Benjamin Okenwa

Benjamin is an educator, landscape architectural designer, and researcher whose work investigates how the built environment shapes public health. His scholarship focuses on the physical and environmental factors that influence the use of urban open spaces for physical activity. It explores how computational methods can be applied to identify optimal locations for such spaces within cities. His broader research agenda critically examines salutogenic responses to the built environment, advancing design strategies that reflect contemporary social and behavioral lifestyles while promoting health and well-being through active engagement with urban environments.

At the University of San Francisco, Benjamin teaches undergraduate design studios, architectonics, and a landscape architecture seminar. These courses draw on his combined expertise in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design—an interdisciplinary perspective he also brings to practice as Creative Director of Studio OLA in San Francisco, where he leads private and public projects across California and internationally.

• Built environment research
• Urban open spaces
• Physical activity
• Designed outdoor spaces

• Built environment
• Urban design
• Health (physical activity, active living)
• Computation methods

• Clemson University, MLA in Landscape Architecture, 2020
• Covenant University, BSc. in Architecture, 2015

• Okenwa, B. and Jabi, W. 2025. A framework for applying computational methods to identify optimal open space location for physical activity. Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture 10, pp. 413-430.
• Okenwa B., Nassar H. 2021. Investigating smart neighborhood design for physical activity; A case study of South Atlanta neighborhood, Georgia. Landscape Research Records 10, pp. 122-134.