Keith Christensen
Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning (LAEP)
Department Head for LAEP| Co-Interim Department Head for Technology, Design and Technical Education | Inclusive Planning & Design

Educational Background
Biography
As a scholar in both the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning and the Center for Persons with Disabilities, Keith engages in meaningful scholarship which is both emancipatory and empowering for disadvantaged populations’ integration in community life.
Teaching Interests
The motivation for Keith's student mentoring and teaching mirrors that of his scholarship; to engage in teaching which is both emancipatory and empowering. Keith works across courses to engage in a dialogue with students, setting high expectations, and working collaboratively to facilitate the process of discovery.
Research Interests
Keith's research is at the intersection of landscape architecture and disability studies. This blending is based on understanding disability through a social constructivist perspective as the limiting of opportunities to take part in community life because of physical and social barriers. Keith's research emphasizes inclusive design and planning practices which support participation in community through the removal of environmental barriers to social access, rather than the regulatory aspects of site specific design. As such, his scholarly efforts stress macro-level environmental factors and spatial processes (i.e. suburbanization, transportation patterns, segregate planning strategies, recreation amenities, etc.) which contribute to social disparities among individuals with disabilities and other disadvantaged populations.
Awards
Hero Award, 2016
PlayCore
Merit Award, 2014
American Society of Landscape Architects
Researcher of the Year, 2014
Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
Steven G. King Play Environments Scholarship, 2013
Landscape Architecture Foundation
Charles Lewis Excellence in Research Award, 2012
American Horticultural Therapy Association
ASLA Student Award of Excellence, 2011
American Society of Landscape Architects
Steven G. King Play Environments Scholarship, 2011
Landscape Architecture Foundation
Graduate Student Mentor of the Year, 2011
LAEP Graduate Students
Merit Award, 2010
American Society of Landscape Architects
Publications | Abstracts
- Eisenberg, Y., Shanley, J., Zivarts, A., Chamberlain, B., Christensen, K., Froehlich, J., Abrishami, M., (2024). At the Intersection of Disability Justice, Pedestrian Safety, and Health. Transportation Review Board
- Christensen, K.M, Scholarly Production Among Recently Tenured Landscape Architecture Faculty: A Longitudinal Study. Proceedings of CELA Annual Conference
- Christensen, K., Michael, S.E, (2014). Assessing Landscape Architecture Faculty Scholarship. Landscape, City, and Community; 2014 Proceedings of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture
- Christensen, K., (2014). The Impact of Rural Community Environments on the Health-Related Behaviors of Individuals with Disabilities. Landscape, City, and Community; 2014 Proceedings of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture
- Christensen, K., (2013). The Relationship between Poverty, Community Land Use, and Older Adults’ Opportunities for Social Integration. . 2013 Proceedings of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture
- Christensen, K., (2011). The Other Olmstead; Socially Equitable Community Planning.. Urban Nature; 2011 Proceedings of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture
- Christensen, K., (2011). The Relationship between Poverty, Community Land Use, and Older Adults’ Opportunities for Social Integration.. Urban Nature; 2011 Proceedings of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
- Christensen, K., (2011). Social Inclusion: Words on Play; A treatise on its value by leading play scholars.. PlayCore, Inc.
- Christensen, K., (2009). Features of an Inclusive Play Environment: The Third Teacher, 79 Ways You Can Use Design to Transform Teaching & Learning. . OWP/P Architects, VS Furniture, Bruce Mau Design
Publications | Book Chapters
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Chen, S., Sleipness, O., Christensen, K.M, Yang, B., Park, K., Knowles, R., Wang, H., (2024). Exploring Associations between Social Interaction and Urban Park Attributes: Design Guideline for Both Overall and Separate Park Quality Enhancement. . Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, 145:104714, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104714.
- Christensen, K.M, Michael, S.E, Sleipness, O.R, Snider, J., Scholarly Production Among Recently Tenured Landscape Architecture Faculty: A Longitudinal Study. Landscape Research Record
- Chen, S., Sleipness, O., Xu, Y., Park, K., Christensen, K., (2020). A systematic review of alternative protocols for evaluating non-spatial dimensions of urban parks. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 53, 126718.
