Larry Gorenflo

Stuckeman Chair in Design
Professor of Landscape Architecture, Geography, African Studies, and Anthropology

Biological Diversity
Linguistic and Cultural Diversity
Human Ecology
Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems
Conservation
GIS
African Studies
Latin American Studies

432 Stuckeman

Biography

Larry Gorenflo is a professor of landscape architecture, geography, African studies, and anthropology. He serves as the faculty-in-charge of the Environmental Inquiry Minor and is Director of Latin American Studies at Penn State. He holds the Eleanor R. Stuckman Chair in Design in the Stuckeman School.

Gorenflo is internationally recognized for research that identifies co-occurrence between linguistic (cultural) and biological diversity at geographic scales ranging from global to individual localities. His inquiries reveal opportunities for integrative conservation efforts that target both types of diversity. Expanding on this research is a focus on protected area design that seeks to integrate the speakers of Indigenous languages in reserves created primarily to conserve nature. Both biological and cultural diversity currently are disappearing rapidly in the early 21st century. As a second research focus, Dr. Gorenflo examines prehistoric landscapes in the Basin of Mexico, the location of both the pristine state centered at Teotihuacan and the core of the Aztec Empire. His research on prehistoric landscapes emphasizes regional settlement and the human ecology of resident sociocultural systems. In all of his work, Gorenflo employs geographic information system technology and a variety of analytical methods to illuminate the place of humans in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

B.A. in Anthropology from The Pennsylvania State University in 1979 (with Highest Distinction)
M.A. in Anthropology from The University of Michigan in 1981
Ph.D. in Geography from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1985

Larry Gorenflo teaches both methodological topics and applied courses. The former includes LARCH 311/321, the studio-seminar course on landscape systems that involves introducing geographic information system technology and basic concepts from landscape ecology and planning to problems in landscape architecture. Applied courses consist of depth studios, where he focuses on conservation planning and urban design with an ecological emphasis. At present, Gorenflo is involved in a multi-year depth studio that focuses on urban design in Baltimore; begun with Professor Barry Kew, now at the University of Cincinnati, this course collaborates with the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (a National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research project), the Baltimore Office of Sustainability, and the non-profit organization Parks and People. He also teaches seminars on conceptual topics, including cultural ecology and water use for people with nature—in general keeping with the integration of designed human environments with their natural surroundings. Beginning in 2010, Gorenflo joined Brian Orland in offering a triad of courses—a depth studio, seminar, and colloquium—in the context of a service-learning environment in south-central Tanzania. Based at Udzungwa Mountains National Park, this education abroad opportunity integrates students within a multi-year community design research effort that he now co-directs with Carter Hunt, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. The aim of that research is to identify design solutions that help villages near the park meet their needs without compromising the remarkable biodiversity that characterizes the reserve. Summer activities vary, depending on the research requirements of a particular season, and involve roughly 12 students from different departments who engage in fieldwork in addition to classroom and studio work.

2016

Eleanor R. Stuckman Chair in Design, Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University.

2014

Stuckman Professorship of Innovative Design, Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, The Pennsylvania State University.

Film/Video

The brief animated film "Can saving languages save nature?" created by BBC and the Open University (UK) draws heavily on research by Dr. Gorenflo that examines the geographic relationship and possible functional connections between biological and linguistic diversity. Click image to open video.

Selected Books/Book Chapters

Gorenflo, L.J., Robertson, Ian G., and Nichols, Deborah L. (2023). The Basin of Mexico: Revisiting Prehispanic Population. In Ancient Mesoamerican Population History: Demography, Social Complexity, and Change, edited by Arlen F. Chase, Diane Z. Chase, and Adrian S.Z. Chase. University of Arizona Press (in press).
Gorenflo, L.J. (2023). Modern Regional Demographics and Land Use in the Basin of Mexico: Insights from, and Impacts on, the Archaeological Record. In The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization, edited by C. Cordova and C. Morehart, pp. 150-171. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Parsons, J.R., and Gorenflo, L.J. (2023). Why is Aztec II Black-on-Orange Pottery so Scarce in the Zumpango Region? A Regional Perspective from the Basin of Mexico on Tula’s Collapse and its Aftermath. In The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization, edited by C. Cordova and C. Morehart, pp. 89-117. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Gorenflo, L.J., and Sanders, W.T. (2022). Prehispanic Settlement Patterns in the Temascalapa Region, Mexico. Occasional Papers in Anthropology, Number 31, Department of Anthropology. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University.
Gorenflo, L.J. (2016). Beyond Protected Areas: Defining a New Geography for Biodiversity Conservation. In Tropical Conservation. Perspectives on Global and Local Priorities, edited by A.A. Aguirre and R. Sukumar, pp. 7-28. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gorenflo, L.J., Romaine, S., Musinsky, S., Denil, M., and Mittermeier, R.A. (2014). Linguistic Diversity in High Biodiversity Regions. Arlington, VA: Conservation International.
Cincotta, R. and Gorenflo, L.J., eds. (2011). Human Population. Its Influences on Biodiversity. Berlin: Springer.

