FREDERICK STEINER
Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Co-Executive Director of the McHarg Center, Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Scholar at the Penn Institute for Urban Research
Frederick R. "Fritz" Steiner is one of the most prominent voices in American regional planning. Having spent over four decades in academia, currently as the Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Steiner has made major contributions to the fields of Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture. A prolific writer, his ideas have made a substantial impact on our built environment. Early in his career, his research influenced several Farm Bills, most notably the one in 1994 which included the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). He has received many accolades as an educator and theoretician, including appointments as a Fullbright-Hays scholar at Wageningen University, in the Netherlands, and a Rome Prize Fellow in Historic Preservation at the American Academy in Rome. One of his major contributions was aiding in the establishment of the Sustainable SITES Initiative, a program providing a comprehensive rating system for sustainable land development and management.
Steiner knowledge of the history of US planning and landscape architecture is expansive. Our conversation with Fritz was wide ranging, covering the issues facing rural regions, policy decisions that have shaped the American landscape, and his recent book Megaregions and America’s Future (2022) - coauthored with Ming Zhang and Robert Yaro. Few people hold as much wisdom and experience as Dean Steiner in the realm of rural and regional planning, and it is a topic he holds dear to his heart. We are grateful for his perspective on rural futures and we hope you will be too.
For more on his recent book, we encourage you to listen to an October 2022 podcast Steiner, Zhang, and Yaro contributed to here.
Frederick "Fritz" Steiner
Your writing and research has influenced the development of the Farm Bill and the Conservation Reserve Program, what have you learned about the role of planning in shaping domestic policy?
Planning has played an important, but sometimes intermittent role, in shaping U.S. domestic policy for rural areas. It is essential to understand the history of federal policy when proposing new policies. There have been at least four periods when the federal government was especially active in policies related to rural regions.
The first was spearheaded by Thomas Jefferson, before and during his presidency. Famously pro-agrarian, Jefferson was responsible for the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (also 1784 and 1785). This ordinance established the checkerboard system for settlement of the land between Ohio and Minnesota. The Jeffersonian grid was subsequently employed by additional territories as the United States grew West (and was also adapted for Canada’s western settlement). Jefferson has a complicated legacy , mostly negative, regarding race but was responsible for prohibiting slavery in the Old Northwest Territory. Later, when he was president, Jefferson was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase, significantly increasing the size of the United States. Jefferson and his Secretary of Treasury, Albert Gallatin, worked on the planning and development of canals and roads.
The second period occurred during the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. Over a few months in 1862, the Homestead Act (May 20), the Pacific Railway Act (July 1), and the Morrill Land-Grant College Act (July 2) were enacted. The Homestead Act established the method for settling lands based on farming 160 acres. The Pacific Railway Act established the transcontinental railway. The Land-Grant College Act provided lands for each state to develop a college dedicated to education in agriculture and the mechanical arts (what today we call engineering). Its sponsor, Justin Morrill, would later establish a second land-grant act in 1890 for the education of Black students in the Southern states. Of course, the lands provided for homesteads, railroads, and colleges had been forcefully taken from Native Americans.
Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal was the third. In response to the Great Depression, the New Deal was intended to put people to work. Ambitious rural electrification, resettlement, regional planning, and irrigation projects were initiated. The Soil Conservation Service (today, the Natural Resources Conservation Service) was established in 1933 to combat soil erosion. Conservation Districts were established across the United States to plan with farmers and ranchers the best techniques to prevent erosion.
The Environmental Decade (roughly 1965 to 1975) is the fourth period of intense activity. Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon oversaw laws promoting clean air and clean water; protecting scenic rivers, wilderness areas, and endangered species; advancing environmental protection; and valuing heritage and history. These laws have had many consequences for rural areas. Lady Bird Johnson is one of the unsung heroes of this era.
Between all four periods and since the most recent, planning has continued but it was advanced especially during these times. I suppose a lesson is: be prepared with planning ideas when the opportunity opens up at the federal level.
