That’s the vision of the Tokyo Smart City Studio, using GPS and other location data to track trends in human behavior. The studio is part of the Eco Urban Lab, directed by Perry Yang. In the Studio, Georgia Tech designers are changing the way we plan cities.
According to Yang, designers need to know, “how urban form accommodates flows of all kinds, including information, energy, and human movements, and how patterns of flows are mapped through physical configurations that change over time.” Using advanced analytics on a massive pool of data, designers can see how people choose to use a space. Then, they can make decisions based on real behavior rather than theoretical models or small surveys, Yang said.
Projects from the Studio recently drew Esri’s attention for their advanced use of geographic analytics. As part of the studio, students used large-scale location data to model traffic flows in different segments of Tokyo.
Esri is best known as the company that developed GIS (geographic information system) software which is widely used by city and regional planners. Esri's blog covers innovative use of geospatial data.
To date, the Studio has delivered smart-city proposals for three different Tokyo neighborhoods: Urawa-Misono in 2017, Kyojima in 2018-2019, and Shinagawa in 2020. Yang said this year’s project will involve the Nihonbashi district, home of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and a historic origin of Tokyo’s modern urban culture.
Tokyo is one of the busiest, most populous cities in the world, and as such, it’s difficult to create sustainable, healthy environments, said Yang. His studio focuses on global collaboration to solve the problems facing cities like Tokyo.
For the Nihonbashi district, the Studio is collaborating with the Department of Urban Engineering at the University of Tokyo; the Global Carbon Project; the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan; and the Mitsui Fudosan University of Tokyo Laboratory.
Thanks to the diversity of ideas that this collaboration generates, the Tokyo Smart City Studio proposals aren’t purely theoretical. Students work on real neighborhood needs identified by the local government, using real on-site data gathered and processed by groundbreaking methods. Massive amounts of data require AI techniques and algorithms to process some of them.
Unlike a smartphone or a smart home, a smart city is measured by more than its Internet connection or its automation. A city is smart because its design is based on data about flows of people, resources, energy, and information. “Empowered by new tools and technologies, cities are now far more designable than ever before. Future urban design and development are to be data-driven," Yang said.
"Cities are becoming more interactive and situation-driven and have to be more responsive, adaptable, and resilient to future conditions.”
Only in the past few years have smartphones, GPS, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices made real data on a city-wide scale available. These new technologies may enable good planning that is driven by social, institutional, and physical contexts, Yang said.
But new data and a new design philosophy require new methods of design, which haven’t been created yet. To meet this challenge, Yang’s students use AI techniques to create models of behavior.
An early test in Urawa-Misono used Tokyo traffic data. The model was “trained” using existing traffic data. Designers then check the model to see if correctly predicts congestion points. If it works, that suggests the model can be used to estimate the impact of design changes on traffic flow.
Methods like this allow designers to move mobility analytics into the design phase. Mobility is key in the urban environment, but mobility studies usually aren’t done until we envision how future urban spaces are shaped through design.
“Mobility research during these studios developed test processes to better integrate mobility metrics with design decisions,” Yang said.
The following studio in Kyojima expanded the role of deep learning techniques. Georgia Tech students participated in street experiments in Tokyo by carrying vital sensors to measure data such as heart beat, temperature, humidity, UV, pressure and acceleration of human movement, to understand human perception and their connections to urban street environments. Students created a rapid automatic assessment of sequential urban experiences: basically, how pleasant a person would experience walking down a street.
The resulting article, Computing Sequential Experience of an Urban Street using Deep Learning Technique, led by Helen Chen, a Ph.D. student in the School of City and Regional Planning, was presented at the 2019 International Conference of Urban Informatics.
Both the Urawa-Misono and Kyojima studio projects made mobility analysis and feedback part of the design phase, yielding designs better supporting resilience, sustainability, and community health.
In Tokyo, studio planners expanded mobility studies to include public health. Tokyo officials were concerned that heat waves would pose a risk to the 2020 Olympic crowds.
To address this, researchers used a combination of GPS and social networking service information to track people’s motion and response to heat “in near real-time [and] in high spatial resolution,” said Yang.
Students used thermal images from a helicopter to find hot zones. GPS data showed pedestrian exposure to those hot zones. The combination of heat and pedestrian exposure allowed prediction of risky areas.
In collaboration with partners in Japan, researchers searched geotagged twitter data for terms related to heat discomfort. They found a high correlation between the predicted risk zones and areas where people complained about heat.
Both the prediction of heat risk and the use of social media to check the prediction are new methods developed in the Studio.
]]>She recently realized city layouts (where the buildings are, how public transportation works, even where sidewalks are placed) affect romantic couples.
Andris’s study, “Romantic Relationships and the Built Environment,” has been published in the Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability. The study was co-authored by Seolha Lee (MCRP '21).
Urban planners strive to design cities that support community needs. Andris took an unconventional approach to discovering these needs by examining the behavior of couples, rather than individuals.
“We've always wanted to look at how people behave in the built environment and the way they behave with other people may be different than the way they behave by themselves.”
Another traditional approach to urban planning looks at community-level social life, but Andris said this level of analysis doesn’t catch the perspective of individuals engaging in joint activities.
Andris surveyed 124 individuals who are in relationships, specifically seeking information about where couples spend time together, the characteristics of those places, and how areas support romantic relationships.
Restaurants were the top feature respondents liked, with recreation and outdoor spaces following, Andris said. Through the survey, Andris could distinguish types of outdoor activities that were more popular for couples.
“We thought it was interesting that the nearby mountain was really popular because people wanted to go hiking together,” Andris said. A nearby golf course and a skiing mountain were much less popular despite being easier to access.
The study indicated respondents who did not live together value walking paths and streetlights for safer travel between homes. Mapping geographic relationship links can guide planners towards new paths, lights, or transit, said Andris.
“Changes in the built environment can affect the quality of personal relationships.”
“Built environment” refers not only to buildings, but also to other constructed features like sidewalks and roads, Andris said. “A forest or glacier would not be the built environment, even though it is still the environment.”
An environment that is more conducive to personal relationships can support the well-being of its occupants.
“It's nice to be able to see people that you like, and it's nice to have activities to do with somebody so you can leave the house,” said Andris. “So having a social life where you have events with people and activities can help increase your well-being and decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation.”
The city can do more to support relationships. Something like a sidewalk is not just a physical health or transportation thing, it’s also an interpersonal thing, Andris said.
“Just getting to leave your house and go for a walk with your significant other seems to be a really big important thing and [planners] have only focused on that in terms of health before.”
Andris believes that the personal relationship is an overlooked but promising unit of analysis for designing the built environment.
“Romantic ties have their own voice and needs,” Andris said. “By examining relationships as a vantage point for serving the needs of locals and visitors, planners can play an active role in the success of romance and happy, healthy couples in their areas.”
Urban planners are thinking about how to build for romance, Andris said. “The idea of a ‘great date night’ used to mean a night on the town (although today it may evoke something cozy at home due to the pandemic). But are towns built for this?
“We find that certain Points of Interest (POIs) in the city are especially exciting for couples. We found that restaurants and the outdoors were especially well-suited for dates and spending time together. We saw that recreational activities are also more popular than we thought. Other aspects of our cities are still important, like museums, libraries and nightclubs, but these weren't mentioned as often for couples.”
“The big picture is that urban planners can support romance by building the facilities/amenities that couples enjoy.”
Andris is the director of the Friendly Cities Lab at Georgia Tech. The lab’s goal is data-driven love for community, and the study focus is interpersonal relationships in geographic space, Andris said.
Following from her research of how the built environment can impact relationships, Andris will be a guest editor along with University of Zurich's Ross Purves for a special issue of Computational Urban Science later this year. The issue will show how individuals, social networks, and community members interact with places.
Clio Andris & Seolha Lee (2021) Romantic relationships and the built environment: a case study of a U.S. college town, Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, DOI: 10.1080/17549175.2021.2005117
]]>Urban analytics is an emerging field that incorporates smart cities, urban informatics, and urban science. The goal of urban analytics is to leverage data science in addressing major issues cities continue to face, including air, water, and land pollution; carbon emissions; traffic congestion; inadequate housing options; and disparities in access to services. The skills and knowledge necessary to tackle such challenges require an integrated multidisciplinary approach, which this degree is designed to provide.
It is aimed at students who are interested in solving urban problems through the acquisition, integration, and analysis of various forms of data. Undergraduate preparation for this degree can include a range of fields such as engineering, planning, computing, and various social science disciplines.
Georgia Tech is the only university in the University System of Georgia offering an urban analytics degree. Programs of this kind are quickly gaining national relevancy — similar graduate programs exist at Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, Northeastern University, and the University of California at Berkeley.
Subhro Guhathakurta, chair of the School of City and Regional Planning and the director of the Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization, noted that Tech’s urban analytics program stands out from the others given its strategic partnership with top-ranked programs in engineering and computing to offer this multidisciplinary degree.
“The objective is to harness Georgia Tech’s recognized strengths and expertise in data analytics to focus on the critical problems facing urban regions,” he said.
Read also: Gulsah Akar Appointed New School of City and Regional Planning Chair
Additionally, there are many aspects of industrial engineering that can be applied to urban analytics, Pascal Van Hentenryck, associate chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and A. Russell Chandler III Chair and Professor in ISyE, said.
“Many supply chain logistics concepts and solutions can be applied to address the inefficiencies in public transportation, accessibility, and the relationship between mobility and the built environment. This program is pioneering in that it links many viewpoints holistically, from the concepts to the mathematical and computational tools, and their applications to problems faced by our growing cities,” he said.
Georgia Tech’s ISyE program is ranked as the No. 1 graduate program in in the industrial, manufacturing, and systems specialty and has held the top rank for 31 years.
Advances in computation are also essential to ensure the sustainable development of modern cities and guarantee that they operate effectively, Haesun Park, Regents' Professor and chair of CSE, said.
“Understanding and planning for the interdependent and interactive quality of city infrastructures require computational models and tools of increasing complexity and scale. This is where data, computing, and networks are ubiquitous, with computation playing unprecedented new roles in the management and operation of cities,” she said.
Besides new introductory courses, several existing classes in the degree-participating schools are available as part of a well-rounded curriculum. These courses are carefully selected to meet four core competencies: urban systems, spatial analysis, computational statistics including machine learning, and modeling and visualization.
The curriculum will place special emphasis on social end-values such as sustainability, justice, and resilience, and on individual data rights including: permission for collection; privacy through aggregation; and transparency through open data.
"One of the most exciting aspects of this new degree is the diversity of academic programs working together on this topic of urban analytics. It will unite faculty and students from across campus to work on solving many important challenges," John Stasko, Regents' Professor and interim chair of IC, said.
Specialization within the degree is encouraged. The one-year program spans fall and spring semesters, with a summer workshop.
Applications for the Fall 2021 cohort open this summer. For more information, click here.
]]>College of Design
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Sagar Shah PhD, AICP
Manager | Planning and Community Health
American Planning Association
Whitney Austin Gray, PhD, LEED AP,
WELL AP, WELL Faculty
Senior Vice President Research
International WELL Building Institute
Carol Babcock, MFT
Director of Palliative Care and Healthy Communities
Navicent Health
The panel discussed their work in building healthy communities with a special focus on their current projects addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
]]>cqgrd@design.gatech.edu
4040-385-5133
]]>The competition, which kicked off on January 13, is designed to simulate a real-world design, planning, and development project.
This year, the competition enters its 18th year. According to the ULI competition website, "The ULI Hines Student Competition is part of the [Urban Land] Institute’s ongoing effort to raise interest among young people in creating better communities, improving development patterns, and increasing awareness of the need for multidisciplinary solutions to development and design challenges."
Six teams from Georgia Tech entered this year's competition. Each team must have five graduate students from at least three different disciplines to be eligible to compete.
The assignment for this year's competition explored the redevelopment of a site in Miami with the Florida East Coast Roast Railway splitting the site into the Wynwood and Edgewater neighborhoods. Student groups imagined that the Tri-Rail would begin providing commuter rail service to downtown Miami in 2021. They were tasked with redeveloping the parcels in the site area to accommodate a station in Midtown Miami, and turning the site into “a thriving, mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhood.”
The Georgia Tech teams selected as an honorable mention submitted projects titled, “ETS” and "SPACES."
Team ETS
On Team ETS were Master of Architecture (M.Arch) students, Zachary Brown and Rand Zalzala, Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) student Brock Thompson, and Master of Science in Urban Design (MSUD) students, George Doyle and Eleni Kroi. Building Construction and City Planning part-time lecturer John Threadgill was the faculty advisor for this team. Designer II at Portman Architects, T. Coston Dickinson, was the professional advisor for ETS.
"The importance of the ULI Hines Student Competition for graduate students is the nature of its interdisciplinary emphasis,” said Doyle. “This competition immerses a diverse group of graduate students with unique post-undergraduate backgrounds and skillsets that allow new ideas and the byproducts of these ideas to become tangible solutions to real-life issues needing resolution or mitigation.”