- Park, K., Christensen, K., Lee, D., (2020). Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in behavior mapping: A case study of neighborhood parks. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 52, 126693.
- Christensen, K., Michael, S.E, Sleipness, O., (2019). Revisiting Scholarly Productivity Among Recently Tenured Landscape Architecture Faculty. Landscape Research Record, 8, 15-24.
- Chen, S., Sleipness, O., Christensen, K., Feldon, D., Xu, Y., (2019). Environmental Justice and Park Quality in an Intermountain West Gateway Community: Assessing the Spatial Autocorrelation. Landscape Ecology, 34:10, 2323-2335. doi: 10.1007/s10980-019-00891-y
- Sharifi, M., Christensen, K., Chen, A., Song, Z., (2019). Exploring effects of environment density on heterogeneous populations' level of service perceptions. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 124, 115–127. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2019.03.007
- Sleipness, O., Christensen, K., Chen, S., (2018). Research Methods within the MLA: Implications for Scholarly Inquiry in Landscape Architecture. Landscape Research Record, 7:1, 42-47.
- Gaire, N., Song, Z., Christensen, K., Sharifi, M.S, Chen, A., (2018). Exit choice behavior of pedestrians involving individuals with disabilities during building evacuations. Transportation Research Record, 2672, 22-29. doi: 10.1177/0361198118756875
- Christensen, K., Reyes, L., (2017). Creating Outdoor Play Environments to Support Social Interactions of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder; a Scoping Study. Landscape Research Record, 5, 128-140.
- Brady, A., Christensen, K., Holt, J.M, (2017). The Changing View of Physical Recreation for People with Disabilities in the USA: A More Inclusive Perspective?. The Review of Disability Studies, 13:2, 3-17.
- Manley, M., Kim, Y., Christensen, K., Chen, A., (2016). Airport Emergency Evacuation Planning: An Agent-based Simulation Study of Dirty Bomb Scenarios. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics: Systems, 46:10, 1390-1403. doi: 10.1109/TSMC.2015.2497213
- Sharifi, M.S, Daniel, S., Christensen, K., Chen, A., (2016). Time headway modeling and capacity analysis of pedestrian facilities involving individuals with disabilities. Transportation Research Record, 16:2553, 41-51. doi: 10.3141/2553-05
- Christensen, K., Knight, K., (2016). The Role Environmental Context Plays in Adults with Mobility Disabilities’ Physical Activity. The Review of Disability Studies, 12:1, 4-20.
- Sharifi, M.S, Stuart, D., Christensen, K., Chen, A., Kim, Y., Chen, Y., (2015). Analysis of walking speeds involving individuals with disabilities in different indoor walking environments. Journal of Urban Planning and Development , doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000288
- Sharifi, M.S, Stuart, D., Christensen, K., Chen, A., (2015). Traffic Flow Characteristics of Heterogeneous Pedestrian Stream Involving Individuals with Disabilities. Transportation Research Record, 15:2537, 111-125. doi: 10.3141/2537-13
- Cloward Drown, K., Christensen, K., (2014). Dramatic Play Affordances of Natural and Manufactured Outdoor Settings for Preschool-Aged Children. Children, Youth and Environments, 24:2, 53-77.
- Christensen, K., Michael, S.E, (2014). Quantifying Scholarly Production among Recently Tenured Landscape Architecture Faculty. Landscape Research Record, 2, 31-39.
- Christensen, K., Byrne, B., (2014). Recognizing the Importance of the Built Environment in Individuals with Disabilities’ Community Integration: A Review of State’s Olmstead Plans.. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 25:3, 186-195. doi: 1044207313493009
- Jansuwan, S., Christensen, K., Chen, A., (2013). Assessing the transportation needs of low-mobility individuals: Case study of a small urban community in Utah. ASCE Urban Planning and Development, 139:2, 104-114. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000142
- Christensen, K., Holt, J.M, Wilson, J.F, (2013). The Relationship between Outdoor Recreation and Depression among Older Adults.. World Leisure Journal, 55:1, 72-82.
