Renata von Tscharner was the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

and president of the Charles River Conservancy, which has worked on the stewardship and renewal of the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

Parklands since 2000. This public interest organization aims at making the of urban parklands from the Boston Harbor to the Watertown Dam more attractive, active and accessible for all. The Charles River Conservancy built a 40,000 sq ft skatepark that opened in 2015. She hosts a regular TV shows on CCTV (

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

). Under her leadership the Conservancy began plans for a SwimPark, a pool in the Charles River. von Tscharner has co-written several books on public art, urban design and environmental education and has taught at several academic institutions in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. Prior to starting the Charles River Conservancy, she taught in the landscape program of Harvard's Radcliffe Seminars, she was a principal of The Townscape Institute, Assistant City Planner in Berne,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and Planning Officer with the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

’s

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

Task Force. She has a degree in architecture and city planning from the Institute of Technology in Zurich,

. She resides in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

with her husband Peter Munkenbeck.

Awards

* 2018: Doctorate Honoris Causa honorary degree from

Boston Architectural College Boston Architectural College, also known as The BAC, is New England's largest private college of spatial design. It offers first-professional bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and n ...

* 2015: Stratton Award by Friends of Switzerland * 2013: The Olmsted Medal by American Society of Landscape Architects * 2011: Zone Conservation Award, the Garden Club of America * 2008: Upstander Award by Facing History and Ourselves * 2005: Medal of Merit by the Garden Club of America * 2003: Excellence Award by the Boston Society of Architects

Publications

*"RiverStories" Volume 3, 2015, published by the Charles River Conservancy, contributor *"RiverStories" Volume 2, 2010, published by the Charles River Conservancy, contributor *"Safe Crossings" op-ed, Boston Globe, April 5, 2010 *RiverStories, Volume 1, 2007 published by the Charles River Conservancy, contributor *''Keeping Parkland Promises'' op-ed, The Boston Globe, Feb. 10, 2003 *Foreword for ''Inventing the Charles River'', MIT Press and the Charles River Conservancy, Dec. 2002 *''Saving Parkways and a Legacy'' co-author of op-ed, The Boston Globe, April 30, 2001 *''Making Cities Memorable'' World Monitor Magazine, Feb 1989 *''New Providence: A Changing Cityscape''- executive producer of book and poster series with seven tableaux illustrating the evolution of American city from 1875 to 1987 plus curriculum guide (San Diego, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1987) *''Place Makers: Public Art That Tells You Where You Are'' co-author (First edition, New York: Hasting House, Oct. 1981. 128 Pages, 150 Photographs) (Second expanded and completely revised edition, Boston: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1987)

References

*Stein, J. "The Charles River Conservancy Ramps up Skatepark Plan", ''Banker & Tradesman'' (June 6, 2005). *Call, M. "Planner and environmentalist starts foundation to restore and maintain the Charles River", ''Newton Tab'', (Nov. 18, 1999) *Golden, P. "Along the Charles, a past reclaimed for posterity and nature", ''Cambridge Chronicle'' (Jan. 24, 2001). * * * *

External links

Charles River Conservancy

Cambridge Chronicle: "Renata von Tscharner, a 'true visionary,' to retire from Charles River Conservancy"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tscharner, Renata von Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American urban planners Women urban planners Writers from Massachusetts People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Swiss emigrants to the United States Swiss urban planners Swiss nobility Renata