Team SPACES
On Team SPACES were M.Arch students, Conner Smith and Wanli Gao, Master of Real Estate Development student Nicholas Ferran, MCRP student ShuHui “Giselle” Zhen, and MSUD student, Joel Jassu. School of Architecture professor of the practice, Brian Bell was faculty advisor for SPACES. Associate principal at Perkins&Will, Jeff Williams, AICP was the professional advisor for the team.
“We had 30 students from across the Institute participate this year on six teams,” said Ellen Dunham-Jones, professor and director of the MSUD program. “I know it’s cliché to say they’re all winners, but seriously, it’s pretty awesome what their collective efforts were able to produce and the learning that went on. The fact that two of the six were recognized by the jury for honorable mentions is icing on the cake! We’ve had 12 placements, including four finalists in nine years. I couldn’t be prouder!”
The work from all six teams is currently on exhibition in the Cohen Gallery located on the second floor of the College of Design’s Architecture East Building.
Click here for the ULI Hines Competition press release.
]]>The vision of the Mild Cognitive Impairment Empowerment Program (MCIEP) is to revolutionize the experience of people affected by MCI by creating a comprehensive approach that can be replicated nationally and internationally.
With the aim of speeding up development, testing and dissemination of evidence-based interventions for MCI, the Innovation Accelerator (IA) core is offering seed grants to support research in the following areas: therapeutic programming, technology, and the built environment.
The funded projects should result in innovative solutions, strategies or methodologies developed through a culture of collaboration among students, researchers, clinicians, and people with MCI in less than 12 months’ time.
Beginning in the fall of 2019, $150,000 in seed grants will be available each year for the next three years. Proposals can range from semester to year-long research projects and smaller proposals can target funds to convene valuable discussions, gather data, develop methods and metrics or to prototype new designs and technologies.
See the related file to the right for more information on the pre-proposal call and how to apply.
All pre-proposals will be evaluated by a review committee comprised of representatives from all cores of the MCIEP and individuals affected by MCI. Feedback from the committee will be given to all pre-proposals. Those selected for full proposals will be contacted by the end of the day on September 10.
For additional information or questions regarding the seed grant process email kimberly.seaton@design.gatech.edu
Looking forward to reading your pre-proposals,
Jennifer DuBose,
MCIEP's Innovation Accelerator Director
Urban Systems Design analyzes the ways in which society utilizes Internet of Things-based sharing platforms in the context of smart community dimensions—energy, transport, urban form, and human comfort—and explores how these platforms can be used to improve community health and welfare.
With recent achievements in research regarding the potential impact of Internet of Things and big data, Urban Systems Design delves into how to identify, structure, measure, and monitor urban sustainability standards and progress. This book reviews the financial, institutional, policy, and technical needs required for a successful implementation in smart cities.
“Urban design is becoming data-driven. Empowered by new tools and technologies, cities are now far more designable than ever before. Ability to handle how massive data are captured, analyzed and applied in cities is now critical to addressing problems occurring in places, neighborhoods and cities. Urban systems design offers an approach to designing new forms of sustainable, resilient and socially responsible cities, in the face of increasing impact of emerging technologies, big data and urban automation to people, communities and their placemaking,” said Professor Yang.
Click here to learn more about Urban Systems Design.
]]>Holiday travel is stressful enough — we know we’re supposed to arrive at the airport early, give extra time to drive places, and expect delays. But what about checking the weather on the other side of the country, routing your drive based on smoke from wildfires, or coordinating preparing your Thanksgiving meal around planned rolling blackouts?
Natural disasters and severe weather are unusual factors in planning for travel around the Thanksgiving holiday.
Catherine Ross, Harry West Professor in the School of City and Regional Planning and director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, explains that one of the first things people do before traveling is to identify local conditions.
Natural disasters or weather events that have sufficient prior notice (such as hurricanes, wildfires, heavy rains, or blizzard conditions) allow people to take an abbreviated trip, to change the method of travel, or to not travel at all. Some are even forced to cancel travel due to circumstances out of their control.
“During the holidays people tend to put more focus on getting to their destinations regardless of what they need to do to get there,” Ross said. “People have more determination to get to their families. They will spend more resources or consider other ways to travel they wouldn’t normally.”
“California’s wildfires have greatly impacted the area a second year running,” Steven P. French, Dean of the College of Design said. He explained that in addition to evacuations, the California wildfires have created a lot of smog and disrupted whole communities.
Ross explained that natural disasters often reoccur. Places like Northern California, where recovery hasn’t taken place from wildfires in 2018, can expect to get hit again. This will further impact their infrastructure systems and make travel — especially increased holiday travel — more difficult.
“Significant events in one location, such as fires, earthquakes, tornados, or floods, can impact infrastructure systems, creating interruptions the travel network,” French said. “There is an influx of volunteers and materials traveling to the impacted area to respond to the disaster, which stresses the system.”
After the utility company Pacific Gas & Electric’s infrastructure system contributed to the largest of the wildfires in 2018, PG&E aimed to mitigate their impact on this year’s fires. The solution was to preemptively shut off the power — imposing rolling blackouts across Northern California, hoping to prevent the start or spread of fires.
“It may be difficult if you do not have a natural gas stove to cook the family Thanksgiving turkey if the power is going to be out for four or five hours a day,” French said.
According to Ross, Texas has had more natural disasters in recent history than any other state. She explained that in the last 10 years, Oklahoma has started to experience more earthquakes than ever before.
“Earthquakes flip the travel envelope almost on its head,” Ross said. Earthquakes can disrupt electrical systems, water systems, roadways, communications, and more.
As the strength and frequency of natural disasters increases, the number of places they impact and how severely the people traveling through those areas feel the impacts also increases.
“The kinds of natural disasters and where they occur is changing. They are occurring with different intensity and in different places than they have historically,” Ross said.
The changes fuel resiliency planning. Ross gave the example of changing zoning and building codes, allowing for regions to bounce back. “The standard has changed,” Ross said.
Places like Oklahoma have to start looking at their mobility and safety systems much more critically, Ross suggested. They need to ensure that the ability to distribute food and make sure electricity is restored quickly is something that they are prepared for — something that they didn’t have to do 10 years ago.
An increase in extreme weather events causes change to how travelers plan for transportation spikes like Thanksgiving.
“My children are coming here from all over the country, as far away as Seattle and the closest in Delaware. They’re all flying, so we’ll see if that all works,” French said.
“The airline system is so interdependent that when you start cancelling flights in one area of the country, those planes are not available in the other parts not experiencing any sort of severe weather,” he said.
“The whole airline system is impacted by disruptions in the part that is having the extreme weather. It looks like we may get some of that going into the Thanksgiving holiday coming up soon.”
Snow, rain, and fog can impact travel by rail, and especially the highways. It doesn’t even need to be a severe weather event.
“Even normal weather under certain conditions becomes problematic and gives people thought about whether or not their safety is going to be more of an issue during their trip,” Ross said.
Amtrak train services expect a huge bubble in ridership over the Thanksgiving weekend. Airports become busier and roads become more congested. It isn’t just people making extended trips before and after Thanksgiving that contribute to this saturation, Ross explained.
“If you can go on a short trip and get up Thursday morning, leave at 7 and be where you are going by 9, many people choose to make the trip back and forth in a day,” she said.
For those choosing to extend their stay and return home after the holiday, they can expect additional congestion on the roads from package delivery.
“Black Friday and Cyber Monday become the kickoff of the holiday season,” Ross said. “It signals the time to be out and about. You see a surge there, and people are aware of that, so they try to plan accordingly.”
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The handbook is the first of its kind. It responds to the interest and need for understanding how planning education is developed and delivered in different international contexts.
“While it could be argued that international planning education has diminished relevance in an era of deglobalization, planning educators across the globe have much to learn from each other. The intent of this Handbook is to contribute to the process,” said Leigh.
The forty-one contributors to the handbook write about general planning knowledge, planning skills, traditional and emerging planning specializations, and pedagogy. In twenty-eight chapters, they cover the role of these topics in educating planners, the theory and methods of their subjects, key literature contributions, and course designs.
The editors note in their Introduction:
“This handbook comes at a time when there are growing concerns about retrenchment of the globalization that has characterized the world economy and international society since the end of WWII. This ‘deglobalization’ has the potential to undo and destabilize much of the progress and international cooperation that has improved the lives of so many throughout the world.”
]]>To download a full rundown of where the SCaRP personnel are presenting and when, click here.
The School of City and Regional Planning will host a Joint Reception on Friday, October 25 from 7:30-9:30pm with University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wine, beer, and light refreshments will be served. The Reception is at The Commerce Club, 55 Beattie Place 17th floor, Greenville, SC 29601.
]]>Arthi Rao, a research scientist at the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, and Ramachandra Sivakumar, a senior research engineer in the Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization, will each work with a community as it prepares for the future. Both researchers also teach in the School of City and Regional Planning in the College of Design.
The Georgia Smart Communities Challenge offers Georgia communities the chance to receive funding and support that enables them to envision and plan for a “smart future.” Recipients receive funding and partnership with a Georgia Tech researcher.
Rao will consult on a project for Macon Smart Neighborhoods, Macon-Bibb County. This project will address underserved areas of the community by installing smart kiosks that will provide internet connectivity and on-demand services, according to an article announcing the winners.
“The project team will utilize data analytics to optimize the placement of smart kiosks and maximize their impacts. We will also collectively develop a stakeholder engagement strategy as well as an evaluation and monitoring plan to track equity improvements and integrate that into Macon-Bibb’s journey of transforming into a smart community,” Rao said.
She has an interdisciplinary educational and professional background in Urban Planning, Epidemiology, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from Georgia Tech. Her research interests focus on social determinants of health, healthcare access, healthy communities, and spatial methods.
Sivakumar will consult on the Woodstock Smart Master Plan and Corridor Study, City of Woodstock. This project will conduct a smart corridor and infrastructure study to improve mobility and congestion in the city and deal with rapid growth and uneven commuting patterns, the article stated.
He said "the goal for this research collaboration is to envision smart mobility solutions for the rapidly growing city of Woodstock.”
Sivakumar has more than 20 years of comprehensive experience in GIS and Information Technology. His expertise includes web GIS, application design and development, network management, database management, and systems administration. His recent research focus is on enterprise GIS, urban forestry applications in GIS, and location analytics.
Read more about all the recipients and their projects.
]]>Many of us have experienced that. And not in a spooky sci-fi way, but in a 21st-century technology way.
Over the past 10 to 15 years the evolution of smart, sensor-based products and systems has reshaped the way we interact with each other and the world around us.
This evolution will be discussed in a College of Design Research Forum on Thursday, September 27. The title of that form is, "When the World Talks Back … Connecting People and Things."
Sensor technology enables us to tap all kinds technologies and allows us to connect to things we have not been able to connect to before, in ways not previously possible, explained Jim Budd, chair and professor in the School of Industrial Design.
With sensors of the late 1900s and early 2000s, interactive products could take an action and respond to it.
Later, researchers realized they could attach micro-processors to sensors to collect data and could share that data, Budd said.
For years, sensors have turned on lights and opened doors for us. But now we have begun to realize even more possibilities, he said.
For example, a sensor on a door or building can let the us know who comes into the building and know when they leave, and then could share that knowledge. If that building knows who you are, it could even greet you!
Researchers realized we could incorporate these technologies into our homes. Now we wire our homes with technologies that can inform us of the weather outside to lighting levels.
Your house, connected to your smartphone, could tell you when someone comes to your home. Then you could communicate with the house, let it know what to tell that person, maybe even have a dialogue.
Some of these things are already happening. Budd said we have only scratched the tip of the iceberg. We are about 20 years into this use of interactive technology.
One of the biggest technological changes over the past 10-15 years, he said, has been the cell phone. Initially it was a device designed for talking.
Now, we use cell phones to gather information, communicate, hail rides, pay for food, and more. And if we ask a question, it can answer!
Interactive Technology in the College of Design
As a community, we recognize that things that we were once only able to dream about can actually happen, he said.
Budd, who is organizing the forum, said the discussion will compare a snapshot from the past with new initiatives today that connect us with the products around us, the buildings we inhabit, and the cars we drive, along with speculation of where we might be headed tomorrow.
He will lead off with a history of where we came from and others talk about their work.
This forum is also a reflection of collaboration across disciplines in the College. Participants cross two school and a research center: School of Architecture, School of Industrial Design, and the Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization.
Joining Budd at the forum will be Noah Posner, a research scientist in the IMAGINE Lab in the Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization; Stuart Romm, a professor of practice in the School of Architecture; and Wei Wang, an assistant professor in the School of Industrial Design.
Posner said his current work focuses “on creating interactive experiences that leverage physical interaction. Past work includes creating an interactive sandbox for visualizing gorilla location data in Rwanda and data collection devices for capturing street view style panoramas. He also is designing physical interfaces for spatial VR experiences, and involved in teaching physical prototyping to MS-HCI students. For the research forum, he will talk about how we prototype connections. He also will discuss methods of prototyping, how technology gets integrated into product prototypes, different hardware prototyping platforms, and how this translates into a course.
Romm said as a topic, “When the World Talks Back… Connecting People and Things,” is one “that increasingly challenges designers to explore how new environments will intersect the physical + digital worlds.” He will talk about an ongoing case study on how the interdisciplinary collaboration between architects, industrial designers, and experience designers are innovating spaces that integrate the physical and virtual realms. One example is the use of interactive technologies in the transformation of Georgia Tech’s historic main library into a 21st Century Research Library for the digital age.
