People

Samuel DennisSenior Academic Faculty and Administratorhe/him/his

I am a landscape architect and cultural geographer interested in the social dimensions of environmental design at all scales. For over 25 years, my research, teaching, and design practice have centered on understanding and co-creating environments that support human flourishing. For much of my career, I have focused on the educational and neighborhood spaces of young people. More recently, I have been interested in the role of the natural environment in supporting people’s mental health and well-being. In all cases, I practice participatory planning and design, engaging communities in co-designing the places in which they live, work, and play.

Selected Publications

Shin, J., Dennis Jr., S., & Mohammed, H. (2021). Mental health outcome measures in environmental design research: A critical review. Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 14(3), 331-357. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586721999787

Dennis Jr., S., Wells, A., & Kierwa, C. (2017). Natural outdoor classrooms: A national study. Final report to the Dimensions Education Research Foundation. https://dimensionsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/NaturalOutdoorClassrooms_FinalReport_Sept2019.pdf

Dennis Jr., S., Wells, A., & Bishop, C. (2014). A post-occupancy study of nature-based outdoor classrooms in early childhood education. Children, Youth and Environments, 24(2), 35-52. https://doi.org/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.24.2.0035

Dennis Jr., S., Gaulocher, S., Carpiano, R., & Brown, D. (2009). Participatory photo mapping (PPM): Exploring an integrated method for health and place research with young people. Health & Place, 15(2), 466-473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2008.08.004

For a full list of publications, see Dennis’s CV.

A white man with gray hair, glasses, and trimmed beard, smiling wearing a light blue shirt and a dark sweater.

Department

  • Design Studies

Education

  • PhD, Geography, The Pennsylvania State University
  • MS, Geography, The Pennsylvania State University
  • MLA, Landscape Architecture, North Carolina State University
  • BA, Interdisciplinary Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact

Office: 3113 Nancy Nicholas Hall

Email: samuel.dennis@wisc.edu

Websites: