Ann Forsyth

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…

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Medicine
• Political Science
• Business
• Civil engineering
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Gerontology
• Nursing
• Public relations

Selected publications

• What Is Aging in Place? Confusions and Contradictions

  Housing Policy Debate · 2020 · 106 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Aging in place is a policy goal for many governments and a personal goal for numerous older people. But what does it mean? Drawing on both scholarly and gray literature, this article outlines seven themes underlying definitions of aging in place. Some are descriptive: never moving, staying put for as long as possible, or remaining in the same vicinity. Two are related to care: staying out of a nursing home or receiving progressively higher levels of care in the same residential care facility wit…

  DOI

• Lessons from planned resettlement and new town experiences for avoiding climate sprawl

  Landscape and Urban Planning · 2020 · 46 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Measuring the Built Environment for Aging in Place: A Review of Neighborhood Audit Tools

  Journal of Planning Literature · 2020 · 39 citations

  What audit tools are available to assess neighborhood suitability for aging in place? Drawing on theories from environmental gerontology, the article outlines physical and social environmental characteristics influencing aging. Eight research audit tools and three community/practitioner tools were identified using a Boolean search strategy. They emphasize walkability and the physical attributes of places. Areas for further development include addressing specific features related to aging, a wide…

  DOI

• Making Communities Age-Friendly: Lessons From Implemented Programs

  Journal of Planning Literature · 2023-03-09 · 27 citations

  article1st author

  A growing number of programs promoted by planners and others have aimed to foster communities that support older people. Do such programs make a substantial difference? Through a scoping review of research evaluating WHO-style age-friendly community initiatives (AFCIs), we investigate what kind of outcomes such initiatives have achieved and factors facilitating or hindering them. Elements affecting implementation varied by geographies. They included external resources (e.g., government support,…

  PublisherDOI

• Climate Change, Aging, and Well-being: How Residential Setting Matters

  Housing Policy Debate · 2022-08-18 · 20 citations

  articleSenior author

  How do older people’s living environments influence their vulnerabilities to climate change? Much has been written about the physiological consequences of climate change for older individuals, particularly the dangers of increased incidence of severe heat. Less is known about how older people’s residential settings moderate their exposure to climate stressors, their particular sensitivities to the effects of climate change, or their capacities to respond to extreme events or adapt to long-term e…

  PublisherDOI

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…

Similar researchers at Harvard University

• Diane Davish-81
• John Mayh-57
• Ali Malkawih-28