Wang said we can anticipate that autonomous vehicles will have an impact on accelerating the transformation of automotive products into a transportation service. From the key criteria of human-computer interaction, Wang said he will talk about how to connect people and things in future autonomous driving through interactive technologies. He will also share some examples from experimental student project to sponsored research projects.
About the Research Forums
The College of Design Research Forums allow the College community and our friends across the campus to experience the design- and technology-focused research at Georgia Tech. From music technology to product design; from assistive technology to healthcare; from architecture to city planning, we explore the many ways technology can solve critical problems for the way we live.
The next research forum is scheduled for Thursday, November 8, in the Caddell Flex Space.
The title is, "Community Redevelopment in the Global South." This forum will explore ongoing projects designed to enhance the well-being of residents in the Global South in the face of its rapid growth and redevelopment.
Michael Elliott, an associate professor in the School of City and Regional Planning, will lead that discussion.
The forums take place from 11a-12p. All forums going forward will be in the Caddell Flex Space.
]]>The Centers' collaboration brings together CIDI’s research on issues of accessibility and services for individuals with disabilities, and CQGRD’s research on the development of healthy and equitable places to live.
Both Centers are affiliated with the College of Design at Georgia Tech.
Catherine Ross, director of CQGRD, said “the Center is extremely pleased to add Carolyn P. Phillips, a nationally recognized consultant in the field of assistive technology and disabilities, to the CQGRD team. She speaks frequently on topics that include assistive technology, advocacy, self-determination and living with a learning disability.”
Phillips also serves as Director of Tools for Life, the Georgia Assistive Technology Act Program; the Pass It On Center; and the National Assistive Technology Reuse Technical Assistance and Coordination Center.
Of her new affiliation, Phillips said, “I am looking forward to extending my work partnerships through my affiliation with the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development. This affiliation emanates from ongoing and continuing research and teaching we are undertaking.”
]]>SimAUD is a highly selective annual conference supported by the Society for Modeling & Simulation International (SCS) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The conference returns to the United States this year for its 10-year anniversary. Previously, the conference was held in Delft, the Netherlands (2018), Toronto, Canada (2017) and London, United Kingdom (2016). Georgia Tech was selected this year because of the College of Design’s leadership in scholarship and education in design technology. The conference is organized by the Georgia Tech School of Architecture.
This year the program includes four keynote presentations, 11 sessions that showcase 40 single-track, peer-reviewed publications, 8 pre-conference workshops, two professional panels and engaging social events at Georgia Tech and in Atlanta. The conference will also feature a symposium-wide simulation game that will engage participants throughout the three days.
“SimAUD 2019 is going to be a universal celebration of a phenomenal international community of simulation scholars, coming together to discuss state-of-the-art design technology in a truly convergent format,” says SimAUD2019 Program Chair, Tarek Rakha, assistant professor of architecture and high performance buildings in the School of Architecture. “Georgia Tech is both thrilled and honored to host and develop the program for the decennial celebration of this event coming back to the United States, where 12 faculty across Tech’s campus will serve as session chairs and moderators, focusing on a variety of topics ranging from climate modeling to the simulation of people in the built environment. We look forward to welcoming colleagues from all around the world who will disseminate their latest advances in research and innovations for better built environment futures through the lenses of design technology”
“Contemporary architecture practice continuously develops a common digital language to integrate building industry frameworks.” says Scott Marble, Chair of Georgia Tech School of Architecture. “SimAUD 2019 will present critical topics being explored in top academic research centers and architectural practices from around the world. Design technologies have great potential to transform practice in new and innovative ways and through events like this, impactful international synergies are sure to be built to advance this transformation.
“Georgia Tech’s College of Design sets an ideal stage for the 10-year anniversary of SimAUD, leveraging Tech’s technological synergies, along with the College’s strengths in design, planning and creativity.” says Nancey Green Leigh, College of Design Associate Dean of Research. “By bringing together remarkable and established researchers and practitioners in urban planning and design, architecture and building science, visualization and construction, as well as software development, SimAUD 2019, offers promising opportunities for collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship that to advance Tech’s research agenda.”
“The faculty and students at the Georgia Tech College of Design focus on integrating design and technology. We have developed advanced simulation and visualization models at the building, neighborhood, and city-scale,” said College of Design Dean Stephen P. French. “We are thrilled to host SimAUD and look forward to working with you to push the boundaries of simulation research. Welcome to Georgia Tech!”
The conference runs from Sunday, April 7 through Tuesday, April 9. All sessions are scheduled to take place in the John and Joyce Caddell Building’s Flex Space. The conference offers a platform to unite researchers and practitioners in the fields of architecture, urban design, urban planning, building science, and data science. SimAUD 2019 will feature a range of topics related to simulation with a special emphasis on methods that bridge disciplinary gaps between design, construction, operations, resource management, human behavior, and performance analytics across building and urban scales.
Follow this link to register for SimAUD 2019.
About the Georgia Tech School of Architecture
Georgia Tech School of Architecture’s mission is to instill students with a life-long curiosity for the social and cultural meaning of the built environment and a passion to be part of improving the future. The School offers six distinct degree programs that each address the wide spectrum of design, technology, and social and cultural components of the architecture profession. The programs include a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Master of Architecture, a Master of Science in Architecture, a Master of Science in Urban Design, a dual Master of Architecture and Master of City and Regional Planning, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture.
About Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech, is a top-ranked public university and one of the leading research institutions in the U.S.A. Georgia Tech provides a technologically focused education to more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students in fields ranging from engineering, computing, and sciences, to business, design, and liberal arts.
]]>But researchers in the Georgia Tech IMAGINE Lab didn’t have to wait for brick and steel to start being laid or watch a “construction cam” on a website to envision the possibilities for the new building. They were able to use their expertise in digital imaging, 3D modeling, and augmented reality technologies to create Tech Square in a digital model that included Coda in its earliest concept.
In 2015, the IMAGINE Lab, part of the Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization in the College of Design, was tasked by stakeholders at the Institute to create a pilot project for a quick visual tool for planning the future Coda building.
“The main goal of the digital application was to quickly visualize a few possible options with building concepts that included 20, 30 and 40 stories, and allow people to interact with the models and see how the cityscape in midtown would be altered,” said Miro Malesevic, digital designer at the IMAGINE Lab.
In essence, the researchers gave decision makers a virtual time machine to the future that brought the building to life and showed how it might be situated in Tech Square and impact the area.
The visualization tool came in the form of an augmented reality app on mobile devices that allowed users to point the screens at a 2D physical map of Tech Square and watch a 3D model of the space come to life on the screen. Users could tap the screen to start with a 20-story building and tap twice more to end up with a structure twice the height (Coda eventually ended up with 21 levels).
Users could also understand how the length of shadows cast by the building or the structure itself might occlude views at the street level or other buildings. The digital AR application even provided a glimpse of the possibility for traffic simulations.
“Use of the 3D AR application has an advantage over traditional 2D blueprints as it provides an individual user with 3D perspective of the design, interaction with the environment, and the ability to use simulations to help in decision-making,” said Malesevic, who worked on the project.
The powerful tool was built within a week, thanks to the IMAGINE Lab’s 3D modeling library, compiled over a 20-year period.
Over the years the IMAGINE Lab has produced numerous architectural visualizations for Georgia Tech, non-profit, and local private organizations supporting economic development efforts at the city and state level.
The third phase of Tech Square was announced in September. It includes preliminary plans for a two-tower complex at the northwest corner of West Peachtree and Fifth streets and possibly a retail plaza as well as an underground parking deck.
The design team in the IMAGINE Lab is already building this next version of Tech Square inside their digital world. The rest of us will have to wait and see how it turns out sometime in 2022 or later.
Story: Joshua Preston
Video: Noah Posner
Video Editing: Terence Rushin
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]]>We talked with Leigh ahead of the forum to learn more about the complexity of urban automation.
To start, what are we referring to when we say “urban automation”? Can you give a couple of examples?
There is no one definition of urban automation. Loosely it refers to hardware and software developments that substitute for previous mechanical and human-operated physical or decision-making systems to regulate and service urban functions. These developments are largely enabled by advances in information and communication technologies.
Some present examples include, drones, robots, and sensors. Others will evolve in the future.
How does the topic of urban automation fit in with research at the College of Design?
In planning, it can potentially be used to create smart cities, with optimized functions such as transportation, energy and water use, improving the economy and the environment.
In architecture, urban automation is used to make intelligent buildings that are more energy efficient, and meet human needs of comfort, for example in office environments.
In building construction, it is used in the process of putting up buildings and creating infrastructure. We use drones to survey the physical condition of buildings and roads, and to access damage of natural disasters and develop more effective responses.
In industrial design, much of that focuses on products we use every day in urban environments, ties into the development of autonomous vehicles, and in the more novel application of wearable technologies,
In music, urban automation can capture and analyze the sounds of a city, helping to track noise pollution, monitor traffic patterns, or generate new musical compositions.
How does your research into the economics of the robotics industry play into this research?
I focus on local economic development planning and how technology drives change that affects the opportunities for work, standards of living, and the strength of local industries that support local economies.
One key point is that the majority of economic activity in our jobs is located in metropolitan areas. We are very much a metropolitan nation, rather than the traditional view of urban and rural nation. So the use of robotics in firms has the potential to make them more competitive and productive. It also has the potential to eliminate jobs, which would affect people’s ability to live in cities and have a high quality of life and standard of living. It also has the potential to change existing work and create new jobs.
My work is focused on understanding this. I’m primarily focused on the manufacturing sector, because that is where robotics are most in use at this point.
What is the most pressing concern that urban automation raises?
The most pressing concern is the reason we are having this forum: ethics and values. We know in many ways that urban automation has the potential to significantly transform the world that we live in. We also know our metro areas have longstanding, yet to be resolved, issues of justice for different communities and demographic groups.
There is a lot of controversy over artificial intelligence, which is a key component of urban automation, and to what extent does it augment, or substitute for, the capacity to make decisions by humans.
All of this has major societal implications. Rather than create the technology without considering these potential impacts, the focus here is on: How do we make choices about the urban automation we use? What is our framework for developing these technologies, to be more conscious of the impact of that?
Relative to that are issues of, "Is it going to be accessible for all? How do we build in safety factors?," because we would hope that “do no harm” is a key criteria for deployment of urban automation.
Will it give us the privacy that we expect to have? Privacy is a highly valued aspect of modern life.
It’s also important to make sure that no one is left out of the benefits that can occur with the best of urban automation has to offer.
How do we address these privacy and ethical concerns?
We don’t yet have all the answers or solutions that we need. That is why it is important to have the discussion that we are planning for in our forum. We need to get these concerns to the forefront of the development of technology.
One pressing concern is informing people about how their data will be used. Much of urban automation is about data collection. That data is used to develop software and hardware, forms of automation, as well as products.
We have some ways to opt out, but it is all primitive and legally driven responses. We need more work on that.
How do we ensure a world that is inclusive and benefits all?
The hope is that urban automation will allow us to optimize the functions of smart cities such as transportation, energy, water use, improve the economy and the environment, and improve access to education and training.
The goal is to improve the functions offered in urban areas and the ability of people to participate in society and the economy.
Urban automation should help the people who create and manage cities achieve goals of “smart cities that are just cities.”
Also on the Panel
Joining Leigh on the panel will be Jason Borenstein, associate director of the Center for Ethics and Technology at the School of Public Policy; Carolyn Phillips, of the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (formerly AMAC Research Center); and Dennis Shelden, director of the Digital Building Lab and a professor in the School of Architecture. Leigh is also a professor in the School of City and Regional Planning.
Borenstein will focus on the ethics of autonomous vehicles and other computing technologies. While they hold much promise, he suggests that ethical issues emerging from their design and deployment must be addressed in a consistent and ongoing manner. Ethical issues that autonomous vehicles raise include the privacy of those who ride in them, vulnerability to hacking, and how they may interact with pedestrians or other entities in the surrounding environment.
Phillips notes that we are at a defining moment as we gather at the crossroads of urban automation, ethics, and individuals with disabilities. The ethical implications when considering individuals with disabilities quickly move beyond beneficence, justice, and autonomy to specific concerns of privacy, safety, and informed choice. As we create disruptive, transformational technologies, it is critical that we pause to ensure we have employed an ethical framework throughout each phase of development and deployment so we can design for true inclusion.
Shelden will talk about urban automation from the perspective of the built environment -- buildings, infrastructure and cities – which is increasingly becoming “smart,” as physical spaces and devices in these spaces are connected to simulations and data platforms on the cloud. This presents opportunities for improved understanding of the behaviors of built environments and the interactions of occupants in these environments. At the same time, important questions of information, individuality, and culture are becoming more pressing. Questions of data privacy and ownership, security, and identity that are becoming critical questions for individuals and for societies will become pressing in the design and operation of the built environment.
About the Research Forums
The College of Design Research Forums allow the College community and our friends across the campus to experience the design- and technology-focused research at Georgia Tech. From music technology to product design; from assistive technology to healthcare; from architecture to city planning, we explore the many ways technology can solve critical problems for the way we live.