Newfields New Town Conceptual Land-Use Plan (1972), an early project that influenced Steiner in his home-state of Ohio.
You've made significant contributions to rural and urban planning efforts throughout your career. What considerations are unique to rural planning?
Although I believe understanding biophysical processes should be fundamental to both urban planning and rural planning, it is clearly inescapable in rural places. One cannot begin to plan or design in rural areas without an understanding of climate, geology, hydrology, soils, plants, and animals. A knowledge of landscape ecology is essential. An understanding of agricultural economics and rural sociology is also crucial as is knowledge about mining, forestry, and fishing in many rural places.
In your recent book, 'Mega Regions and America's Future' with Robert Yaro and Ming Zhang, you focus on regional solutions regarding Transportation and Climate Mitigation, how do these mechanisms play out equitably across rural landscapes.
Let’s begin with understanding that rural areas are an integral part of megaregions. Megaregions are the phenomenon of metropolitan regions growing together. In the United States, Europe, and Asia, this is where most of the population and economic growth is occurring. In the United States, such growth occurs in the form of suburban sprawl which consumes the countryside and destroys agricultural systems and small towns. Suburban sprawl has been facilitated by the Interstate Highway System. One potential benefit of megaregional planning is high-speed rail. High-speed rail will likely not encourage sprawl and stimulate denser nodes instead. Megaregional planning can benefit rural environments and economies too. The megaregional scale enables better planning of water systems and climate reserves (a response to climate change). Climate reserves will infuse funds for conservation easements into rural communities. Precedents for such actions include New York City’s water supply planning in the Hudson River Valley, the New Jersey Pinelands Conservation Reserve, and the Brandywine Valley Conservancy. Equity can be addressed, in part, by asking: who suffers and who benefits from the planning recommendations?
Steiner published Megaregions and America’s Future with Robert Yaro and Ming Zhang in 2022
You mentioned land grant universities as one of the key institutional groups working in rural spaces. Why do you think they’ve had success and how do you see them adapting to continue work in these areas?
Land-grant universities are organized around a three-prong approach: teaching, research, and extension. Landscape architecture and community planning programs at land-grant schools generally have considerable experience in rural areas through teaching and research. Some also have extension connections. Land-grant universities house extensive extension activities throughout the states where they are located. They are well-established and credible. A weakness of the land-grants is many are beholden to commodity organizations for funding and tend to be culturally conservative. A reimagining is necessary building on traditional strengths but taking on the issues that challenge 21st century rural America. In spite of its foundation in the taking of Indigenous peoples’ lands, the land-grant system has a good track record for inclusion. These schools were not like their mostly private elite predecessors. They opened their doors to a wider spectrum of people in terms of economic backgrounds, sex, and (thanks to Senator Morrill) race.
What role do professional organizations like APA and ASLA play in addressing the future of rural environments and communities?
APA and ASLA have roles to play in addressing the future of rural environments and communities, principally through their divisions. Specially, APA has a Rural and Small Town Division and ASLA has its Landscape/Land Use Practice Network. APA and ASLA would benefit from working together in this area as well as with related organizations like the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
It is important for APA and ASLA to understand the histories of agencies like the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S Forest Service (USFS), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. At one time NPS and the USFS were the biggest employers of the landscape architects with significant influence on rural regions. Returning to those levels of employment should become a goal for ASLA.
The proposed Newfields New Town site (1971) on a farm near Dayton, Ohio. (Image taken by Steiner)
What does your ideal future for the rural countryside look like?
What does the rural future look like? Well, Aldo Leopold observed that every farm is a portrait of the farmer. Although Leopold is better known for his advocacy of land ethics, he also advocated land aesthetics. Of course, aesthetics are a reflection of ethics. Maybe my favorite Leopard quote is: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” My ideal rural future is one where the integrity, stability, and beauty of biotic, including human, communities are preserved.
A sketch done by Steiner as an instructor during a field trip with Penn Weitzman MLA students in 1983 - French Creek, Pennsylvania
