How a Brooklyn-born landscape architect is helping cities breathe again
Dennis Pappas didn’t grow up surrounded by forests or fields. He grew up in Brooklyn, one of the busiest, densest places in the United States. His childhood was full of sidewalks, sirens, and apartment buildings. But every now and then, his parents would take him to Prospect Park or upstate for the weekend. Those small escapes stuck with him.
“Even as a kid, I noticed how different I felt around trees,” he says. “It was like I could finally take a full breath.”
That feeling became the foundation for his life’s work.
Seeing the City Differently
Pappas is a landscape architect. For more than 20 years, he’s been reshaping how cities use space. His focus isn’t just on making things look nice. It’s about function. It’s about health. And it’s about survival in a changing climate.
“Designing for beauty is important,” he says. “But if a space doesn’t solve problems, it’s not working hard enough.”
Cities are full of problems. Too much heat. Not enough trees. Flooded streets after storms. Parks that are unevenly spread. Dennis Pappas looks at these issues through a green lens. His goal is to add nature back into the urban system—and do it in a way that lasts.
From Student to Builder of Ideas
Pappas studied landscape architecture at Cornell University. Later, he earned a master’s degree in environmental design at Columbia. But the education that shaped him most didn’t happen in the classroom.
“I studied abroad in Copenhagen during undergrad,” he says. “That year changed everything.”
He saw how Denmark was designed for people, not just traffic. Bike lanes were everywhere. Green roofs were normal. Even the smallest parks were busy with life. What impressed him most was how natural it all felt.
“Sustainability wasn’t a trend there,” he explains. “It was a habit.”
He brought that mindset back to New York.
Solving Problems with Plants
One of Pappas’s most recognised projects is the Brooklyn Green Corridor. This wasn’t a massive park. It was a series of connected blocks turned into a greenway—planted with native species, built with materials that absorb stormwater, and designed for people on foot or bikes.
It changed how people moved through the neighbourhood.
“People didn’t realise how much they needed shade until it was there,” he says.
He also helped design New York’s first carbon-neutral rooftop garden. It’s a space that captures rain, cools the building underneath, and gives people a place to connect. It’s not flashy. But it works.
What He’s Learned
If there’s one thing Pappas has learned from his years in the field, it’s that nature works best when people are part of it.
“I don’t just want to build spaces,” he says. “I want to build relationships between people and those spaces.”
That means talking to communities before a single plant goes in the ground. It means asking, What do you need? And actually listening. He believes a park isn’t truly successful unless it’s being used and loved.
He also believes failure is part of the process.
“Some of my best ideas came after something didn’t work,” he says. Plants die. People avoid spaces. That’s not a dead end—it’s feedback.”
His Take on Biophilic Design
Pappas is also a supporter of biophilic design—a way of designing spaces that connect people to nature. This doesn’t just mean adding plants. It means bringing in natural light, textures, and even sounds that remind us we’re part of something bigger than concrete and steel.
“We’re hardwired for nature,” he says. “When you walk into a space with trees, sunlight, and fresh air, your body reacts. It’s not an opinion—it’s biology.”
He says biophilic design is gaining ground in cities like London, where new buildings and public spaces are starting to reflect these ideas. But more needs to be done.
“Designing with nature in mind is no longer optional,” he says. “It’s a requirement if we want cities that are liveable in 20 years.”
A Quiet Revolution
Pappas isn’t chasing the spotlight. Most of his projects are quiet ones—small parks, rooftop gardens, redesigned schoolyards. But each one is part of a bigger puzzle.
He believes cities don’t need one giant solution. They need thousands of small ones, stitched together with care.
“A city is like a living organism,” he says. “You don’t fix it all at once. You help it heal one space at a time.”
What’s Next
Pappas continues his work at GreenScape NYC, a firm focused on sustainable design. He also mentors younger designers and speaks at local workshops. His message is always the same: build for people and the planet, at the same time.
He’s hopeful about the future, but only if cities start treating green space as critical infrastructure.
“Parks are not decoration,” he says. “They’re as essential as clean water or electricity. We need to start planning that way.”
Dennis Pappas didn’t set out to become a voice for sustainable cities. He just wanted to make the places around him better. And maybe help a few more people breathe deeply, like he did all those years ago in Prospect Park.
“A well-designed green space doesn’t just change the landscape,” he says.
“It changes how people feel, connect, and live in a city.”
It’s not loud. It’s not flashy. But it’s changing the world, one block at a time.