Francesca Russello Ammon

Francesca Russello Ammon is an Associate Professor at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, affiliated with the Departments of City and Regional Planning and Historic Preservation. She also serves as associated faculty in the History Department and Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program (GSWS), while engaging with the Penn Institute for Urban Research and Penn/Mellon Foundation Humanities + Urbanism + Design Initiative.

• PhD in American Studies, Yale University
• M.Phil in American Studies, Yale University
• M.A. in History, Yale University
• M.E.D. from Yale School of Architecture
• B.S.E. in Civil Engineering, Princeton University

As a cultural historian of urban planning, her work explores how American cities materialize social, political, and economic forces through demolished spaces, preservation efforts, and visual culture. She specializes in post-WWII urban renewal, digital public history, and the intersection of gender studies with built environment research. Her projects combine archival analysis with community-based engagement to examine planning legacies and advocate for equitable futures.

Recent publications focus on Ed Ruscha’s urban documentation, digital humanities applications, and Philadelphia’s preservation challenges. She has received multiple fellowships including from the ACLS, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Whiting Foundation, while leading the Initiative in the History of the Built Environment to promote interdisciplinary scholarship.

• Lewis Mumford Prize (2017)
• Mellon Author Award (SAH)
• NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grant
• G. Holmes Perkins Teaching Award
• Society of Architectural Historians Fellowship
• Whiting Fellowship in the Humanities

Professor Ammon actively mentors graduate students in public history of the built environment and community development, while serving as President of the Society for American City & Regional Planning History and on boards of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia and Association for Public Art.