Be (Awards + acclaim)

• BBC 100 Women Awardee 2019, The Female Future: Included amongst a list of inspiring and influential women from around the world. This year 100 Women is asking: what would the future look like if it were driven by women? Highlighted within the “Earth” category and invited to speak at the annual event in London on the Future of Cities as human - and female-centric.

• Knight Foundation Open Data and Engagement grant awardee, Edit the City! (Philadelphia): As one of seven awardees splitting one million dollars, this project will generate public-sourced open data recommendations for the South Street Headhouse District vision planning process. Residents will be enabled to provide input on alterations to the public realm and co-create the future of the street through creative remote and digital engagement. In the first phase, the project will support the business community and the reopening and recovery of South Street in the aftermath of COVID-19.

  • Our team includes Marisa Denker of Connect the Dots Insights and Stephen Larrick of Stae. Read more in our joint article on Medium here, on the Knight Foundation website here, and our recent interview with Technical.ly in Philadelphia here.

Learn (Lectures + Classes)

Drexel University, Philadelphia

• Pennoni Faculty Fellow: HNRS 302 Waste and the City, Fall term 2019, co-taught as a part of a year-long faculty fellowship with the Pennoni Honors College for 2019-2020 academic year

• Adjunct Instructor: URBS T580 Public Space and Placemaking, Summer term 2019, elective for Westphal College department of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism

• Adjunct Instructor: URBS 620 City of Systems, Winter term 2019, core class for MS in Urban Strategy and elective for Westphal College department of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism

Royal Institute of technology, Stockholm (KTH)

• Guest Lecturer: Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Masters in Urbanism Studies, course instruction on urban anthropological research methods and women-led cities over three full-day class periods, November 19-21, 2018

• Guest Lecturer: Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Masters in Urbanism Studies course instruction on urban anthropology and women-led cities, December 7 + 13, 2017

Academic Publications

• Feminist Planning and Urbanism: Understanding the Past for an Inclusive Future (Author(s): Dutton, J.*, Tomaselli, C., Koshy, M., Agnello, K., Johnston-Zimmerman, K., Morphet, C., Horwood, K.). Chapter published within The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Futures, 2021.

• Masters thesis in Urban Studies, Portland State University, 2013: Public Space and Urban Life: A Spatial Ethnography of a Portland Plaza

• Neighborhood Formation in Semi-Urban Settlements. Smith, Michael E.; Engquist, Ashley; Carvajal, Cinthia; Young, Amanda; Algara, Monica; Kamoda, Yui; Gilliland, Bridgette; Johnston, Katrina (2014). Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability.

• Urban Open Spaces in Historical Perspective: A Transdisciplinary Typology and Analysis. Stanley, Benjamin; Johnston, Katrina; Stark, Barbara L.; & Smith, Michael E. (2013). Urban Geography 33(8): 1089-1117.

• Public Space and Protest: An Ethnographic Analysis of Alpha and Beta Camps at Occupy Portland (Draft for discussion). Conducted independent human-subjects (IRB) approved ethnography on-site at Occupy Portland for the month of October 2011.

Thesis + student advising

• Praxis Advisor: Bryn Mawr College, Growth and Structure of Cities Praxis Students (2019, 2021)

• Thesis Advisor: Masters of Design Research program at Drexel University (September 2017-2020)

• Thesis Advisor: Masters of Urbanism Studies programme at the Royal Institute for Technology, Stockholm (September 2017-2020)

look (Panels, keynotes, + workshops)

2022

• [Upcoming] Keynote Speaker: Congreso Futuro, Santiago Chile, January 2023

• Symposium Speaker: AIGA National Design Conference, Seattle Washington, October 2022

• Keynote Speaker: Utopian Hours, International Festival of City Making, Torino Italy, October 2022

• Keynote Speaker: WRLDCTY, The Global Forum for Urban Innovation, NYC, October 2022, with Lynn Ross on Intentional Welcoming (Watch the full video here!)

