Grady Clay

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Grady Clay (1916- ) is an American journalist specializing in landscape architecture and urban planning.

Clay is an honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and was editor of Landscape Architecture Magazine from 1960-1985. He also was on the jury that judged the design competition for the United States' Vietnam Veterans Memorial, was the Urban Affairs editor for the Louisville Courier-Journal, and provided a commentary segment, "Crossing the American Grain" for National Public Radio's Morning Edition. In 1999, he was awarded the Olmsted Medal by ASLA. Clay also is a former president of the American Planning Association (formerly the American Society of Planning Officials).

In an article from the July 2006 Landscape Architecture Magazine, editor J. William “Bill” Thompson noted that Clay "once forecast that the design profession with the best information was going to dominate the others—and he wasn’t at all sure that landscape architecture had the capacity to generate the best information".

While Grady Clay was editor of LAM, most articles were written by professional landscape architects; after his departure, many contributions were by professional writers without architecture credentials. He published Ian McHarg's ecological planning research, covering areas that included use of native species for plantings and adventure playgrounds.

Clay grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of an eye surgeon.

As of 2006, Clay lived in Louisville, Kentucky and was still actively writing and gardening. He was a founder of the Cresent Hill Community Association, a neighborhood association in Louisville. He has donated his papers to the University of Louisville; they house 1.75 linear feet of material from 1946-1987.

Clay's books include:

  • Closeup: How to Read the American City 1974
  • Being a disquisition upon the origins, natural disposition and occurrences in the American scene of alleys ... a hidden resource 59 pages, 1978, ASIN B0006CY1F2
  • Water and the Landscape (as editor), 193 pages, McGraw-Hill Education (February 1, 1979), ISBN 978-0070361904
  • Right Before Your Eyes: Penetrating the Urban Environment, 241 pages, American Planning Association (October 1987), ISBN 978-0918286475
  • Real Places: An Unconventional Guide to America's Generic Landscape. 322 p., 100 halftones, 16 line drawings. 8-1/2 x 9-1/4 1994, ISBN 978-0-226-10946-6
  • Crossing the American Grain 2003, ISBN 978-1884532511

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