Coastal Change, Ocean Conservation and Resilient Communities

Marcha Johnson, ASLA - Landscape Architect, Ecological Restorationist and Adjunct Professor

Marcha Johnson is a landscape architect for New York City Parks, focused on ecologically rich urban waterfronts. She has specialized in landscapes the interface of urban infrastructure with the ecosystems of estuaries, littoral zones and beaches. An adjunct professor in City College of New York’s Spitzer School of Architecture since 1991, she teaches courses in the landscape architecture and sustainability programs, including Sustainable Soil and Water. She has lectured a regional and international conferences on her work addressing the incorporation of floodplain functions in urban waterfronts, adaptation to sea level rise in the context of conserving living ecosystems of coastal cities and recognizing the ecological benefits of novel, spontaneous plant communities. She is currently working on a phytoremediation demonstration project on Randall’s Island in the East River, as a more sustainable alternative response to dealing with contaminated “historic urban fill” of urban waterfronts than off-site disposal in distant landfills.  Marcha Johnson’s written contributions to this book are her own ideas and opinions, independent of policies of either the City of New York or City College of New York.

She holds a BS in Biology from U. of Illinois, a Masters of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State U. and a PhD in City and Regional Planning from U. of Pennsylvania. 

Amanda Bayley, ASLA – Landscape ArchitectAmanda Bayley is a licensed landscape architect with over 10 years of experience in the field. She is focused on creating designs that are inspired and founded upon a site's role within its natural environment. Her application of ecological principles in a design helps to facilitate ‘magical’ moments in nature -- creating spaces that have an emotional impact on the people who use them. She has worked at several landscape architecture and ecological design firms both private and public. She has a BA in Geography from Hunter College, New York, an MLA from The City College of New York, and a certificate in Sustainability Analytics from the Earth Institute at Columbia University.