Billy Fleming, an interdisciplinary scholar of climate justice and the built environment and founding co-director of the Climate and Community Institute, a progressive think-tank focused on climate and political economy, has joined the Tyler community as an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture.

Fleming is renowned for his research on clean energy supply chains, social and abolitionist movements in rural landscapes, land-based practices of carbon management, and the communities transformed by each.

He has published writings in myriad peer-reviewed journals focused on architecture and landscape architecture, and has authored the forthcoming book, Building Postcarbon Futures: Imagining and Enacting Climate Justice (Lincoln, 2025), which explores the issues touched on in his research. He has also written for the digital humanities projects An Atlas for the Green New Deal and Field Notes Toward an Internationalist Green New Deal.

Climate action

“I’m eager to dive into every aspect of collaborative climate action at Tyler,” said Fleming, noting that he was especially excited to build new offerings within the Architecture and Environmental Design Department and school-wide interdisciplinary programs that “bring faculty and students in various arts, architecture, planning, and landscape architecture programs together around questions of climate justice in marginalized communities with collaborators in local and national environmental and climate justice organizations.”

He said he is keen to engage with study abroad opportunities, such as taking students to places like South Greenland, “where they can confront a rapidly warming Arctic landscape and Indigenous community threatened by industrial mining operators, and Iceland, where they can see some of the world’s most creative and beautiful works of multi-functional energy infrastructure.”

Bridging research, practice and activism

Associate Professor of Horticulture Sasha Eisenman, chair of Tyler’s Architecture and Environmental Design Department, said that Fleming’s move to Tyler and Temple University represents “a significant step in bridging the gap between academic research, practical design, and political activism.”

“It is a noteworthy development for the university and the broader field of architecture and environmental design,” said Eisenman. “Fleming's expertise will likely influence the curriculum, integrating cutting-edge concepts in sustainable design and urban planning as part of the landscape architecture curriculum. His presence will undoubtedly inspire students to engage with critical contemporary issues in architecture and environmental design.”

Green New Deal

Fleming is a prominent advocate for the Green New Deal, emphasizing the role of landscape architects in addressing climate change and social equity. His work highlights the intersection of design, politics, and environmental sustainability.

Prior to joining the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Fleming served as the Founding Wilks Family Director of the Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology at the University of Pennsylvania. There, he developed and led a range of major research and other initiatives, including the Green New Deal Superstudio. His advanced interdisciplinary studios have won national ASLA awards for their work around climate justice in the United States and Greenland.

Fleming has been cited for his research in The New York Times Magazine, Dwell Magazine, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, Curbed, and The New Yorker, among many others. He serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Architectural Education, the advisory board for the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, the board of the United States chapter of Architects Declare, and as an external examiner for the Architectural Association in London.