School of Planning, Design and Construction

Every now and then, we encounter the very special people and mentors who change our lives professionally and personally. William (‘Bill’) J. Johnson, FASLA, was one of those giants. Educated at MSU (BLA ’54) and the Harvard GSD (MLA ’57), Bill left an indelible impact on the planning and design professions through his leadership at Johnson, Johnson & Roy, Inc. (JJR), the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources, the professional organizations (ASLA, CELA, LAF, TCLF), and in his role as partner/advisor to many design firms across the country.

To be in the same room as Bill, watching him in action, or spending any time with him was itself a gift. Bill was masterful in his teaching and in the way he brought people along in a visioning process for the greater good that focused not just on the here and now, but also on the long-range future.

In the last decades of his life, Bill began distilling what he called the ‘difference makers’ in his professional practice. After completing Seeing More (2021), a self-published compilation of sketches, paintings, and process-project illustrations, Bill realized that there was substantive material in one of the volumes to write a concise guidebook on Framework Thinking – the fundamental ‘difference makers’ in community planning and design.

At around the same time, Bill was observing the deep cultural shifts redefining the professions. What do these shifts mean in the problems we are called upon to solve? How might schools and firms better prepare the current and future generations of planners and designers? What are some mindsets to cultivate in the face of these challenges?

And, so it was here in Holland, Michigan, that Framework Thinking took shape as a book over weekly coffee breaks with our friend, Mark Tanis. From the outset, Bill wanted a blend of perspectives and backgrounds. He represented the postwar generation of landscape architects; Har Ye represents the generation of millennial planners. Bill grew up in central Michigan and relished the years he worked as a farmhand where he learned the ways of the land; Har Ye grew up in the tiny garden city of Singapore, where the realities of land scarcity propelled innovative approaches to community development and conservation.

What bound them together was their faith, as well as their love for the community. Above all, it was their shared belief that interdisciplinary collaboration, context-centered learning, and big-picture thinking can set in motion visionary ideas and actionable solutions for better, stronger communities.

Framework Thinking is Bill’s final encouragement to see more, to expect more, and to offer a way forward to the stewardship of our common good by making the little choices for digging deeper and thinking bigger. It is Bill and Har Ye’s hope that the nine basic principles (or nine ‘icons’) paired with a carefully curated selection of project examples demonstrate the strength of an inspired vision and the importance of an intentional process. As Bill would often say, “If you can discover the ‘bones’ of a place, to get the framework and direction straightened out, then it sets up the design opportunities that will give form and add flesh in all the right places.”

Charlotte Johnson is the spouse of Bill Johnson, FASLA.

Dr. Har Ye Kan, AICP, is the co-author of Framework Thinking: Lessons in Community Planning and Design (ORO Editions, 2025), a collaborative publication with Bill Johnson, FASLA.