This project maps catfish production, processing, and distribution centers in rural and peri-urban landscapes across the Deep South. The study examines existing architectural and operative typologies, from fish farms and feed mills to processing facilities and worker housing. By examining the American catfish industry through the lens of landscape infrastructure and industrial urbanism, this research engages architecture in contemporary agro-industrial discourse and uncovers untapped opportunities for design intervention. As a single chapter within a larger study on the landscape of American meat production, the project raises the following questions: Can design employ the agency of existing corporate, agro-industrial infrastructure to ecologically, socially, and economically reshape the region? Can meat and fish production, processing, and distribution facilities inform future patterns of urbanization? Can the balancing of existing resources with industrial demands suggest a new model for sustainable protein production and peri-agricultural urbanization?

Forbes Lipschitz is assistant professor and Suzanne L. Turner Professor at Louisiana State University's Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, where she teaches both studio and seminar courses in landscape planning, geographic information systems, and representation. Her current research explores the role of geospatial analysis and representation in rethinking landscape systems, with a particular interest in North American agricultural territories. Her professional experience in landscape architecture has spanned a range of public, private, and infrastructural work, including a multi-year installation at Les Jardins de Metis. She received her master's degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, where she was awarded an ASLA Certificate of Merit Award for her thesis The New Regional Pattern: Syncing Livestock Production and Urban Systems in the Broiler Belt. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, she graduated cum laude with a BA in environmental aesthetics from Pomona College in Claremont, California.