This forum will be January 24, 2019, 11 a.m. - Noon, in the Caddell Flex Space.
The final research forum of the 2018-19 academic year is scheduled for Thursday, March 7, in the Caddell Flex Space.
]]>On September 26, 2018, the Diversity and Inclusion Council welcomed Peggy McIntosh, Senior Research Associate of the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and founder of the National S.E.E.D. Project on Inclusive Curriculum (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity), to campus to help facilitate a conversation about diversity and inclusion between faculty, students, and staff at Georgia Tech. Kaye Husbands Fealing, Professor and Chair of the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy and member of the Executive Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017-2020), and Robert Kirkman, Associate Professor for the School of Public Policy, were invited to join in the discussion and share their personal experiences with diversity and inclusion. Following the panel discussion, the Council shared additional questions submitted by the audience with McIntosh, Husbands Fealing, and Kirkman for their input.
Question: What practical methods can be employed to restructure our education system to expand inclusion, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields?
Husbands Fealing: One item I would offer here is to have policies and governance on how to conduct searches for faculty, staff and students, where the search or recruiting committees reflect our diverse society (not just the representation we see on campus).
Question: When you are faced with a tricky situation, what would be a good technique to address it while simultaneously bringing awareness to diversity and inclusion?
McIntosh: I sometimes speak autobiographically and say, "When I am faced with this kind of situation, I automatically go to questions about diversity and inclusion in my own head, and whether they bear on the situation." I also sometimes say, "I have a divided mind here -- feeling both x and y." I try not to sound like the expert, but rather to talk about my process of thinking through how tricky situations are placed within contexts that carry power dynamics and bear on equity.
Husbands Fealing: In my experience, I first think about what the final outcome needs to be before I respond to the situation. In my experience, I find it expedient to respond with facts and poise. It is important in my view to have my best self-present. What will be remembered is not the first affront, but what I do in response.
Question: How do you address people that try to ignore their own power in addressing diversity?
McIntosh: I am not sure what is meant by the phrase "try to ignore." When I am with people who have power through privilege, but don't seem to realize it, I just keep saying again and again that privilege brings power with it and that people who have privilege have far more power than most of them have recognized. I keep raising the question of how people will use their power, their unearned power, to weaken systems of unearned power. I think most white people have been trained to think of themselves as not having much power that they can use towards social change. But indeed we white people have considerable power just through being white, even if we grew up with class disadvantage.
Husbands Fealing: It is important for everyone to understand that (a) diversity is often a benefit to all over time, and (b) if we create opportunities for growth, then diversity is not a zero-sum game. So, getting individuals to understand that the pie can be bigger even if various groups get larger wedges is key. Of course, fairness is paramount, but what is perceived to be fair is subjective.
Question: Since you are speaking to a roomful of designers – have you noticed any particular physical design features that support or hinder inclusion?
Husbands Fealing: Yes! Often I am on a stage where there is no ramp to get to the podium or dais. That is a clear signal to someone with a physical disability that they are not welcomed.
McIntosh: I have noticed that in schools, that is school buildings, the design of the front hall makes a big difference. If there are many tables to sit at and many chairs, that can make it feel like a cafe or a conversation nook. This makes students mingle more freely with people who do not look like them. In fact, I have come to say to school faculty groups that I believe they must reengineer and reshape the school entrance hall to prevent depression! In addition, I strongly recommend that small classes be configured as a circles with everyone facing each other, rather than having some look at the backs of heads of others, in rows. The mode called Serial Testimony is a structure for discussion which matches the circle. People can write to me (mmcintosh@wellesley.edu) to request my description of Serial Testimony. My assistant Rachel Nagin adds, "Buildings tell stories about who we are and what we value. Many recently built school buildings are designed much like prisons and built with cheap materials, which tells us quite lot about what we think of our students, especially our public school students. So as you analyze and design spaces, think about what's being valued."
Question: Can you talk about the importance of transparency in hiring and admissions and how that affects diversity and inclusion? Also how can we have increased diversity among faculty and professionals?
Husbands Fealing: This is a really complex question that requires several paragraphs to respond adequately. So, in a nutshell, recognition that diversity, inclusion, and equity are important in concept and practice is paramount. Leadership should be all-in, not just making comments in the open but not following through with actions—policies are guidelines to actions. Often I hear, “Well, we just cannot find anyone…they don’t exist.” That is just not the case, though in some fields there is a low percentage of women or minorities. Networks can be used to find individuals to interview or to work on projects. The one caveat I should mention here—many of us get over worked and need to say “no” sometimes when asked to take on tasks. Junior faculty should be protected from placement on such committees. Yet, there is work to be done.
McIntosh: To increase diversity among faculty and professionals, they must be willing to redesign job descriptions, putting them on a broader base than before. This means rethinking everything that the institution is about. They must make sure that any candidate pool includes people from marginalized groups. Search committees must do the extra work needed and cast their nets wide to get beyond the usual habits of search committees, which include "looking for the best man for the job."
Question: How can we improve diversity without tokenizing people?
McIntosh: In two universities where I have worked, the decision was made to hire two people of color at least, rather than one, for a previously all-white department, and two or more women for a previously all-male department. This helped to work against the appearance and feelings of tokenism.
Husbands Fealing: Exactly…this is really important and, again, would take a few paragraphs to give examples of how this could work. Perhaps the best answer to this question is found in the literature. Someone should do a brief literature search to give readers of the article ability to explore this topic in more detail. Attached, please find a report on this topic that a colleague and I prepared for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fulfilment of a grant from NSF. We also published a special issue of American Behavioral Scientist in May 2018: http://journals.sagepub.com/toc/absb/62/5.
Let’s keep this conversation going! We need to hear from you on other ways we can broaden and raise awareness on key themes related to diversity and inclusion at Georgia Tech. Send your questions to Carmen Wagster, carmen.wagster@design.gatech.edu, and we will continue this discussion to help us all pursue a more diverse and inclusive community here at Georgia Tech.
The College of Design Diversity and Inclusion Council members include Julie Kim, Associate Chair for the School of Architecture; Catherine Ross, Harry West Professor for the School of City and Regional Planning and Director for the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development; Jerry Ulrich, Associate Professor for the School of Music; Xinyi Song, Assistant Professor for the School of Building Construction; Michelle Rinehart, ex-officio Council member and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Outreach for the College of Design; Astha Bhavsar, undergraduate student, School of Architecture; and Chirag Venkatesan, graduate student, School of Building Construction.
]]>Faculty in the College of Design are working with residents of these communities to enhance the well-being of the residents. They will discuss their work at a College of Design Research Forum on November 8.
They are working to help communities in the Global South to strengthen climate change resilience, design and build community centers, support economic development, and house the urban poor, said Michael Elliott, an associate professor in the Schools of City and Regional Planning and of Public Policy.
The work allows the residents to invest in their communities in better ways, ways that protect their future more effectively.
The faculty members are working in India, Africa, and Latin America (with a focus on Puerto Rico).
Their projects are in communities facing pressing problems and each is done in consultation with, and the engagement of, the residents of the communities.
The faculty each came about their work in different ways.
While teaching in India, Elliott worked with Mahila Housing Trust to expand their housing programs to incorporate climate change resilience. A student in City and Regional Planning with deep roots in Puerto Rico was essential to initiating the work of Catherine Ross and Alberto Fuentes. Daniel Baerlecken has worked extensively with design/build models of community building in Africa.
Working With Communities in India
Elliott’s work in India is just one example of the efforts being done.
He works with Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT), a 20-year-old organization that grew out of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA).
MHT works primarily with women residents of informal settlements to improve living conditions within their communities. These are settlements built without permits, on land the residents might not own or to which they have questionable tenure rights.
MHT helps women, who are often martinalized in community decision making, to work effectively together to resolve pressing problems.
Close, constructive relationships with local partners are essential to community work in the Global South. Elliott and MHT, for example, have knowledge, skills, and relationships that are complimentary and synergistic.
"MHT has a long history of working in slums. They know the people, language, culture and challenges," he said. "I work with staff, building their skills around issues of climate change, resilience, research, and organizational development."
He notes that MHT's working model is that staff from MHT go into the identified communities and work with the people -- mostly women and sometimes adolescent girls -- to organize residents into community action groups.
This includes support for community organizing, building leadership skills, strengthening the capacity of the communities to assess and understand the conditions they face, linking the action groups to citywide organizations of residents from similar communities, and linking both the individual communities and the citywide organizations to city agencies and other stakeholders who could partner to resolve communith needs.
Countries Hit by Climate Change
Elliott says cities in countries such as India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, are among the ones being hit hardest by climate change.
Cities create their own heat island, raising temperatures significantly greater than is caused by climate change alone. Moreover, because slums are often on marginal land and the buildings offer little protection from outside, these informal communities face the greatest climate change risks.
Elliott points out the four biggest risks to people in these informal settlements:
Heat Stress: Temperatures in many parts of India can exceed 108 degrees F during May, significantly higher than a human body at 98.6. Indoor temperatures can be even higher. People's health are adversely affected by those high temperatures. The type of buildings and landscape can make a difference.
Flooding: Climate change is increasing the variability of storms, thereby increasing the chances of flooding. The project focuses not on flooding from rising rivers, but rather from local stormwater management. Poor drainage and strong rains can bring flooding in communities. Houses are flooded and everything inside gets soaked and possessions are lost.
Vector-based diseases: Climate change is promoting the spreas of mosquitos and water-borne disease. Local communities can significantly alter these patterns.
Management of water systems: Clean water is necessary for drinking, cooking, hygiene and sanitation. Communities can organize to enhance their access to potable water.
Elliott said for him, success will mean that partner organizations will develop the internal capacity to manage complex projects on their own.
Other Forum Paraticipants
Joining Elliott at the forum are:
Alberto Fuentes, an assistant professor in the Schools of City and Regional Planning and of International Affairs; Catherine Ross, a professor in the School of City and Regional Planning, and director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, and Daniel Baerlecken, an associate professor in the School of Architecture.
Ross and Fuentes will outline a new prototype for conducting studio courses. The spring 2019 studio, “Puerto Rico – Disaster Mitigation and Recovery,” funded by the American Planning Association in partnership with the Graduate School of Planning at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras, is Phase I of a studio series and exchange program focused on disaster mitigation and recovery in Puerto Rico post Hurricane María.
Ross’ previous research focused on collection and analysis of data documenting the impact of natural disasters on critical civil infrastructures and lifelines. Recent research on natural hazards and lifelines have been linked to health partnering with researchers at Tongji University. Fuentes studies processes of economic development and industrial change in Latin America, emphasizing the role of state-business relations.
Baerlecken’s work generally takes place in countries in Africa, often working both government officials and residents.
He has conducted studios in multiple countries in Africa; he often works with clients around designing community important buildings, such as community centers.
About the Forums
The College of Design Research forums are intended to allow the College community and our friends across the campus to experience the design- and technology-focused research at Georgia Tech. From music technology to product design; from assistive technology to healthcare; from architecture to city planning, we explore the many ways technology can solve critical problems for the way we live.
The next forum will be January 24, 2019, from 11a-12p in the John & Joyce Caddell Building in the Flex space.
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To download a full rundown of where the SCaRP personnel are presenting and when, click here.
The School of City and Regional Planning will host a Joint Reception on Friday, October 26 from 7:30-9:30pm with University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Cocktails and light refreshments will be served. The Reception is at Osteria 166, 166 Franklin St, Buffalo NY 14202.
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Architectural Record’s fifth annual Women in Architecture awards recognized five recipients for their 2018 awards. The award series was founded in 2014 to recognize the women in architecture who push boundaries in design in the categories of design leadership, new generation leadership, innovation, activism, and education.
Click here to learn more about the 2018 Women in Architecture Awards.
]]>The toolkit was delivered to the city’s Planning Department in June 2018. It is among CSPAV’s growing portfolio of research and community-based projects that push the boundaries of computational data mining, spatial mapping through web services, geovisualization, and spatial representations.
According to Tony Giarrusso, associate director of the Center, the project started after Georgia Tech grad Ryan Gravel (B.S. ARCH, 1995; M.ARCH and MCRP, 1999) asked Giarrusso if the Center could create an interactive tool that allows for dynamic three-dimensional visualization of growth in the city.
At that time Gravel was doing contract work for the city as Director of Design. He helped to get the initiative started in 2016, according to Giarrusso. He said Gravel wanted a way to quickly visualize in three dimensions the effects of different population and employment growth scenarios. Gravel now runs his own private consulting firm.
The project website offers an overview of the design scenarios developed for the city and links to the three main planning tools intended for use by city staff. Documentation and reference material supplement static tutorial manuals, and a brief demonstration video showcases the capability of the tools.
The early phase deliverables include a city infrastructure database containing tangible and intangible assets, design scenarios exploring potential population and economic growth outcomes, and scenarios chosen to direct development efficiently.
The three online applications were customized to provide the most useful suite of planning tools. The apps were built using a combination of 2D and 3D geospatial and remote sensing data. They provide renderings of the current cityscape and allow users to visualize changes in the city with different planning policies.
