Shawn Landry
is an Associate in Research Faculty and Interim Director of the Florida Center for Community Design and Research in the School of Architecture and Community Design at the University of South Florida. Landry studies the intersections between the social, built and natural urban environment using information technology to promote informed decisions about community development and resource management.
Landry is a founder and investigator for the WaterAtlas.org, CommunityAtlas.org and PlantAtlas.org planning informatics applications. Designed to support sustainable development, these websites provide public access to scientific and educational information, including: water resource data; social, physical and environmental conditions of neighborhoods; and the spatial distribution and ecological characteristics of plants. Landry and his colleagues maintain and license these technologies for use by organizations worldwide.
Landry has a background in plant ecology, spatial sciences (i.e. GIS, GPS, and remote sensing), rapid field mapping techniques, and e-government technologies. He and his team of research staff and students assist communities with modeling and mapping of the urban environment through a combination of technology transfer and research. His latest effort focuses on a spatial and ecological analysis of Tampa’s tree canopy and the development of a strategy for urban forest sustainability.
Landry earned a Master of Science in Botany and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems at USF. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Environmental Science and Geography at USF. His dissertation will focus on the social and environmental factors influencing spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the urban forest.