Dr. Marcha Johnson
Dr. Marcha Johnson is a registered landscape architect and ecological restorationist, focused on the ecology of urban waterfronts. An in-house park designer with NYC Parks, she is currently involved with projects enhancing the ecological benefit of waterfront infrastructure in the East River and the restoration of a rocky shore in Pelham Bay Park. She has been an adjunct professor in City College of NY’s school of architecture since 1992, teaching plant identification and ecology for landscape architecture students and an interdisciplinary course on sustainable soil and water. Her doctoral dissertation, supported by a Hudson R. Foundation fellowship, explored opportunities to bridge the communication gap between the scientific community and architecture/developers regarding designing urban waterfronts with ecological value. Dr. Johnson co-edited Coastal Change, Ocean Conservation and Community Resilience, published Springer in 2017, a series of essays and waterfront projects from the east and west coasts, linking the movement to rebuild city waterfronts with the need to conserve the ocean, and to relocate at least portions of coastal communities inland. She was a founding member and served for about 30 years on the executive board of The River Project, an oceanographic field station in Tribeca. Her education includes a BS in biology from the U. of Illinois, a MLA in Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State U. and a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the U. of Pennsylvania.
She is an amateur musician, playing piano in local chamber ensembles, and blues harmonica with a variety of partners. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and cat.