The tools can be found on the Atlanta City Design (ACD) website, which hosts the Atlanta Interactive Design (AID), City Viewer, and City Editor applications.
The Atlanta Interactive Design application allows users to explore different growth scenarios and build-out possibilities, and view resulting statistics.
The City Viewer allows users to visualize buildings based on height, volume, growth type and texture.
The City Editor offers an editing tool for the creation, change, and visualization of potential buildings in the city.
The tools were created by Gordon Zhang, a research scientist at CSPAV and the 2017-2018 research scientists of the year in the College of Design.
Besides Giarrusso, who is a senior research scientist in the Center, Director Subhro Guhathakurta worked on the project, serving as principal investigator. The Center’s IMAGINE Lab helped construct the 3D building facades.
This project showcases CSPAV research connecting cutting edge cloud solutions to traditional planning problems, and can increase productivity and availability of digital tools and location-based assets accessed through a user friendly web-based interface.
]]>DuBose is the associate director of the SimTigrate Design Lab and was previously a senior research associate.
Describing DuBose, Craig Zimring, director of the SimTigrate Design Lab, said, “Jennifer is unique in her drive to make the world better using research, and in her commitment to building systems and partnerships to do that. She’s great.”
As noted in her promotion packet, DuBose “has consistently demonstrated a high level of scholarly achievement and technical, managerial, and entrepreneurial productivity. She has established a program of healthcare design research that seeks to bring academic evidence to the practice of design in order to improve healthcare outcomes.”
DuBose said, “The promotion process takes a lot of effort, but it feels good to look back over the sum of my work at Georgia Tech and have my accomplishments recognized by my peers.”
The promotion process begins at the unit level. The candidate must assemble and submit a CV, a package of their work, and three external letters of recommendation. The package is subject to peer review and the unit director adds a recommendation. The package then moves up through several committees until it reaches the president, who makes the final decision.
As the associate director of SimTigrate, DuBose is responsible for the operations of the Lab as well as project development and research. SimTigrate is an interdisciplinary Lab that is at the forefront of design research, and is working to create a better built environment, particularly in healthcare.
At SimTigrate, DuBose has created a research team comprised of faculty and students, from undergraduate to doctoral levels, to conduct high-impact research. She has stitched together funding from multiple sources to build a research program in evidence-based design. At the same time, she often manages several projects at once.
Nancey Green Leigh, the associate dean for research in the College, said DuBose’s “years of experience and contributions to advancing the field of healthcare design are nationally recognized and have been validated through external peer review.” She has 11 refereed publications
DuBose “has been the PI or co-PI on more than $4.5 million in research projects, mentoring over 40 students involved in center research. She has also made significant service contributions to the College, including mentoring other research scientists,” Leigh said. She called DuBose’s promotion well-deserved.
Among DuBose’s recent research is her work on the areas of light and sleep for inpatient settings and the space layout and teamwork in outpatient clinics.
The Lab’s light and sleep research began with an exploration of the impact that disruptions in hospital environments have on patient sleep and the resulting harm. Her work has explored the range of disruptions and her publications have presented strategies to improve sleep for patients. She has also contributed to the study of light’s impact on daily biological rhythms and how it works in healthcare environments.
Several projects examining space layout and teamwork under DuBose’s leadership have led the way in understanding how design can support the growing trend in collaborative teams in outpatient clinics. Through field research, analysis of occupant behavior and workspace layout, and a review of the literature, her team has developed recommendations for successful implementation of shared team rooms that support collaboration and communication.
Reflecting on her work, DuBose said, “I feel fortunate to have been able to collaborate on research projects with academic faculty and many different students over the years. It is really nice to have such a close connection with the academic mission of the College.”
At the College of Design, which she joined in 2007, DuBose took a lead in forming and growing the SimTigrate Design Lab, which works with Emory Healthcare, Mayo Clinic, Positive Impact Health Centers, Mercy Care, the Pacific Northwest National Lab, and many other partners to use the built environment to improve health and healthcare.
She has a career of more than 18 years at Georgia Tech, including five years at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).
Long committed to improving the lives of people through direct action and by environmentalism, DuBose in the 1990s served in the Peace Corps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, worked for the Georgia Tech’s Center for Sustainable Technology getting sustainability incorporated into the curriculum, and worked for Interface, Inc. – a carpet company -- where she established their carbon accounting program and the first corporate carbon neutral product.
She received her bachelor’s degree from Oglethorpe University and an MS in Public Policy from Georgia Tech. She joined the College of Design (then the College of Architecture) in 2007 after working in the Sustainable Facilities and Infrastructure group at GTRI.
On a personal level, DuBose also does her part to improve the world with her small organic garden in Intown Atlanta, where she grows cotton, peanuts, and vegetables.
]]>Connell earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1953 and completed his Master of City Planning in 1955 from Georgia Tech. After earning his degrees, Connell moved to Columbus, Ohio to serve as the principal planner for the Columbus City Planning Commission. At that time, he also worked as an associate professor of urban planning at The Ohio State University from 1957-1963. In the 1960s, Connell taught at Columbia University and the University of Virginia before returning to Tech to teach classes in urban planning and renewal and historic preservation in the School of Architecture.
“When you look through the Georgia Tech archives, you will see Pat Connell‘s name on all the unsung committee reports from the 1970s that were instrumental in establishing the Master of Architecture degree at our school,” said George Johnston, professor in the School of Architecture. “What’s even more impressive is that Pat had an incredibly vibrant second career and maybe even third after he retired from Georgia Tech. What a great example he was.”
Beyond the classroom, Connell put his passion for historic preservation into action. Shortly after returning to Atlanta, Connell served as chairman of the Atlanta Civic Design Commission. As chairman, Connell helped co-found the Atlanta Landmarks, a group of progressive politicians, civic leaders, and celebrities who joined forces to lead the “Save the Fox” campaign to prevent the demolition of Atlanta’s Fox Theatre.
Of Connell’s influence in saving the Fox Theater, Lane Duncan, senior lecturer in the School of Architecture said, “Pat Connell’s efforts in forming the Atlanta Landmarks in the early seventies not only ‘Saved the Fox’ but became a rallying cry for generations of historic preservation initiatives in the state of Georgia.
Connell was also instrumental in the preservation of the Pasaquan site in Buena Vista, Georgia and Atlanta’s Castleberry Hill preservation and the Sweet Auburn neighborhood revitalization.
Alongside his late wife, Martha, the Connells had an impressive collection of contemporary crafts and fine arts objects. Together, they co-founded the Great American Gallery, Atlanta’s unique contribution to contemporary crafts and fine arts objects. Many of the works that they curated now reside in leading museums and private collections around the U.S.
In 2016, Connell made a generous contribution to Georgia Tech to create the Connell Workshop. This course, taught in the spring semesters by Duncan, explores a wide range of issues in hand drawing, including tone, line, contour, gesture, composition, iterative geometry, and the humanistic forces that shape them. These drawing and critical thinking investigations are divided into two general categories—perception, the way we see the world, and conception, the way we attempt to order the world.
Of the importance of hand drawing, Connell said, “Drawing requires that all the sensory apparatus of the body participate in the process of creating an image of the observed or imagined stimulus. Unlike the camera, which records only a split-second view of the object, the act of drawing is not time-dependent. The act of image-making informs and instructs the brain to keep looking for all the messages being sent. The image-maker always decides when to make changes and when the work is ‘finished.’ The Gestalt is there for the taking by anyone.”
Duncan remembers Connell as, “A true scholar who believed that hand drawing is a vital ‘technology’ to seeing and understanding the world around us and that it is an essential tool for the architect no matter what generation.” He added, “His contributions to drawing and thinking live on in the work of every student that has taken the class.”
As Scott Marble, Chair of the School of Architecture, reflected on Connell's contributions to the School, he said, "At a time when our entire experience in seeing and creating the physical world is mediated through digital technology of one sort or another, Connell’s commitment to the bodily nature of drawing reminds us, both faculty and students, that thinking and discovering through drawing has enduring value in architectural education."
]]>Listen here. Their talk starts about 35 minutes into the show.
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“Professor Botchwey is an outstanding teacher, innovative researcher, and influential figure in disciplinary and policy circles. She is a colleague of substantial impact,” School of City and Regional Planning Chair, Bruce Stiftel noted in his nomination letter.
Botchwey’s impact includes pioneering courses that have brought city planning closer to public health concerns and completing substantive field projects with her classes. She is currently working with more than one million dollars in open contracts and grants from federal agencies, foundations and local governments. Her service commitments are many including having served on the Executive Director’s advisory council at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House Council on Women and Girls, the Governing Board of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, and the Ford Foundation Social Sciences Review Panel.
“I am thankful for the privilege I have to serve the Georgia Institute of Technology, the City and Regional Planning discipline, and my community. I aspire to seed a workforce that maintains and builds healthy communities for all in our society,” said Botchwey. “Georgia Tech and the College of Design provide me with this platform from which to change the world."
]]>Leading up to the conclusion of their final project, the team spent spring break at a week-long collaborative workshop in Tokyo. The workshop aimed to aid students in their work this semester investigating Kyojima, an inner-city neighborhood near the Tokyo Skytree landmark. Georgia Tech students combined with students from the University of Tokyo, the University of Tsukuba, and the National Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIES) of Japan to conduct onsite field work and interact with stakeholders from the local government and community.
Students also worked with University of Tokyo faculty and other experts in areas like energy modeling and mobility analysis. To end the trip, Georgia Tech students presented their project at the Tokyo Smart City Symposium, where 50 other leaders from a number of industries, universities and governments across the United States and Japan gathered together.
“I liked collaborating with students from Tokyo. The cross-cultural experiences and co-design processes among people from different backgrounds provided a unique opportunity for learning,” said Mick Tanglao, an architecture student at Georgia Tech.
The Tokyo Smart City Studio is an international partnership between the Georgia Tech Eco Urban Lab, NIES, the Global Carbon Project (GCP), and the Department of Urban Engineering of the University of Tokyo. It is a three-year collaboration for building a smart and ecologically sound community, as a pilot project in the context of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In advance of the 2020 Olympics, the city is seeking to prioritize carbon mitigation, energy-saving, disaster preparedness, and smart city technology goals. In 2017, the Tokyo Smart City studio designed a new community development in Urawa Misono. Next year, the project will move to Shinagawa, and will examine one of the biggest redevelopment projects occurring at Tokyo Bay.
“Tokyo as a mega-city provides an urban laboratory for smart city design. This allows us to address issues of complex infrastructural systems, and agglomerations of physical, cultural and technological challenges. Georgia Tech’s partnership in Tokyo allows us to develop our smart city research both locally and internationally, which is important in such a globally focused institution,” said Yang.
For more information on the Tokyo Smart City Studio, click here.
]]>Each year, Georgia Tech submits several teams to the competition. This year eight teams and 40 students participated. The finalist projects are called “Absorption” and “The EArL,” standing for the Eastern Arts Link.
The Absorption team included Coston Dickinson (MSUD), Justina Everhart (MCRP), Tara Garland (MRED) Trent Miller (M.Arch), and Carley Rickles (MSUD), advised by Lecturer David Haddow and Greg Catoe of Selig Enterprises.
“In December when we were forming teams, I had no idea what to expect,” said Justina Everhart, MCRP student on the Absorption team. “As I reflect on the whirlwind of the two-week competition period, I am so proud of my team for persisting through the challenge. The competition is structured in a way that demands innovation, collaboration, and enthusiasm. It revived my creative interests and gave me the privilege of learning from four exceptionally talented, interdisciplinary teammates who have since inspired me to pursue more creative, unconventional projects.”
The EArL team included Miram Alzaabi (MSUD), Jonathan Franklin (M.Arch), Clare Healy (MCRP), Zach Lancaster (MCRP), and Paul Steidl (M.Arch/MCRP), advised by Associate Professor Sabir Kahn and Tim Perry of North American Properties.
“We are thrilled to learn that we have been selected as one of four finalists in this year’s competition,” said Zachary Lancaster, MCRP student, on behalf of the EArL team. “We want to thank the faculty, staff and volunteers from the College of Design for all their support and feedback in the process of developing our submission, in particular we want to thank our advisors Sabir Khan and Ellen Dunham-Jones. We are excited to represent Georgia Tech in the finals and look forward to taking our vision of a diverse, high density cultural district in Toronto's emerging east side further.”
The ULI Hines Student Competition brings together students from different disciplines to envision a better built environment. Each team of five students has to have at least three disciplines represented. Teams are tasked with creating a development program for a real site in a North American city, with this year focused on an area near the mouth of Don River in Toronto. The teams have two weeks to compile designs, market-based financial data, and related narratives in a final proposal.
The final round will be held in Toronto on April 5. Students are invited to present to a jury panel and the final winner will be announced. In the weeks to come each team is given the opportunity to expand on their initial proposals, adding more detail. Each finalist team will receive $10,000 and the winner will receive $50,000. To see the official announcement from the ULI, click here. For more information on the ULI Hines Student Competition, click here.
]]>Measuring the Dream aims to record the progress made towards achieving the dream laid out by Dr. King 50 years ago through data analysis. Data reveals that not enough has changed. The data deals with health, wealth, education and more, looking at where black Americans are in relation to whites.
