested Portions of Biodiversity Hotspots and Wilderness Areas. Ambio 34:199–204.
  • Service + Affiliations