• Impact Leader: Politico Women Rule: The Exchange, Cohort for building gender equitable communities, Washington D.C., September 2022

• Guest Speaker: EASA European Applied Anthropology Network lunch and learn, “More Than our Methods: The case for a heart-centered, qualitative, and holistic approach to urbanism”, March 31 2022

• Keynote Speaker: Women’s History Month at Widener University, “Our Feminist Future City”, March 16 2022

2021

• Guest Speaker: Lunch with Liz for LEADERSHIP Philadelphia, November 2021

• Panelist: Streets for People: Co-creating the post-COVID Main Street at Walk Bike Places Conference, with Connect the Dots and Stae, June 2021

• Co-host and Curator: Online Happy Hour and Networking Event at Walk Bike Places Conference, with Connect the Dots, June 2021

• Guest Lecturer: “Heart-Centered Cities, A Primer for our Collective Urban Future”, for Bryn Mawr College Praxis and Cities Departments, May 2021

• Guest Speaker: Citizen Diplomat Academy “How to Succeed as a Social Innovator”, for Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia, April 2021

• Guest Facilitator: AIA DC Design Committee Meeting on “Happy Cities”, April 2021

2020

• Keynote Speaker: Placemaking 101: A Heart-centered Approach for Our Urban Future (Webinar), Community Design Center Rochester, September 30, 2020

• Interviewer: Virtual Book Talk with Leslie Kern, author of Feminist City, Riffraff Bookstore (virtually), September 23, 2020

• Keynote Panelist: APA California 2020 Virtual Conference State of Change, “Big Conversation #3: Planning for the Future”, September 16, 2020

• Guest: The Big Rethink: Post-Pandemic Planning, by NewCities, August 2020

• Co-Presenter: The Case for Insight-Led and Inclusive Strategic Planning in the Transition back to Public Space, with Marisa Denker of Connect the Dots as a part of the Planning the Post-Pandemic City Online Lecture Series by the Planning Society at Queens University Belfast, July 2020

• Panelist: Future of Cities Webinar; Will Blue Skies Follow the Grey?, by Connect the Dots, June 2020

• Speaker: Webinar: Women’s liberty and safety in public space, ‘Toward a Feminist City’, Tryggare Sverige, May 25 2020

• Keynote Speaker: POP-UPS: The impact of temporary placemaking on individual and community health, Fit City Webinar with PHMC, April 2020

2019

• Co-Keynote Speaker: ASU School of Human Evolution and Social Change Fall Career Panel, Tempe, Arizona, October 25, 2019

• Speaker: Service Design Meetup, “Evidence-based Change: Mixing Qual. and Quant. for Change”. Philadelphia, October 22, 2019

• Speaker: BBC’s 100 Women 2019 - The Female Future, “The future of cities is human and female-centric”, October 17, 2019

• Presenter: Placemaking Week Chattanooga, “Right of Way for Who? The Right to the City in Philadelphia's Public Realm”, October 2019

• Co-Presenter: Placemaking Week Chattanooga, “Empowering Women and Children in the Design of the Public Realm”, October 2019

• Co-Presenter with Copenhagenize: “Human Behaviour as Design Inspiration for Infrastructure of All Ages and Abilities”, Velo-City, Dublin, June 2019. Conducted outdoor spatial ethnographic workshop of cycling behavior with 100 participants of the session at an adjacent intersection.

• Panelist: Cycling and Gender; “Women Led Cities: Moving beyond women as an ‘indicator species’ in cycling”, Velo-City, Dublin, June 2019

• Participant: Knight Foundation Public Space Forum, Philadelphia, June 19-21, 2019

• Walk Leader: Jane’s Walk; Rittenhouse Square: People-watching and walking, Philadelphia, May 4, 2019

• Speaker: Placemaking Speaker Series, “What would a women-led city look like?”, Project for Public Spaces, New York City, March 28, 2019

• Speaker and Workshop Co-leader: with Connect the Dots, Placemaking Part One: Identifying Your Community's Strengths, for the Delaware County Planning Department (DCPD), Delaware County, PA, March 21, 2019

2018

• Co-Presenter: “Empowering Women and Children in the Design of the Public Realm”, Walk/Bike/Places conference, New Orleans, September 16-19, 2018

• Speaker: Reshaping Rochester Speaker Series, "Sparking Change: Women in Design", May 31, 2018

• Speaker: "What Does a Female Future Look Like in Our Cities?", TEDxRochester, May 5, 2018

• Keynote Speaker: NY Statewide Preservation Conference, "Women Led Cities: Preservation, Planning, Public Space, and Beyond", Albany, April 26-28, 2018

• Moderator: Platform :: Women and Urban Planning in the National Capital Area, Washington, DC, April 19, 2018