“Fifty years later we should be at 1 [parity], not because whites in America are doing worse, but because blacks in America are doing better,” Botchwey explained.
The concern is not just with black Americans, but with equity in our society as a whole. “The educational, economic and racial divide is as pronounced as ever -- giving rise to groups like Black Lives Matter and inspiring women, LGBTQ and other groups to rally for equal treatment under the law,” Botchwey and Young said. “Cries for affordable housing, quality schools, LGBTQ/Trans rights have become a mainstay in today’s political climate.”
On March 15, the Measuring the Dream Symposium took place, gathering prominent community leaders to review research data with a discussion on how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. The Symposium was held at the First Congregational Church in Atlanta. It featured a panel consisting of those who worked alongside Dr. King and other community leaders including: Ambassador Andrew Young, Bernard Layfette, Representative Park Cannon, and Mary Hooks.
To learn more about the Measuring the Dream project, click here. To read more about the Measuring the Dream Symposium, click here.
]]>"It was an honor to represent Atlanta at the UN's Goal Engagement Summit,” Davis said. “The initiatives and efforts in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals are vital to a resilient future in both a US and global context. The US plays a critical role within the UN in supporting this momentum. It was empowering to be a part of the conversation, and I developed a deeper understanding of how I can personally engage in supporting the SDGs."
Davis is a Graduate Research Assistant with the Sustainability Research Network. She also serves as the webmaster for the Student Planning Association.
With more than 1,500 attendees, the Global Engagement Summit was the largest assembly ever of Americans gathered in support of the UN. For more information on the Global Engagement Summit, please click here.
]]>Gibbs’ research will identify service level equity gaps in 2 Atlanta transportation networks: MARTA and the Atlanta Streetcar. The study aims to highlight how the level of service impacts employment, upward mobility, and job density based on population characteristics. Results will enable a comprehensive analysis of transit’s role in the Atlanta metro-region, specifically how the current transit network facilitates or inhibits access and equity in specific locations. It also aims to provide a better picture of transit network efficiency overall. In addition to her own research, Gibbs is a Graduate Research Assistant for the Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization (CSPAV).
The Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions and Dollars (CTEDD) is a consortium of five universities leading transportation policy research that improves economic development through the more efficient and cost-effective use of existing transportation systems and offers better access to jobs and opportunities.
]]>The five new Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems Faculty (BBISS) Fellows are:
About the BBISS:
The Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems promotes comprehensive and innovative systems-based approaches to address the challenges and opportunities inherent in achieving a sustainable and prosperous future. The BBISS enhances Georgia Tech’s research, education, and service missions, and campus operations through leadership, communications, development, and decision making inspired and defined by the principles of sustainability. More information is available at the BBISS Website.
Additional Links:
http://sustainable.gatech.edu/profs_fellows
Links to profiles:
Kate Pride Brown, School of History and Sociology
Emanuele Massetti, School of Public Policy
Yuanzhi Tang, School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
Cassandra Telenko, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Perry Yang, School of City & Regional Planning
]]>“It’s both an exciting and a frightening prospect to share research on one’s hometown in one’s hometown,” said Jones. “Atlanta is full of examples of suburban retrofits and I won’t be able to point out the pros and cons of all of them – but I’m honored to try!”
The Atlanta Studies Symposium will be held on April 20, 2018 at Emory University’s Robert W. Woodruff Library. This year’s symposium focuses on the theme, “Atlanta: City + Region.” To see the official announcement from the Atlanta Studies, click here. For more information on this year’s symposium and to view the full program, click here.
]]>Kim was called to the House floor on Thursday morning to receive the recognition through House Resolution 1541, read and adopted on March 14, 2018. HR 1541 was adopted to recognize and commend the contributions of Georgia’s Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and officially recognize Feb. 22, 2018 as Georgia Asian American Legislative Summit and Lobby Day at the state capital. The resolution was sponsored by Bee Nguyen (89th District), Sam Park (101st District), Deborah Gonzalez (117th), Brenda Lopez (99th District), Pedro Marin (96th District), and Renitta Shannon (84th).
The full text of the resolution can be found here. For more information on Anna Joo Kim and her work with the School of City and Regional Planning, please click here.
]]>He said between 2008 and 2014 there wasn’t much change in the overall canopy. “But as we got on the ground and started to look at things, we noticed a lot of the things that we saw as gain were not true gain,” the station quoted him as saying.
Those gains in trees, the station reported, were mostly in what Giarrusso called “pipe farms.” He described those as places that were cleared for development, never got developed, then fast-growing pine trees sprouted up. They can’t replace the old hardwoods, he said.
Giarrusso is expected to release his final report in the next few weeks.
Read the full WABE article.
Regional Centres of Expertise commit to implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals at the local and regional levels. There are 6 total RCEs in the United States and 156 globally. The goals advanced by the RCE Greater Atlanta are no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; and climate action.
The RCE Greater Atlanta is led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University and Spelman College, in collaboration with Agnes Scott College, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Morehouse College, and the University of Georgia. Parties interested in joining the RCE’s efforts should contact Jennifer Hirsch, Director of the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain at Georgia Tech and Adjunct Associate Professor for the School of City and Regional Planning.
For more information, please visit https://serve-learn-sustain.gatech.edu/greater-atlanta-un-rce.
]]>Elliott’s case, “Women's Action towards Climate Resilience for Urban Poor in South Asia,” focuses on the climate resilience capacity of women from slum communities in seven cities of South Asia to take the lead in action against climate risks.
“Lincoln Institute's efforts to build a digital case library for sharing land policy knowledge across the globe is to be commended,” said Elliott. “Cases provide rich descriptions and allow for nuanced understanding of the context, policies and actions utilized to enhance community wellbeing.”
"In the past I have had a relatively strong association with the Latin American division of The Lincoln Institute. Now that I am at the USA, this activity goes in the line of also establishing an association with the Headquarters,” said Garza.
Garza’s case study was on, “Implementation and Effects of Land Value Capture in Bogotá, Colombia.”
Winning projects received funding of $1,000 and will become part of the Lincoln Institute’s first digital case library. To find out more about the awards from the ACSP announcement, click here. For more information on the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, click here.
]]>“In 2018 we will continue to implement the association’s strategic plan. Alongside our core focus of operational excellence and sustainability, we are tackling several fun projects including a new website! The site will be fresh and mobile-friendly while continuing to support our member database and functions,” said Rushing in his 2018 President’s Message. “We are offering a new Global South membership for our colleagues in Mexico and Central and South America, along with membership outreach and renewal campaigns. We will be continuing to support our friends, including a series of joint-member features with ITE, promoting Walk/Bike/Places along with Project for Public Spaces, and looking for new opportunities with our national peers and local chapters.”
Rushing is currently a transportation planner with the Atlanta Regional Commission. He focuses on bicycling, walking and livability planning. The APBP was founded in 1994 at the ProBike Conference in Portland, Oregon. It has more than 1,300 members across the United States and Canada, all working in different areas and contributing to the same mission. For more information on the APBP, click here.
]]>“It’s great to be chosen as a track chair for the ACSP conference in Planning Education and Pedagogy," said Kim. "As one of Tech’s studio instructors, pedagogy, and the process of how we apply our planning knowledge in diverse communities is really important to me. It will be interesting to see the knowledge developed by this generation of planning practitioners and scholars, and I hope to see more of our graduate students submitting to the conference.”
Kim joins two others from the School of City and Regional Planning. Associate Professor Nisha Botchwey is serving her second year as a co-chair of the Food Systems, Community Health and Safety track. Dr. Carlton Basmajian (MCRP ’00), Associate Professor at Iowa State University, is serving as a co-chair of the Planning History Track.
The next ACSP conference takes place October 25-28, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. The theme of the conference is “Continuing City: People, Planning and the Long-Haul to Urban Resurgence.” For more information on the ACSP website, click here.
]]>Dr. Thomas Douthat received a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech in 2017, completing the dissertation, “Adaptive Efficiency in Coffee Clusters: Resilience through Agglomeration, Global Value Chains, Social Networks, and Institutions,” under Associate Professor Michael Elliott’s direction. The dissertation uses mixed methods to examine economic and environmental resiliency of coffee cooperatives in Mexico and Costa Rica. During the dissertation fieldwork, Douthat was a Fulbright-Robles Scholar and a visiting researcher at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur in Mexico. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Global Planning Educators’ Interest Group awarded Douthat its Gill-Chin Lim Award for the best dissertation on international planning in 2017.
Douthat came to Tech as an economics graduate of Gilford College and a law graduate of the University of Puerto Rico. He had practiced law with Pietrantoni, Mendez and Alvarez in San Juan and clerked for the Hon. Salvador Casellas in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. While at Tech, Douthat served as a research assistant for Michael Elliott and Steve French, and then as editorial assistant for the Journal of Planning Education and Research under Subhro Guhathakurta and Nancey Green Leigh. He also taught the undergraduate introductory planning course.
Dr. Douthat is currently Research Engineer in Prof. Laurie Garrow’s lab in the Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, pursuing research related to travel demand forecasting and equity analysis. He recently accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Louisiana State University, beginning Fall 2018.
Dr. Dana Habeeb received a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning in 2017, having earned both an MCRP and M.Arch at Tech previously. Her dissertation, “Exploring Urban Agriculture as a Climate Change Mitigation Strategy at the Neighborhood Scale,” supervised by Professor Brian Stone, examines the urban design and urban heat mitigation potential of urban agriculture in Atlanta.
Habeeb was a member of the Urban Climate Lab, where she contributed to CDC funded research projects examining the impact of development and design techniques on air quality and climate change. She served as GTA and then lead instructor in SCaRP’s Urban Environmental Management and Design course, and then worked with Larry Keating to direct the Georgia Conservancy-funded studio, Tracking the Effects of Sea Level Rise in Georgia’s Coastal Communities, which went on to be named Outstanding Student Project by the Georgia Planning Association, and Student Project of the Year by the American Planning Association. Habeeb was also a board member of Cabbagetown Initiative Community Development and worked with the City of Atlanta to create new green space in her neighborhood.
Dr. Habeeb began work as Visiting Professor in the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering at Indiana University in Bloomington this past fall.
In Spring of 2017, Ph.D. candidate Elora Raymond received her doctorate in City and Regional Planning Georgia Tech’s School of City & Regional Planning. She also holds an A.B. in History from Brown University.
While with SCaRP, her research explored the intersection of real estate finance and socio-spatial inequality. She delved into the uneven housing market recovery following the real estate and financial crises of the 2000s, persistent and concentrated negative equity in the Southeast, the rise of single family rental securitizations, and eviction rates in single family rentals. Dr. Raymond has published articles in Urban Geography, Housing Studies, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Community and Economic Development Discussion Paper Series. Her research has been featured in the Washington Post, Bloomberg’s Businessweek, NPR’s Morning Edition, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Univision, and Radio New Zealand, among other news outlets. Prior to her career as an academic she worked in health care finance as a planner and as a survey researcher.
Dr. Raymond accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in City Planning and Real Estate Development in the School of Architecture at Clemson University.
Wenwen Zhang received her Ph.D. from Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning in 2017. She also earned a Master's in City Planning, Civil Engineering, and Computational Science & Engineering from Georgia Tech.
While at Georgia Tech, she was a research assistant at the Center for GIS for six years. Her research focuses on leveraging open, big data, data science techniques and data visualization tools to address critical planning issues. Her dissertation, “The Interactions between Land Use and Transportation in the Era of Shared Autonomous Vehicle: A Discrete Simulation Model,” explores the interactions between land use and transportation in the era of shared autonomous vehicles using an agent-based discrete event simulation. She has worked extensively in interdisciplinary environments to deliver techniques that can address real-world sustainability problems. Her research received the best student paper runner-up award in 2016 Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD) conference. Her research interests include: innovative transportation and land use interaction; sustainable transportation; energy consumption; urban simulations; big & open data; applied machine learning in urban studies.
Dr. Zhang is currently an assistant professor at Virginia Tech’s School of Public & International Affairs.
]]>PEDS has honored several people and places on an annual basis with the ‘Golden Shoe’ award. This year the award also honored Marian Liou for advocacy, Darin Givens for journalism, Walgreen’s for redeveloping the historic Olympia Building, and the City of Sandy Springs for its suburban retrofit. PEDS was founded in 1996 and is a small advocacy group dedicated to making Georgia communities pedestrian friendly.
]]>School of Architecture: Carmen Wagster, Marketing & Events Coordinator II
]]>“I am delighted to work with our new mayor and the excellent people that make up her transition team. The diversity represented on the team and the willingness of the private and public sector to serve is a great beginning point," said Ross. "It is my hope to assist her as she takes over and moves the city forward embracing our past accomplishments and positioning Atlanta for an even brighter future.”
The full transition team consists of diverse group of 38 prominent members of the Atlanta community including business people, entertainment personalities, and community figures. To find out about the rest of the team and to read the full release from the mayor’s office, please click here.
