Misato Uehara, PhD
Professor, Doctor of Design, National Shinshu University (Japan)
Japan Delegate to the International Federation of Landscape Architects (2016–2024)

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Trained in Design Sciences —a transdisciplinary field combining architecture, urban planning, and landscape design— Dr. Uehara completed his doctoral research on applying ecological planning to promote sustainable land use. His work bridges the gap between design practice and academic research.

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He is a leading Design Science researcher in disaster prediction and recovery planning, integrating Ian McHarg's Design with Nature philosophy with Japan's 1980 National Environmental Inventory developed by the former National Land Agency. His research has demonstrated the practical value of ecological planning through applications to post-disaster recovery and multi-hazard environmental assessment following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

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Building on this work, he is establishing the Uehara–McHarg Analog-Digital Land Unit Framework (UM-ALUF), a Design Science framework that integrates analogue environmental knowledge with digital spatial analysis to reveal the hidden environmental logic embedded within landscapes. The framework seeks to create scientifically rigorous, visually coherent, and environmentally meaningful landscape representations that support better planning and decision-making.

 

His contributions have been recognized with awards, including:

IFLA AAPME Outstanding Award (2018)
Good Design Award (2021)
IFLA APR Luminary Award (2023)
Reconstruction Design Research Award "Best Research Award"(2024)

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Web of Science (ID: D‑1110‑2017):

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Design Philosophy

Bridging Opposites

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Background image

Kenzo Tange's 1960 Tokyo Plan

The background image symbolizes the integration of seemingly opposing systems into a coherent whole.

This philosophy underlies both Design Science and the Uehara–McHarg Analog–Digital Land Unit Framework (UM-ALUF).