• Panelist: America Walks Webinar Series "Walking Towards Justice" Episode 3: “Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women, LGBTQ-inclusive and Cisgender Individuals”, April 4, 2018

• Co-host/Co-founder: Women Led Cities inaugural working conference weekend, Philadelphia, PA, March 24-25 2018

• Co-host and Facilitator: Women Led Cities: Co-Creating a Feminist City Meet-up at SXSW Cities Summit, March 13, 2018

• Moderator: Third Wave Urbanism Live Podcast: Women Led Cities at SXSW, March 12, 2018

• Keynote Speaker: Shift: Streets, The Dalhousie School of Planning Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 2, 2018

2017 + earlier

• Urban Expert: Lindy Institute Urban Innovation Summit Workshops, October 30-November, 1 2017

• Host: Women Led Cities Meetup at Placemaking Week in Amsterdam, October 12, 2017

• Panelist: Urban Salon: The Feminist City, New York City, February 23, 2017

• Speaker/Panelist: Stanford Human Cities@NYC: Explorations of the Smart City, NYC, November 17-19, 2016

• Speaker/Panelist: Global Migration, Refugees, and a Role for Design, AIANY, October 24, 2016

• Volunteer Facilitator: 14th Street "L-Ternatives" Community Design Workshop in Astoria, NYC, by Transportation Alternatives, September 26, 2016

• Panelist: Urban Salon: The Mediated City, New York City, May 26, 2016

• Speaker/Panelist: Exploring the Past, Defining the Future: The History of Social Science and Architecture, April 20, 2016

• Presenter: Social Media Techniques for Public Space Advocacy, Placemaking: Making it Happen workshop, Project for Public Space, 2014

think (Publications + Interviews)

2022

• Quoted Expert: “Cambia la tua Vita”, The Good Life Magazine 43 (Italy), November 2022

• Author: “The Future (and Past) of Cities is Female”, URBANET, March 2022

• Quoted Expert: “Ideas we should steal: A City Designed for Women”, The Philadelphia Citizen, January 2022

2021

• Quoted Expert: “Outdoor dining streeteries in Philadelphia could become permanent under councilmember’s proposal”, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 2021

• Expert Contributor: “Where are the best parks and public spaces in the United States?”, USA Today 10Best, January 2021

2020

• Interviewee: “This South Street urban planning project will combine open data with community voices”, Technical.ly, September 2020

• Interviewee: “Can cities survive without office workers?”, Quartz, September 2020

• Interviewee: "What if Urbanists Ran the City?” Philadelphia Magazine, September Issue 2020 (print and digital)

• Op-ed Author: “White urbanists: let’s use our privilege to advocate for anti-racist design”, PlanPhilly (WHYY) Eyes on the Street Opinion Page, June 25 2020

• Op-ed Author: “Why not add social distancing circles like NYC’s to Philly parks?”, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 2020

• Co-Author: “Reopening Our Cities in the Midst of COVID-19 Calls for Inclusive Community Engagement”, Meeting of the Minds, May 2020 (with Marisa Denker of Connect the Dots Insights)

• Interviewee: “The pandemic could make cities more bike-friendly - for good”, Popular Science, May 2020

• Interviewee: “So You Had a Bad Day…”, New York Times, May 2020

• Interviewee: “In Defense of a Good Cry, and Other Options for ‘Losing It’”, New York Times, May 2020

• Op-ed Author: “YES: More closed streets means a safer city during coronavirus and in the future.”, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 2020

2019

• Interviewee: Ideas We Should Steal: Culture House, The Philadelphia Citizen, December 2, 2019

• Interviewee: Citizen of the Week, The Philadelphia Citizen, October 28, 2019

• Op-ed Author: Why plazas, parklets and people belong on Philly’s streets, Plan Philly Eyes on the Street, September 2019

• Interviewee: A Blueprint for Equitable Parklets, Next City, September 2019

• Interviewee: When it comes to adapting street space for pedestrians, Philly needs a better road map, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 2019

• Op-ed Author: “It’s time to pedestrianize the Italian Market”, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 2019

2018 + 2017

• Author: Is the future of cities female?, Opinion piece for Female Futures series, The Future Laboratory, April 2018

• Interviewee: Conversation on building feminist cities, The Creative Independent, April 2018