]]>“My research focuses on sidewalk prioritization and assessing pedestrian infrastructure. I proposed using sidewalk quality data to develop a tool to better assess walkability in communities, specifically for people with disabilities or mobility impairments,” said Dyess. “The ultimate goal is to create a ranking for pedestrian infrastructure that incorporates the methodology used by Walk Score, but also takes into consideration sidewalk issues that impede access and mobility for all users.”
Walls explained, “My proposal for the fellowship was to assess the feasibility of integrating on-demand autonomous shuttles into [the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority’s] public transportation system as a first-mile and last-mile solution. My primary objectives will be to determine 1) whether AV shuttles would be cost effective for MARTA, and 2) whether they would provide a time or productivity benefit for the public.”
Dyess and Walls are dual enrolled in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and pursuing dual master’s in civil engineering and city and regional planning. This year’s other winners from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering were David Boyer, pursuing his master’s in civil engineering and an MBA; Ph.D. student Calvin Clark; Ph.D. student David Ederer; and Lauren Gardner, pursuing her master’s in civil engineering.
]]>While holiday shoppers were out in force this year, the experience they had shopping is the perfect storm of some trends that have been going for some time, said the director of the Master of Science in Urban Design program in the Georgia Tech School of Architecture, Ellen Dunham-Jones.
The number of malls has been declining for almost 20 years, she said, mostly because we overbought retail and, lost middle-class jobs in many regions of the country. E-tailing has forced the remaining malls to evolve, Dunham-Jones said.
“What’s new, now, is that the department stores are failing.”
Recently named to Planetizen’s list of “100 Most Influential Urbanists of All Time,” Dunham-Jones is an expert in urban and suburban redevelopment. She is also one of the nation’s foremost authorities on what's happening to “dead malls” declining office parks, and other aging suburban property types.
Her research is frequently sought by Mayors, developers and news outlets concerning retrofit solutions for America’s dying malls, and the alarming number of Macy’s stores closing.
“For the last decade, loss of an anchor meant a mall was quickly going downhill,” she said. “Lately though, mall owners are saying, ‘Without that anchor, I can bring in a gym, a grocery store or other experiences you can’t get online.’”
Office space is the most common re-use of excess mall area, Dunham-Jones said.
“Ford moved 1800 employees into the former Lord & Taylor’s of a Detroit mall," she said. “Rumor has it that Google Glass took over an entire dead mall in Mountain View.”
While no one likes to see businesses fail, Dunham-Jones sees dead malls as opportunities to address 21st century challenges the suburbs were never designed for. Her research documents the 263 mall retrofits that are helping their communities reduce auto-dependence, and increase public health, social capital, affordability, and water and energy sustainability.
In 54 cases, malls have done this by becoming the “downtown” their suburb never had, she said.
“They’ve demolished most of the mall, but re-inhabited the anchors with new uses. They put in a grid of streets, put retail at the ground level, and apartments above,” she said.
With the change in malls comes an inevitable change in traffic, said Catherine Ross, the director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD) and the Harry West Professor of City and Regional Planning at the School of City & Regional Planning.
“During holiday shopping season, traffic is to be expected,” Ross said. “Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is always going to be tough. Last weekend I had to circle the mall to get a parking space. It was horrible!”
But there’s a noticeable difference in the travel experience to get to the mall, she said. That’s because now, e-commerce is sharing the road.
“Google and Amazon and eBay deliver to your home. Now the congestion is on our door-to-door streets,” she said.
Ross said CQGRD researchers have been looking at e-commerce.
“It’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” she said. “We’re all enjoying it and no one is taking care of it.”
While the convenience of e-commerce is a blessing, Ross said that residential streets aren’t designed to deal with the delivery truck capacity they’re experiencing. Packages from online shopping get delivered virtually 24-7, she said.
“The big question is, what does e-commerce do to emissions, safety, air quality, and access? All of those are now issues,” Ross said. “It has consequences we need to monitor and try to mitigate."
Ross also thinks to the not-so-distant future and the impact that autonomous vehicles could have on holiday shopping.
“Emerging and improving technologies promise a safer, more efficient transport system. That's going to impact shopping, zoning and parking requirements, and street design. It will also create new challenges and opportunities for transit operations," she said.
“Imagine, under full automation, a vehicle that drops you off at work, then stops by a cleaner's where your articles are deposited and then provides on-call services elsewhere before picking you up from work, or your favorite store."
Autonomous vehicles will influence all kinds of travel and shape the sharing economy in ways we can only speculate about, she said.
Ross is quick to point out that Millennials are responsible for much of this holiday season’s online shopping, but they haven’t stopped driving to the mall entirely.
For them, weekends are peak times to do specialty shopping, she said. “For example, at smart tech vendors and phone stores, parking is a challenge this time of year.”
Millennials grew up in malls as teenagers, and now find them boring, Dunham-Jones said. It’s been the Baby Boomers’ shopping habits that have sustained malls for the longest time, “but now Boomers like me are hitting the age where we don’t buy that much.”
“By the time you’re in your 50s, you have most of the stuff you need,” she said. It’s the following generation, Gen X, that are now in their prime consuming years.
“In general, Gen X is a small generation. There are not enough of them to occupy all the single-family homes that the Baby Boomers will vacate. They’ve also not had the same kind of job security the Baby Boomers had, and they don’t have as much in savings, so they’re not spending at the same rate,” Dunham-Jones said.
This leaves Generation Y as the biggest target market for retails, Dunham-Jones said, “but they are saddled with debt, and more interested in buying experiences than products."
"All of these shifting markets are all the more reason why malls are rapidly evolving.”
]]>“Lisa remains dedicated to continued process improvements and implementing programs that encourage clean commuting travel options,” said Sherry Davidson, director of business operations in Parking and Transportation Services. “She represents qualities that Georgia Tech values such as innovation, leadership, and improved service.”
Safstrom oversees alternative transportation, commute options, and related programs for Parking and Transportation Services. She has worked at Tech since 2013, after working for six years at the Georgia Department of Transportation.
]]>The Final Report contained recommendations and implementation strategies including standards for transportation improvements, health projects, an Affordable Housing Impact Statement, small business retention and a special zoning district with design land use guidelines for redevelopment of the corridor that would improve the sense of place and preserve the diversity of the study area.
The project was also covered by local news and can be read about here.
]]>Kim’s research examines the blurred boundaries between informal and formal jobs for low wage immigrant workers, and how these semi-formal employment arrangements translate into strategies for local economic growth in ethnic neighborhoods. Her studio course projects include work in the greater Atlanta area and supports efforts to understand immigrant communities.
“I am honored to receive the Dale Prize in Planning Excellence. To have received the prize in recognition of my research and on-the-ground practice of ’planning with immigrant communities and regions’ is wonderful, and it’s exciting to see broader recognition of this in our field. Recently, my studio graduate students were also awarded by the Georgia Planning Association for our work with refugees in Clarkston, and I’m proud to see how passionate planners are about planning with and for diverse communities and making sure that all voices are heard,” said Kim.
The Dale Prize is awarded by California State Polytechnic University, Pomona’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning and invites recipients to meet with students and to speak at a two-day colloquium held on campus.
]]>Each year, GIS Day produces a number of student entries, some more serious-minded than others. This year’s entries and winners were no exception. Matt tackled inequality and gerrymandered school districts in Gwinnett County, while Lucy mapped a Baby Driver-inspired heist plan of Washington DC.
“I began to put together this map after watching the movie Baby Driver,” Lucy explained. “That day, when I browsed through potential GIS data sets, I found one with all the bank locations in Washington D.C. and the thought clicked. The idea for the map was set as a heist scenario.”
For Matt, there was a larger problem to understand. “Anecdotal evidence suggested that school districts in Gwinnett County, Georgia, seem to be “gerrymandered” to include or exclude certain areas based on housing type/density and thus income and race, a pattern that may help perpetuate socioeconomic inequality,” Matt explained. That larger problem required a much more complicated methodology. “I'd say the main difficulty in this project was that I had data on a variety of indicators at the census block group or tract level, and I wanted to map those same indicators by school zone, so I had to figure out how to transfer them to a different geographical unit.”
At the end of the day, both students produced great work.
]]>According to Center Director Subhro Guhathakurta, “The time is right for building a new platform and brand that captures our capabilities and ambitions.”
The Center now has a new name and a leading approach to sustainable urban futures and advancing geospatial technologies. Their research now includes big data, deep learning, immersive visualization, augmented reality, and cloud computing.
The Center will continue its collaboration with other units on campus, including College of Design units, the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD), the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA), and the School of City and Regional Planning.
Read the director's statement and learn more about their new brand.
This year's Symposium will focus on Atlanta in the context of projected regional growth and historical legacies across spatial and cultural boundaries. The questions it will pose:
The Symposium is currently accepting session proposals on these topics. Please submit abstracts no later than January 16, 2018. For more information on guidelines and to submit your proposal visit the website.
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9 current Georgia Tech PhD students, three recent PhD alumni, and 9 faculty will make a total of 32 presentations at the Denver ACSP conference, 12-15 October at the Marriott Denver City Center. Full list will be published here soon.
Thomas Douthat (PhD '17) will receive the Gill-Chin Lim Award for the best dissertation in international planning from the Global Planning Education Interest Group - and will present this work 8:30am Friday 13 October in Colorado A room.
Georgia Tech will co-host a reception with the universities of Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina on Friday evening, 7-9pm in Colorado G-J room. If you are near Denver, please join us.
Download the ACSP Schedule Cheat Sheet
]]>In partnership with the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT), Georgia Tech’s initiative on Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation is developing innovative approaches to shaping resilient and sustainable communities.
Through research and development, strategic partnerships, and cutting-edge programming, the initiative brings Georgia Tech's interdisciplinary expertise in technology and policy to the development of smart cities and communities.
The Institute has assembled a 20-plus member interdisciplinary faculty council co-chaired by Gisele Bennett, Georgia Tech’s associate vice president for research faculty interaction, and Beth Mynatt, executive director of IPaT.
Members of the council include the College of Design’s Ellen Dunham-Jones, Catherine Ross, and Dennis Shelden, as well as representatives from four Georgia Tech colleges and nine schools.
Georgia Tech is pairing the council with a number of key partnerships, including the City of Atlanta, which recently launched the North Avenue Smart Corridor pilot project. As the City’s official research partner on the project, Georgia Tech is helping to develop, deploy and evaluate smart technologies aimed at improving public safety, environmental health and traffic congestion along the corridor.
As part of the initiative, a new Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation website provides a comprehensive summary of key partnerships, projects, and data sets. Visit smartcities.gatech.edu for more information.
]]>The SRC is APA’s student leadership body, responsible to provide input on student-related policies as well as giving voice to student perspectives on APA’s wider issues. Becca will take office in January 2018 and serve a two-year term. She will be the third straight Region II Rep Georgia Tech, following Shelley Price (MCRP ’16; now Long Range Planner with the City of Henderson, NV) and Thomas Hamed (MCRP ’15; now Transportation Demand Manager with the City of Alexandria, VA). Region II consists of eight states: Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia.
As the student representative Becca will build on the SRC Executive Committee's work to facilitate connections between Planning Student Organizations, students and other APA Divisions, and encourage student contributions to the APA blog.
Becca already has a history of leadership with Georgia Tech Student Planning Association, Women in Transportation and the LGBTQIA Resource Center. Please join us in congratulating Becca on her latest achievement, and please support her work by letting her know how you believe APA can better serve students and emerging professionals.
]]>Clarkston Speaks!, was a pioneering effort to help the City of Clarkston understand the views of its diverse immigrant population, conducted by Ashley Bozarth (MCRP '17), Anindya Debnath (MCRP '17), Richard Duckworth (MCRP '17) , Emily Estes (MCRP '17), Ryan Fleming (MCRP '17) , Margaret Kent (MCRP '17) , Kevin Mara (MCRP '17), Phoebe Mayor (MCRP '17) , Grant Patterson (MCRP '17), Austin Shelton (MCRP '17), Deepti Silwal (MCRP '17), Cole Smith (MCRP '17), and Nene Igietseme (PhD class of '19). Under the supervision of assistant professor Anna Joo Kim.
]]>She believed that “to find solutions, we need all perspectives in the room.”
To bring these perspectives together, Ross worked with individuals from Georgia Tech, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Emory University, Georgia State University, local government leaders and health departments to create the Healthy Places Research Group (HPRG) in 2003.
They set out to address questions such as: How is public health influenced by the built environment? What role do policy makers, planners, architects, engineers and designers play in addressing these challenges?
Ross, director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD), and colleagues sought to answer these and other questions through both applied research and by building multi-disciplinary partnerships.
The group is guided by the concept that "Healthy Places" can refer to buildings, neighborhoods, and even entire metropolitan areas. HPRG works to explore how to develop, design, and build places that promote good health, support community values, and restore vitality to communities.
The overall goal of HPRG is to provide a forum to share research and build relationships, keeping dialogue open for opportunities to work together. Participants in HPRG have formed teams which have submitted successful research proposals.
The early supporters of HPRG were alarmed by the increasing rates of overweight and obesity in the United States, and felt that all individuals who could change this trajectory should strive to do so.
These initial discussions were motivated by the increasing body of evidence that planners, architects, engineers, policymakers, designers, and others who are not in the traditional fields of public health or medicine can still positively influence public health.
