About

Ann Forsyth is the Ruth and Frank Stanton Professor of Urban Planning at Harvard Graduate School of Design. She is trained in planning and architecture, with a focus on the social aspects of physical planning and urban development. Her primary research aims to make cities more sustainable and healthy, with current work centered on developing healthier places in a suburbanizing world, emphasizing aging and planned communities. Forsyth has contributed significantly to documenting and assessing innovative high-density planning and design in suburban and metropolitan areas, including issues such as walkability, higher density, affordable housing, social diversity, and ecological balance. Her work also evaluates how the physical environment can improve health, exploring physical activity, food environments, densification processes, and the needs of different age groups. She has translated research on health and environments into practical tools, developing and assessing instruments using GIS, fieldwork, surveys, impact assessments, public participation, and evidence-based guidelines. Additionally, Forsyth actively examines how research informs planning practice, understanding different research forms and their influence on planning processes. Her educational background includes a B.Sc. in architecture from the University of Sydney, an M.A. in urban planning from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from Cornell. At Harvard, she is affiliated with multiple centers and initiatives, including the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, and the Harvard-China Project, among others. She is also a co-leader of the Healthy Places Design Lab and the New Towns Initiative.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Medicine
• Political Science
• Business
• Civil engineering
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Gerontology
• Nursing
• Public relations
• Economic growth
• Engineering
• Data science
• Environmental planning
• Law
• Geography
• Economics
• Environmental resource management

Selected publications

• Aging in place in China: contextualizing perceptions about whether and how to age at home

  Cities & Health · 2026-04-08

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Distinct astrocyte phenotypes aid microglia‐mediated Aβ clearance in immunized Alzheimer's disease patients

  Alzheimer s & Dementia · 2025-12-01

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Recently approved Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapies leverage immunization strategies targeting amyloid-β (Aβ). While most studies focus on microglial responses to these treatments, evidence suggests that sustained immune activity and Aβ clearance drive broader cellular changes. Astrocytes, which accumulate at microglia-targeted Aβ plaques, may play a complementary role in clearance. This study examines how astrocyte phenotypes are altered by Aβ immunization and their contribution to Aβ clearance. METHODS: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics on post-mortem brain tissue from 16 AD patients-10 immunized (9 with AN1792 from the first active Aβ immunotherapy trial, 1 with lecanemab) and 6 non-immunized controls. We identified astrocyte states enriched in immunized brains and analyzed their transcriptomic profiles. Additionally, we mapped astrocyte states localized at microglia-targeted Aβ plaques. RESULTS: A distinct astrocyte population emerged following immunization with both AN1792 and lecanemab, characterized by upregulated CHI3L1 and other reactive astrocyte markers. Spatial analysis revealed these astrocytes preferentially localize at microglia-targeted Aβ plaques post-lecanemab treatment. Ongoing analyses aim to further define astrocyte phenotypes in terms of morphology, protein expression, Aβ uptake, and spatial relationships with Aβ pathology and microglia. CONCLUSION: We identify a unique astrocyte phenotype induced by Aβ immunization in AD, marked by high CHI3L1 expression. This astrocyte state may be driven by microglia at Aβ plaques and contribute to plaque clearance. Our findings highlight distinct astrocyte responses to Aβ immunization, shedding light on their role in therapeutic outcomes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Daring to Stop: Challenging Program-Level Learning Outcome Measurement in Urban Planning Accreditation

  Journal of Planning Education and Research · 2025-01-30 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  In past decades, accreditors have asked planning programs in North America to perform increasingly elaborate assessments of student learning. Most recent is a requirement for directly measuring program-level learning outcomes (PLLOs). I ask, does this measurement improve professional planning education? Do the benefits of such measures outweigh the costs? While it seems sensible to pay attention to what students learn, I argue that directly measuring PLLOs is both burdensome and ineffective. That is, planning programs are being asked to do something that wastes time yet we comply out of fear or inertia. It is time to stop.

  PublisherDOI

• Author Correction: Microglial mechanisms drive amyloid-β clearance in immunized patients with Alzheimer’s disease

  Nature Medicine · 2025-03-28 · 4 citations

  erratumOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Underappreciated mid-sized cities: Policy opportunities and challenges