Selected Journal Articles

Wang, X., Wu, Hong, Gorenflo, L.J., and Wu, Chengzhao. (2023) The Cultural and Political Ecology of Hangzhou City and West Lake. Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes (in press).
Chase, D.Z., Lobo, J, Feinman, G.M., Carballo, D.M., Chase, A.F., Chase, A.S.Z., Hutson, S.R., Ossa, A., Canuto, M., Stanton, T.W., Gorenflo, L.J., Pool, C.A., Arroyo, B., Liendo Stuardo, R., and Nichols, D.L. (2023). Mesoamerican Urbanism Revisited: Environmental Change, Adaptation, Resilience, Persistence, and Collapse. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120: e2211558120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2211558120.
Malley, G.S., Gorenflo, L.J. (2023). Shifts in the Conflict Coexistence Continuum: Exploring Social-Ecological Determinants of Human-Elephant Interactions. PLoS ONE18(3): e0274155. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274155
Gorenflo, L.J., Nichols, Deborah L., Speth, John D., Serra Puchi, Mari Carmen, and Matos, Ramiro (2023). Jeffrey R. Parsons (9 October 1939-19 March 2021): Una Vida en Arqueología Regional … y Más. Arqueología 63:172-176
Parsons, J.R., and Gorenflo, L.J. (2023). ¿Por qué la Cerámica Azteca II Negro Sobre Naranja es Escasa en la Región de Zumpango? Una Perspectiva Regional desde la Cuenca de México Sobre el Colapso de Tula y sus Repercusiones. Arqueología 63:109-127.
Chaplin-Kramer, R., Neugarten, R.A., Sharp, R.P., Collins, P.M., Polasky, S., Hole, D., Schuster, R., Strimas-Mackey, M., Mulligan, M., Brandon, C., Diaz, S., Fluitt-Chouinard, E., Gorenflo, L.J. Johnson, J. ..., Watson, R.A. (2022). Global Critical Natural Assets. Nature Ecology and Evolution https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01934-5
Gorenflo, L.J., Nichols, Deborah L., Speth, John D., Serra Puchi, Mari Carmen, and Matos, Ramiro (2022). Jeffrey R. Parsons (9 October 1939-19 March 2021): A Regional Perspective … and Beyond. Ancient Mesoamerica 33:1-22.
Gorenflo, L.J., and Romaine, S. (2021). Linguistic Diversity and Conservation Opportunities at UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Conservation Biology 35:1426-1436.
Romaine, S., and Gorenflo, L.J. (2020). Special Opportunities for Conserving Cultural and Biological Diversity: The Co-occurrence of Indigenous Languages and UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites. Parks Stewardship Forum 36(2):297-306.
Wang, X., Gorenflo, L.J., Hong, Wu, and Chengzhao, Wu. (2020). The Evolution Mechanism of Social-ecological System Based on Cultural and Political Ecology – A Case Study of Hangzhou and West Lake. Landscape Architecture Journal 27:77-82 (in Chinese).
Hunt, C.A., and Gorenflo, L.J. (2019). Tourism Development in a Biodiversity Hotspot. Annals of Tourism Research 76:320-322.
Romaine, S., and Gorenflo, L.J. (2017). Linguistic Diversity of UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites: Bridging the Gap between Nature and Culture. Biodiversity and Conservation 26:1973-1988.
Gorenflo, L.J., and Warner, D.B. (2016). Integrating Biodiversity Conservation and Water Development: In Search of Long-term Solutions. WIREs Water 3:303-311.
Gorenflo, L.J. (2015). Compilation and Analysis of Precolumbian Settlement Data in the Basin of Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 26:197-212.
Gorenflo, L.J., Romaine, S., Mittermeier, R.A., and Walker, K. (2012). Co-occurrence of Linguistic and Biological Diversity in Biodiversity Hotspots and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(21):8032-8037.

Selected Presentations

Gorenflo, L.J., (2023). The Central Role of Indigenous Language and Culture in Biodiversity Conservation. Plenary presentation to The Peace Corps 2023 Language Week (invited).
Gorenflo, L.J., (2022). Participant in the Language Pathways to Conservation Policy and Practice Roundtable. Presentation and response to questions in the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (roundtable organize by UNESCO Canada), Montreal, Canada, December, 2022 (invited).
Gorenflo, L.J. (2022). Recollections on the Career and Life of Jeffrey R. Parsons. Paper presented at the 87^th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Chicago, IL, April 2022 (invited).
Gorenflo, L.J., Nichols, D.L., Robertson, I.G. (2022). The Basin of Mexico: Revisiting Prehispanic Population. Paper presented at the Amerind Foundation Seminar on Mesoamerican Population History, virtual, April 2022 (invited).
Gorenflo, L.J., Nichols, D.L., Robertson, I.G. (2021). Jeffrey Parsons, Archaeological Settlement Survey, and the Regional Demography of the Prehispanic Basin of Mexico. Paper presented at the Homenaje al Dr. Jeffrey Parsons, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, México, virtual, June 2021 (invited).
Robertson, I.G., Nichols, D.L., and Gorenflo, L.J. (2021). The Basin of Mexico: Prehispanic Population History. Paper presented at the 86^th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, virtual, April 2021 (invited).
Gorenflo, L.J., (2019). Housing Construction, Brickmaking, and Fuelwood Use in Rural South-Central Tanzania: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation. Paper presented at the 10^th International Conference of the African Materials Research Society, Arusha, Tanzania, December, 2019 (invited).

Small percentage of globe provides critical natural benefits to most of humanity

Stuckeman professor to talk conservation of nature and culture

Conservation and Diversity: Lives, Languages, and Land in the Balance. Researching and Studying Abroad with ERS Chair Larry Gorenflo

Students achieve personal, professional growth through study abroad in Tanzania

Collected Works

Blocky white drawing of human on a blue background with a brightly colored speech bubble representing the Earth.

: The brief animated film "Can saving languages save nature?" created by BBC and the Open University (UK) draws heavily on research by Dr. Gorenflo that examines the geographic relationship and possible functional connections between biological and linguistic diversity.
BBC and Open University