George R. Frantz

George Frantz '80 (M.R.P. '91) has taught planning field workshop classes in communities ranging from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans to Catskill Mountain resort towns. He has an active private practice in land-use planning and design. His primary areas of expertise are in urban design and comprehensive land-use planning and zoning, with particular emphasis on addressing the needs of agriculture and the protection of environmentally sensitive lands. His current research interests include Chinese and American cities and their potential to evolve into more environmentally and socially sustainable communities. He has also studied the impacts of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling on agricultural land resources in northern Pennsylvania. Frantz received his B.S. in landscape architecture and his M.R.P. from Cornell in 1980 and 1991 respectively.

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Classes (Selected)

• CRP 3072/5072 Land Use, Environmental Planning, and Urban Design WorkshopLand Use and Environmental Planning workshop courses focus on the forces and actions that directly affect the physical character, transformation, rehabilitation, and preservation of natural landscapes, cities, and regions. Participants provide technical assistance to communities, and have the opportunity to work with communities in resolving critical planning issues. Topics may include development of land use and natural conservation plans, community redevelopment plans, design and analysis of public spaces, and strategies for making communities more environmentally and economically sustainable.
• CRP 3850/5850 Special Topics in Planning: Environmental Impact Review This course addresses pertinent issues relative to the subject of planning. Topics vary each semester.
• CRP 5076 International Planning and Development Workshop: Contemporary Urban Planning in ShanghaiThe workshop exposes students to the complexity as well as the nuances of planning with poor communities in the Global South. It places a strong emphasis on an engaged model of learning, research and planning practice. An important part of the workshop is building effective working relationships across cultures, disciplinary perspectives and professional orientations. The workshop emphasizes the use of diverse sources of data and information, and effective communication of deliverables. Because the workshop responds to the needs of international collaborators and stakeholders, the substantive focus of the workshop and the deliverables changes from one year to the next. In recent years the workshop has focused on issues related to poverty, water, shelter and participatory planning.

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships (Selected)

• Faculty Fellow-in-Service, Cornell (2011–12)
• New York Upstate Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects Community Achievement Award for the Inlet Valley Archaeological Survey and the creation of Tutelo Park (2005)

Exhibitions and Presentations (Selected)

• "Water Resource Protection in Small Cities and Rural Areas, American Techniques and Lessons for China," International City Infrastructure Management Conference, Hangzhou, PRC (2018)
• "Cultural Resources Protection: A Proactive Approach," American Planning Association Tuesdays at APA webinar series (2010)
• "Land Use, Agriculture and Farmland Protection Strategies," American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Conference, Washington, DC (2010)

Publications (Selected)

• "Life After Service Learning: From a Class project to a New Town Park," Landscape Journal, coauthored with Sherene Baugher, Ph.D. (2011)
• Marcellus Shale Drilling and Agricultural Lands, Finger Lakes Environment and Development Conference, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York (2011)
• "Short-Circuiting Controversy in Cultural Resource Protection in Ithaca, New York," ASLA Landscape-Land Use Planning Newsletter, coauthored with Sherene Baugher, Ph.D. (2009)