- Holt, J.M, Christensen, K., (2013). Utahns’ Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Disability and Health Journal, 6:1, 52-62.
- Jeongin, K., Kim, Y.S, Kim, B., Christensen, K., (2012). A Comparative Study of Evacuation Strategies for People with Disabilities in High-rise Building Evacuation. Expert Systems with Applications, 40:2013, 408-417.
- Holt, J.M, Christensen, K., (2012). Utahns’ Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Disability and Health Journal
- Wilson, J.F, Christensen, K., (2012). The Relationship between Outdoor Recreation and Depression among Individuals with Disabilities.. The Journal of Leisure Research, 44:4, 486-506.
- Manley, M., Kim, Y.S, Christensen, K., Chen, A., (2011). Modeling Emergency Evacuation of Individuals with Disabilities in a Densely Populated Airport. Transportation Research Record, 2206, 36-48.
- Christensen, K., (2011). The Effect of the Built Environment on the Evacuation of Individuals with Disabilities; an Investigation Involving Microsimulation Modeling. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 28:2, 118-128.
- Wilson, J.F, Christensen, K., (2011). The Relationship between Gardening and Depression among Individuals with Disabilities. Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture, 21:2, 29-41.
- Christensen, K., Holt, J.M, Wilson, J.F, (2010). Effects of Perceived Neighborhood Characteristics and Use of Community Facilities on the Physical Activity of Adults with and without Disabilities. Preventing Chronic Disease; Public Health Research, Practice, and Policy, 7:5
- Christensen, K., (2009). Socially Equitable Community Planning; including individuals with disabilities in the democratic association of place. Review of Disability Studies, 5:3, 49-52.
- Christensen, K., Sasaki, Y., (2008). Agent-Based Emergency Evacuation Simulation with Individuals with Disabilities in the Population. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 11:3
- Christensen, K., Holt, J.M, Blair, M.E, (2007). The Built Environment, Evacuations, and Individuals with Disabilities: a guiding framework for disaster policy and preparation. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 17:4, 249-254.
- Christensen, K., Jeon, T.K, (2006). Creating Inclusive Outdoor Play Environments; Designing for Ability Rather than Disability. The Journal of Eyewitness in Special Education, 17:4, 48- 55.
- Christensen, K., Holt, J.M, Collins, S.D, Phillips, C.N, (2006). The Relationship Between the Design of the Built Environment and the Ability to Egress of Individuals with Disabilities. Review of Disability Studies, 2:3, 24-34.
Professional Journal
- Christensen, K., (2012). Comprehensive Inclusive Play Spaces!. California Parks & Recreation , 68:2, 60-62. *
Public or Trade Journal
- Christensen, K., Morgan, J., (2003). When Child’s Play is Anything But; to help children with disabilities, design by types of activities, not types of equipment. NRPA, 38:4, 50- 53.
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Technical Reports
Research Reports
- Christensen, K., (2015). Inclusive Emergency Management Planning. Rocky Mountain ADA Center *
- Christensen, K., (2012). ADA Needs Assessment for Design/Build Professionals.. Rocky Mountain ADA Center
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Other
Magazine/Trade Publications
- Hamarstrom, J., Christensen, K., (2014). A Great Place to Play in Nature? . The Field: American Society of Landscape Architects *
- Christensen, K., (2010). me2; 7 Principles of Inclusive Playground Design. . PlayCore, Inc.
Newsletter
- Christensen, K., Salmi, P., (2007). The Impact of Building Design on Evacuation of Persons with Disabilities. Impact
Other
- Christensen, K., (2012). Comprehensive Inclusive Play Spaces!. California Association for the Education of Young Children *
- Christensen, K., (2008). EveryBODY Plays!. *
- Christensen, K., (2008). Inclusive Play; universal design for all.
- Christensen, K., Morgan, J., (2004). EHS/HS Inclusive Outdoor Learning Environments; an introductory guide. *
- Christensen, K., (2004). Inclusive Outdoor Learning Environments; an introductory guide. *
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.