Katherine Melcher
Professor
Katherine Melcher teaches classes in community-based design, design and community health, and environmental ethics at the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design. She uses philosophy and aesthetic theory to question and inspire urban design practices, especially participatory design and community-built places.
Prior to joining the University of Georgia, Prof. Melcher was Design Director at Urban Ecology, a nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay Area that specializes in community-based design. She developed participatory processes that engaged diverse communities in the design and creation of their public places including the East Bay Greenway and Oakland schoolyards. Other community-based projects she has worked on include: neighborhood land use and park planning in San Diego, post-tsunami playground construction in Thailand, and community forestry in Togo.
