2026 Texas ASLA Honor Award
Carceral Environments

Title: Landscape Architecture in Carceral Environments

The very first thing we are taught as landscape architects is to design for everyone. Yet, there are spaces where design is rarely considered, overlooked, or dismissed entirely. This research project began with a simple but powerful question: if landscape architecture claims to serve all people, why are incarcerated populations excluded from environments that support health, dignity, and well-being? I aimed to challenge the notion of designing for everyone by exploring how landscape architecture can play a meaningful role within prison environments.

Texas contains one of the largest prison systems in the United States, much of it located in regions facing extreme heat, limited vegetation, and environmental stress. Current prison landscapes often lack access to nature, shade, and outdoor space, conditions that impact both physical and mental health. Through mapping, environmental analysis, case study research, and review of existing correctional facility conditions, this project explores the relationship between landscape design, environmental justice, and rehabilitative environments.

The research reveals that integrating landscape strategies such as shaded outdoor spaces, restorative planting, stormwater management, and therapeutic garden programs can mitigate heat vulnerability, improve environmental conditions, and support mental well-being. These findings demonstrate that landscape architecture has the capacity to address both environmental and social inequities within carceral systems.

Ultimately, this project brings awareness to an under-addressed design frontier. By re-examining prison landscapes through an ecological and human-centered lens, this research expands the role of landscape architecture beyond conventional public spaces and into environments where design can foster dignity, restoration, and long-term societal impact. Designing for everyone must include even those spaces that society often forgets.

This project challenges the conventional boundaries of landscape architecture by transforming the Ramsey Unit prison into a living system of ecological repair and human restoration. In the harsh climate of coastal Texas, environmental analysis reveals how excessive heat, limited vegetation, and disconnected land management intensify both ecological and social stress. The design introduces reforested shade networks, water-sensitive infrastructure, and productive training landscapes that improve microclimate conditions while supporting rehabilitation and skill-building programs. By reframing prisons as landscapes of opportunity rather than exclusion, this project demonstrates how design can advance climate