About me

Hello! I am Keunhyun (Keun) Park, a researcher and teacher of urban nature design and planning. I am an Assistant Professor of Urban Forestry and a faculty lead of under_lab at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Forest Resources Management. I am also an Adjunct Professor at Utah State University (USU) in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. With degrees in landscape architecture, urban planning, and design, my research explores how urban nature shapes cities and how cities shape urban nature. Ultimately, I envision a future where cities are healthier, more just, and more resilient through transformative urban nature planning and design.

Primary research agendas include:

  • Technology-based behavioural research in urban nature (e.g., drone, sensor, VR/AR): Existing tools for monitoring public space uses (e.g., urban parks, greenways, forests, streets, plazas) suffer from limited reliability and cost-efficiency. My research shows that a more efficient and reliable tool could lead to better-informed design and decision-making.
  • Sustainable urban design and its behavioural outcomes: Smart growth (compact, mixed-use, walkable, and environment-friendly community design) can solve societal issues that sprawl developments have generated, such as public health issues, social isolation, job-housing mismatch, and the destruction of ecological systems. My research examines the effectiveness of smart growth design and policies (particularly, natural elements) on people’s quality of life, including health and travel outcomes.   
  • Environmental justice and accessibility in urban nature: Creating conditions for equal access to urban nature (e.g., street trees, urban parks of various sizes, regional and national parks) is an essential objective for healthy, just, and resilient cities. My research relates access to urban nature (through different modes of transportation) to communities’ socio-economic status and aims to provide tools to achieve “green justice.”

For more information about my research, please visit my Google Scholar profile and follow me on LinkedIn.