  Cities · 2025-12-16

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Can mid-sized cities play a greater role in accommodating population growth and if so, under which conditions and what policy settings? Drawing on debates about economic growth and optimal city size as they frame policy preferences, we use census data, policy reports and media, and interviews with policymakers in Australia to examine the opportunities offered by mid-sized metropolitan areas. Such locations have enough services and facilities to be attractive as urban places along with benefits in terms of affordability and an alternative quality of life. Yet they vary in character, from regional centres and small capitals to lifestyle centres and satellite cities. Key areas for policy attention include addressing trade-offs in the transportation/housing connection, lifestyle, employment, and governance. Policies developed for larger urban areas and a narrow range of industrial sectors will need modification to respond to the distinct opportunities and constraints characterizing mid-sized cities. While drawing on the specific Australian case, the paper has wider relevance to locations where residents need to choose between large and expensive cities with economic opportunity and smaller, more affordable locales. There are both equity and efficiency arguments for providing people with greater choices between different-sized urban centres so people can trade-off different economic benefits and lifestyle opportunities. Coordinated ongoing policies that draw on local understanding of opportunities for medium-sized urban centres to grow can assist in expanding these choices. • In Australia, 26 urban areas have populations between 50 thousand and 500 thousand • Housing about 15 % of the population, they are already growing and can grow more • Policies can re-direct a greater share of this growth beyond large metropolitan areas • Countries with fewer geographic constraints, may have wider opportunities for growth in mid-sized cities

  PublisherDOI

• Urban Design and Healthy Suburbs

  2025-12-11

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  In popular perceptions suburbs have a complicated relationship with health. They have been criticized for promoting sedentary lifestyles and social isolation. They have been lauded as providing high quality environments with access to nature. They have been portrayed as enclaves for the wealthy and also as areas where those with few resources and new to a city or country can find affordable housing and clean air (Forsyth 2018; Harris and Mercier 2005; Kirmeyer 1978; Sloane 2006). There is some truth in all these comments, pointing to the diversity of suburbs, their residents, and connections to health promotion. This complexity frames the way that urban designers can understand how to create healthier places.

  PublisherDOI

• The Changing Landscape of Scholarly Publishing and Urban Planning

  Journal of Planning Literature · 2025-03-28 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Publisher consolidation, open access, mega-journals, predatory publishing, and other innovations have changed the scholarly information landscape. This paper asks, what issues are raised for planning by the recent increase in numbers and types of journals? These trends have enabled a complex publishing landscape with proliferating journals, new kinds of peer review, and predatory journals that use fraudulent practices but can be hard to identify. Examining the case of literature reviews for evidence-based practice I argue article quality is more uneven, requiring additional assessment. Education can warn about pitfalls. A new generation Council of Planning Librarians could provide leadership.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Microglial mechanisms drive amyloid-β clearance in immunized patients with Alzheimer’s disease

  Nature Medicine · 2025-03-06 · 91 citations

  articleOpen access

  Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapies utilizing amyloid-β (Aβ) immunization have shown potential in clinical trials. Yet, the mechanisms driving Aβ clearance in the immunized AD brain remain unclear. Here, we use spatial transcriptomics to explore the effects of both active and passive Aβ immunization in the AD brain. We compare actively immunized patients with AD with nonimmunized patients with AD and neurologically healthy controls, identifying distinct microglial states associated with Aβ clearance. Using high-resolution spatial transcriptomics alongside single-cell RNA sequencing, we delve deeper into the transcriptional pathways involved in Aβ removal after lecanemab treatment. We uncover spatially distinct microglial responses that vary by brain region. Our analysis reveals upregulation of the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) and apolipoprotein E (APOE) in microglia across immunization approaches, which correlate positively with antibody responses and Aβ removal. Furthermore, we show that complement signaling in brain myeloid cells contributes to Aβ clearance after immunization. These findings provide new insights into the transcriptional mechanisms orchestrating Aβ removal and shed light on the role of microglia in immune-mediated Aβ clearance. Importantly, our work uncovers potential molecular targets that could enhance Aβ-targeted immunotherapies, offering new avenues for developing more effective therapeutic strategies to combat AD.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Paths to good health in old age: comprehensive approaches

  Journal of Urban Design · 2025-03-04

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Welcome to the New Editorial Group

  Journal of the American Planning Association · 2024-01-02

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• J. Michael Oakes

  29 shared

• Laura Smead

  24 shared

• Emily Salomon

  24 shared

• Kevin J. Krizek

  University of Colorado Boulder

  17 shared

• Daniel A. Rodrı́guez

  University of California, Berkeley

  17 shared

• Kelly J. Clifton

  West Los Angeles College

  16 shared

• Semra Aytur

  University of New Hampshire

  16 shared

• Har Ye Kan

  13 shared

Labs

• Healthy Places Design LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Urban Planning

  Harvard University

  1990

• M.A., Urban Planning

  Harvard University

  1985

• B.A., City and Regional Planning

  University of California, Berkeley

  1980

Awards & honors

• Ann Forsyth is the Ruth and Frank Stanton Professor of Urban…
• Sarah Whiting Accepts 2026 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Exce…