• Interviewee: How the Women Led Cities initiative is amplifying female voices in city planning, design, Smart Cities Dive, April 2018

• Author: Why We Need Women-Led Cities, Contributor to The Future of Women in Cities Series for International Women's Day, NewCities Foundation, March 2018

• Interviewee: A movement for women-led cities launches in Philly, PlanPhilly, March 2018

• Author: Consider Anthropology in Your Next Urban Design Project, Meeting of the Minds Blog, March 2018

• Interviewee: A former Portlander wants to know what ‘women led’ cities would look like, BikePortland.org, February 2018

• Interviewee: ASU alum amplifies women’s voices in urban planning, ASU Now, February 2018

• Author: An Open Letter to Cities: Let Your Women Lead, Multiple Cities, January 2017

• Interviewee: What would a women-led city look like? This urban anthropologist wants to start that conversation, Generocity, January 2018

• Author: Urban Planning Has a Sexism Problem, Next City, December 2017

• Interviewee: Dream Cars, Landscape Architecture Magazine, November 2017

• Contributor: 101 ways to improve your transportation in your city, Curbed, September 2017

• Interviewee: Mansplaining the City, by Alissa Walker, Curbed, August 2017

• Co-collaborator: Growing Culture - Cycling NYC, with Camilla Siggaard Andersen, Gehl Architects Blog, January 2017

2016 + earlier

• Author: Syntax in the City, Peeps Magazine (print) Issue 02, 2016

• Contributor: What Jane Means: 4 Women Urbanists Reflect on Their Relationship to Jane Jacobs, Metropolis Magazine, June 2016

• Author: In Defense of Bias - On the nature of qualitative research, Peeps Forum (online), 2015

• Author: On Placemaking: An Anthropologist's Perspective, Peeps Forum (online), 2015

• Author: Placemaking News Roundup: Protesting in Public Space, Project for Public Spaces, December 2014 

• Guest Author: PARK(ing) Day and the Future of Portland's Public Space, BikePortland.org, November 2013

• Co-author: Urban Open Spaces in Historical Perspectives: A Transdisciplinary Typology and Analysis, Urban Geography, October 22, 2012

• Author: Public Space and Urban Life: A Spatial Ethnography of a Portland Plaza, Master's Thesis, Portland State University, June 2012

• Author: Public Space and Protest: An Ethnographic Analysis of Alpha and Beta Camps at Occupy Portland (Draft for Discussion), Portland State University, December 2011

listen (Podcast/Radio appearances)

• [Upcoming] Guest: London School of Economics Planning for Justice podcast series, TBD 2022

• Guest: Urban Spaceship #5: Heart Centered Cities, by NEWaukee, August 2020

• Guest: What Builds Us Podcast, Episode 7: 100,000 Square Feet, April 2019

• Guest: Radio Times on WHYY, “Driving in Philly: What’s behind the city’s traffic”, February 19, 2019

• Guest: 360 Degree City Podcast, Anthropology and Equity, June 2018

• Co-host: Live podcast recording of Third Wave Urbanism, at NACTO's Designing Cities Conference in Chicago, November 2017

• Guest: The Parksify podcast with Ash Blankenship, Protests in Public Spaces, February 2017

• Guest: The Urbanism Speakeasy podcast with Andy Boenau, Anthropology (the fine art of people watching), July 2016

Do (Affiliations, volunteering, + other activities)

Volunteer positions

• Board Member: South Street Headhouse District BID (2021)

• Committee Chair: South Street Headhouse District Design Committee (July 2019-present)

• Cohort Member: LEADERSHIP Philadelphia Keepers 2019 Cohort (October 2018-May 2019)

• Committee Member: Ed Bacon Memorial Committee, Philadelphia Center for Architecture + Design (May 2018-present)

• Committee Member: FitCity Conference, Hosted by PHMC (2019-present)

collaborations

• Collaborator: Fifteen Architecture + Design, Philadelphia (November 2017-present)

• Collaborator: Hive Public Space, New York City (September 2017-present)

Prior positions

• Committee Member: South Street Headhouse Square Design Committee, Philadelphia (July 2017-July 2019)

• Founding Member: Social Science Research and Architecture Committee at AIA NYC (2016-2017)

• Founding Member/Volunteer: Better Block Portland (tactical urbanism group), Portland (2013-2014)