Dr. Yi Luo PLA, ASLA
Departmental Ph.D. Coordinator
Assistant Professor
Office: 432 ARCH
Contact: yi.luo@ufl.edu
Research Specialties / Areas of Focus:
- Sustainability
- Landscape Performance Evaluation
- Sustainability Assessment
- Built Environment Resilience
- Smart Buildings/Cities
- Health
- Microclimate, Heat, and Health
- Therapeutic Landscape
- Walkability
Mission Statement: “My research has been focusing on landscape performance evaluation, which quantifies the post-performance of sustainable landscape projects (range from individual residential property to urban plaza, and city and regional scale), and shows the value of sustainable design practices.”
Personal Biography
Dr. Yi Luo, PLA, ASLA, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Florida. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, a Master of Landscape Architecture from Utah State University, and a PhD in Urban and Regional Science from Texas A&M University.
Yi’s research is centered on improving the intersection of landscape design, sustainability, and human health. Her expertise includes landscape performance evaluation, sustainability assessment, therapeutic landscapes, microclimate/heat, and stormwater management/ low-impact development. Yi’s research has been funded by various agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund.
Before pursuing her PhD, Yi practiced landscape architecture and architecture in the U.S. and China, where she promoted green building and sustainable development in multidisciplinary firms. She is also a licensed landscape architect in the U.S. Since 2016, Yi has been contributing to the profession as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Sigma Lambda Alpha Landscape Architecture Honor Society.
Major Projects
Project 1 – Evaluating the Success of St. Pete Pier Renovation – A Historic City Landmark of St. Petersburg, FL
St. Pete Pier is a 26-acre city park on St. Petersburg’s downtown waterfront. As a historic city landmark, the pier renovation has attracted tremendous attention since its 2012 design competition. Many people are curious about how the Pier performs three years after its opening. Yi and two graduate students, Rui Hu and Haoting Hong, have conducted a comprehensive evaluation to measure the pier’s success using a series of metrics and methods.
This study evaluated most performance using longitudinal comparative analysis, which involved comparing the pier’s pre- and post-performance. Tools like i-Tree, eBird, ArcGIS, Google Street View, Placer.ai, a weather station, and a survey were utilized to capture various aspects of the pier’s impact.
This project was supported by the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and it involved close collaboration with the designers Ken Smith from Ken Smith Workshop, Barbara Wilks from W Architecture & Landscape Architecture, and the City of St. Petersburg. The detailed results can be found at https://www.landscapeperformance.org/case-study-briefs/st-pete-pier
Project 2 – Understanding the Thermal Comfort of Mallory Square, Key West, FL
Mallory Square in Key West, Florida, is a famous destination for the Sunset Celebration, drawing tourists and locals nightly to a vibrant and festive space filled with buskers, performance artists, and vendors selling food, gifts, and art. However, due to its extensive pavement and the lack of shade, it is often uncomfortable to use during the day. The City hired Sasaki to renovate the square. Sasaki collaborated with Yi to understand the factors contributing to how Mallory Square feels today.
Dr. Yi Luo used an All-In-One weather station on July 6 and 7, 2023, to document the Square’s existing microclimate conditions. The data covers four periods: morning, noon, afternoon, and evening at seven on-site and off-site locations. The data and findings will inform Mallory Square’s design renovations. This data and other inventory information also establish a benchmark against which to evaluate post-performance.
More information can be found at the Miami Herald. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/climate-change/article278517619.html
Project 3 – Flip My Florida Yards as Laboratories for Assessing the Ecosystem Services of Florida-Friendly Landscaping™
Landscape architecture is an evidence-based discipline that advocates using scientific evidence from scholarly research to guide decision-making. However, many existing case studies of performance research are large and complex projects such as city parks, natural preserves, and stormwater management facilities. The design strategies applied in these projects can be different from small sites, and their ecosystem service benefits are difficult to translate directly to individual residential properties.
Flip My Florida Yard is a TV program that converts the landscapes of selected Florida homes to environmentally friendly yards. It provides excellent opportunities to measure and document ecosystem service benefits and conduct cost-effectiveness analysis. This study aims to identify ecosystem services attributable to Florida-Friendly landscapes and, using appropriate metrics, compare the pre and post-project conditions for these ecosystems. We have selected several properties from three seasons of FMFY across Florida. Each property is evaluated in the following aspects: microclimate, stormwater runoff, energy, water & maintenance, user satisfaction/ perception, and wildlife.
Project 4 – Landscape Preference: A comparison between coastal and inland communities
Abundant studies have shown that nature and open spaces benefit humans through improved physical and mental health and enhanced social engagement. However, do some settings/ components have better restorative effects than others, and does the restorative effect vary for people living in different environments? Dr. Yi Luo, Prof. Mike Volk, and PhD student Rui Hu conducted a study to test whether some landscape settings and features are more critical to landscape preference and whether living close to the ocean influences residents’ landscape preference.
They surveyed two Florida cities: Port St. Joe (PSJ) and Gainesville. PSJ is located in the Florida Panhandle, with most residents living within one mile of the Gulf of Mexico, while Gainesville is an inland city in north-central Florida. The questionnaire consists of 14 questions about people’s opinions on landscape features, outdoor activities, health-related benefits, etc.
Project Gallery
News
Luo Works to Make Florida Feel Cooler as Temperatures Rise
With scientists calling July the hottest month in earth’s history and warning of warmer temperatures to come, one UF researcher is working to make cities feel less scorching…
Recently Published Papers
- Wu, B., Mu, D., Luo, Y., Xiao, Z., Zhao, J. & Cui, D. (2022). Rural Ecological Problems in China from 2013-2022: A Review of Research Hospots, Geographical Distribution, and Countermeasures. Land 11(8), 1326 https://doi.org/10.3390/land11081326
- Luo, Y., Mendenhall, A., Hempel, C., & Wei, J. (2021). Assessing Baseline Conditions – A Collaborative Effort to Advance Landscape Performance Research. Socio-Ecological Practice Research 3, 115-130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-021-00080-9
- Luo, Y., Volk, M., & Chen, K. (2021). Promoting Goal-Driven Performance Evaluation: A Case Study of An Urban Park in Florida, USA. Landscape Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2021.1882975
Courses Taught at UF
- LAA 3350 Site Design and Planning
- LAA 3420 Land Construction I
- LAA 4358 Senior Independent Project/ Capstone
- LAA 6342 Landscape Architecture Criticism
- LAA 6656 Advanced Landscape Architecture Studio: Health + Landscape Performance
- LAA 4940/4941/6941 Landscape Architecture Internship