One early steering committee member was Andrew Dannenberg, an M.D. with a master’s in public health, who is currently an affiliate professor in Environment and Occupational Health Sciences as well as Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington.
He states that, “The built environment influences public health in many ways - for example through rates of physical activity, air pollution, injuries, mental health, social capital and environmental justice. Multiple disciplines come together to create the built environment. … Design and policy interventions can positively affect obesity and chronic disease rates. Public health can't fix these problems alone.”
He still attends meetings if they occur when he is in Atlanta
HPRG meets monthly during the academic year at the CQGRD at Georgia Tech.
At each meeting, speakers present their work on a common theme which explores how places can be built to promote good health. Some examples of previous topics have included:
The contributions of the HPRG program were recognized in 2004 and 2005 by the local pedestrian advocacy group Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety (PEDs), for work that encourages active lifestyles and other healthy choices, such as walking.
The goal of PEDS is “to make communities in Georgia safe, inviting and accessible to everyone who walks.”
Sally Flocks, the Executive Director and Founder of PEDs, describes what she sees as the value of the group:
“HPRG provides an opportunity for people in a variety of fields who are interested in connecting the built environment and public health, to come together to share their work through presentations and discussion.”
Flocks has been a longtime supporter of HPRG and continues to attend HPRG meetings.
Participation is open to anyone interested in the characteristics and advancement of healthy places within the built environment. HPRG meetings typically include participants from the School of City and Regional Planning, CQGRD, Emory, the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University, the CDC, local, state and federal employees, and individuals from the private sector. It is also open to the public.
The first meeting of the school year in September was canceled in the wake of Hurricane Irma and will be rescheduled.
The October meeting will be from 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 24, at CQGRD, 760 Spring St., Suite 213, Atlanta, Ga. 30308.
]]>This ranking places Georgia Tech second among all university planning programs in the South. Georgia Tech was additionally recognized 2nd in the nation among programs allowing part-time study, and 6th in the Educator’s Reputation Survey.
“Planetizen evaluates planning programs using thirty measures,” says School of City & Regional Planning professor and chair Bruce Stiftel. “This third consecutive top 10 ranking reflects a professionally-engaged, research-led education that prepares future leaders of the city planning profession. Tech alumni reach across the globe to make cities more sustainable, resilient and just.”
Rankings are based on a reputational survey of planning educators; program characteristics such as student retention, financial aid, and student/faculty ratio; faculty characteristics such as diversity and research productivity; and student characteristics including employment rate post-graduation, average GPA and GRE scores, and diversity of the student body.
“The School of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech has a long and distinguished history,” says Steve French, Dean of the College of Design and Professor of City & Regional Planning. “This latest national ranking recognizes our outstanding faculty, students and alumni, and the amazing work they are doling to create more sustainable and livable communities in this country and around the world. I am very proud that we are one of the national leaders in planning education.”
Tech’s seventh place ranking follows Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of California, Berkeley; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of California, Los Angeles; Rutgers; and Harvard. Rounding out the top ten are the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Southern California; and Cornell.
Georgia Tech’s graduate planning program began in 1952 and counts more than 1,500 alumni now working in 49 states and territories and 32 foreign countries. In addition to the MCRP program, the School of City and Regional Planning offers courses for undergraduates, as well as a Ph.D. program in city and regional planning and a Master of Science in Geographic Information Science and Technology.
Planetizen’s 5th Edition Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs is available online at https://www.planetizen.com/topschools and in print.
]]>Walk. Bike. Thrive! supports ARC’s long-range transportation planning while giving local governments the tools they need to build high-quality, low-stress walking and biking networks and the supporting policies. The plan gives an in-depth analysis of regional safety, health, transit service, equity, and regional trail access, as well as data useful to local officials pursuing projects.
“It was a super fun project and we hope it will create a positive shift in how the agency and local partners plan and prioritize investments in walking and biking in the region,” Davis said.
The Transportation Planning Excellence Awards are presented by FHWA together with the American Planning Association to celebrate outstanding practices performed by planners and decision makers in communities across the country. Judges consider community involvement, context sensitive solutions, innovation and effectiveness, equity, implementation, multimodalism and potential for long-term benefits.
]]>The award committee cited Douthat’s use of mixed methods and his important insights and analysis for ecological and economic resiliency. He spent 18 months conducting fieldwork in Costa Rica and southern Mexico studying resilience theory, environmental management, regional development, network theory and sustainability in the Global South. His methods combine case comparisons with social network and regression analyses.
“The project sheds new light on issues of economic resilience and social justice at the global and local scales,” the award committee wrote, adding that his recommendations are “potentially important globally.”
Douthat is the first Georgia Tech student to receive an award from the ACSP for a dissertation. According to School Chair Bruce Stiftel, “The international planning dissertation award represents an important step on our path to internationalize our scholarship.”
Gill-Chin Lim was dean of international studies at Michigan State University and an early proponent of globalizing planning education. Educated at Seoul National University, Harvard and Princeton, Lim taught at University of Illinois, Urbana, in addition to Michigan State. GPEIG established the Lim award in his memory in 2004.
Douthat will present his work at a student awards panel session at the ACSP conference in Denver on either Friday, 13 October, 8:30am – 10:00am or Saturday, 14 October, 2:00pm – 3:15pm.
]]>The Richard Simmons award is a memorial to Dick Simmons, a Florida pioneer in the planning profession,FCCMA uses the award to recognize planning professionals who have made considerable contributions to the improvement of a local government and local government management, to the public’s understanding and appreciation of responsive and well-managed local government, or the development of future managers in the profession.
Harden served as city manager of Delray Beach for over 22 years. Delray Beach was transformed under Harden’s leadership, from a run-down commercial strip to a regional destination. The city received numerous awards during Harden’s tenure, including twice being recognized as an All-American City. Delray was additionally recognized twice by the Alliance for Innovation for innovative projects in providing services.
Harden oversaw more than $200 million in capital projects while working in Delray, including public buildings, streets, and water and sewage facilities. He relocated the high schools serving the city, built a new elementary school, and replaced the buildings for the other two serving the area.
Prior to working in Delray, Harden served as Winter Park’s city manager for 12 years. He negotiated Winter Park’s purchase of the water system serving the city and the suburban areas, and initiated legislation that enabled Winter Park to be a pioneer in Central Florida by producing reclaimed water for irrigation. He also started a program to reverse the deteriorating water quality in the city’s lakes.
Harden has also served as a planner for Winter Park and Orange County, and served in the Navy as disbursing officer and head of the Supply Department while on board a ship.
Harden retired from Delray Beach in 2013, but has remained active in the Florida planning community. From August, 2015 to September 2016 he served as the Interim Manager for Port Orange, Florida. He is currently working at the Village of Palm Springs, Florida, serving as Public Service Director.
]]>The School of City and Regional Planning is actively engaged in research and instruction aimed at helping communities to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This is among our highest priorities given the potential threats to land, environment, economy, and equity represented by the impacts of climate change. Our work includes:
In our laboratories:
In our classrooms:
The politicization of climate change has added significant institutional uncertainty to the already substantial environmental, economic and equity uncertainties facing our planet. As a School engaged in preparing future planning practitioners to guide communities in the U.S. and abroad, we are troubled by the increased uncertainties, driving us to redouble our commitment to developing tools and approaches that assist future planners and others to accurately forecast and respond to the challenges of carbon footprint, sea-level rise, urban heat, and other dimensions of climate change.
]]>The 2017 APA National Planning Conference arrived in New York City on May 6th. Inclement weather delayed numerous attendees, including many of our us from the Georgia Tech Planning program. Some with layovers were stuck in nearby cities, while others faced flight delays and cancellations. Still, by 8:00 am, many of us arrived to hear the keynote speaker, Peter Leyden, discuss our field’s promising advances as well as our upcoming challenges.
The theme of the conference – Planning in Motion - opened discussion about the future of our profession. Some challenges include the tech “disrupters” selling services typically provided by traditional planning; the shift towards technology and big data, and the incremental improvements to both which may come at the cost of doing real community outreach and involvement for disadvantaged citizens. All this, plus the increasing urgency for resiliency planning, as the planet continues to set temperature records year after year.
For students, this conference gave a glimpse into what we will face as professionals. Some of us saw the encroaching presence of big data and tech as a necessary evil. Intrepid futurist Nathaniel Horadam (MCRP Class of ’18) comments, “Planners need to start engaging these [tech] firms to develop mutually beneficial partnerships, [but] only recently opened those channels to begin building a technology knowledge database for planners around the country.”
For Rebecca Van Dyke (MCRP Class of ’18), School of City and Regional Planning SPA President, the conference was a way to connect with student planning organizations from around the nation. She was particularly impressed by the organization from Florida State University, Synoptikos, and came away thinking about “how SPA can involve Atlanta’s youth.”
But for young planners, the conference was also a chance to see how we could interact with the public. “Lessons from Painful Public Meetings” brought levity to our profession, as well as examples of how our constituents conduct themselves. In addition, there was a series of Pecha Kuchas called “Fast, Funny, or Passionate,” consisting of seven-minute talks. Several of them addressed dealing with the public, planning professionals, and other stakeholders.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for any conference attendee was the task of deciding which of the concurrent panels to attend. Fortunately, all panels were recorded and will be uploaded to the APA site. This will allow attendees to visit some of the more interactive sessions, including tours to places like Radburn, Sunnyside Gardens, Chinatown, lower Manhattan, and East Harlem.
These interactive workshops and tours were some of the most exciting parts of the conference. New York City has a rich planning history, from the first laws regarding zoning, to the more problematic plans of Robert Moses. The diverse immigrant communities and the concentration of arts and culture have attracted migrants from all over the world, making New York the biggest Metropolitan area in the US, reaching from Connecticut to Pennsylvania. This presents challenges in transportation, housing, and equity unlike anywhere else. Seeing these challenges tackled on a large scale can prove beneficial for any planner.
For Van Dyke, New York proved a walkable city that offered an opportunity to explore. “We must have walked ten miles, wandering wherever we felt pulled. We talked about what we would do if we could magically fix one major urban problem and shared stories about ourselves. We ended the night by eating ramen in Greenwich village, which felt very well-deserved.”
For Horadam, New York is not an area of interest, but even he could appreciate its place in history. When recounting his visit to the World Trade Center, he said, “As someone who obsesses over American history and the memorialization of our nation’s past, it was important to me that we got this one right… from the Freedom Tower to Calatrava’s Oculus transit hub to the memorials where the original towers once stood, they knocked this one out of the ballpark.”
For me, the conference confirmed what I already knew: that New York is a lot of things for a lot of folks, and it has something for everyone.
]]>This year, Georgia Tech School of City & Regional Planning student Elora Raymond (PhD Class of '17) took home the title of Best Paper at the conference. Her submission, which addressed negative equity and lagging housing market recovery in African American neighborhoods in the southeastern US, was selected from submissions recognized for their high-quality research.
Every spring at the UAA Conference, the Best Paper Award award is made to the author(s) of the paper judged by peer scholars as the best presented at the conference. Recipients are given a $1000 honorarium, an award plaque, and complimentary registration to the subsequent conference where the achievement is officially recognized.
Congratulations to Elora Raymond!
]]>Leigh is the associate dean for research in the College and last fall secured a grant from the National Science Foundation National Robotics Initiative to study the U.S. robotics industry and its economic impacts. She also is a professor in the School of City and Regional Planning.
She gave us her thoughts on robotics research and the industry.
1. Why should anyone research the robotics industry?
Robots are being developed and “employed” across the economy, on farms, in factories, warehouses, hotels and hospitals, to name just a few types of businesses using them. They will fundamentally transform daily life and work. Researchers are essential to making that transformation happen from a creative and technical perspective. They also have a key role to play in ensuring that robotics diffusion is not simply imposed upon society in a way the causes winners and losers, but, rather, leads to robotics’ full potential for enhancing all human experience and safeguarding the physical world.
2. How will robots affect city and regional planning?
City and regional planning includes a number of specializations that focus on the world in which we live, such as economic development, environment, housing, land use, and transportation. Robotics diffusion will affect all of these areas, but, currently, the most attention is being given to how autonomous vehicles (a kind of robot) will alter our transportation infrastructure, as well as greatly reduce the number of driver jobs.
3. Your peers are inventing and improving robots: What does Georgia Tech need to do to shape a future with robots?
We are already shaping a robotic future at Georgia Tech, but there is much to be done. Within the College of Design, in a great example of how robots can contribute to the arts and empowering those with disabilities, music Professor Gil Weinberg has developed a marimba-playing robotic musician that uses machine learning for jazz improvisation, as well as a prosthetic robotic arm for amputees that restores and enhances human drumming abilities. Associate Professor Russell Gentry offers a great example for architecture; he is using a Kuka robot for teaching robotic fabrication and for researching humans – robot collaboration in a fabrication setting.
4. What else should the Design academic community research about robots?
We have a major research focus on assistive technologies involving several schools and research centers of the College of Design and robots will be an increasing part of such technologies. How robots navigate existing street, sidewalk and building infrastructure, and how their presence might influence future design of such infrastructure is another rich research area. And how the deployment of robots in multiple economic sectors affects current and future jobs will be a critical economic development question tying in with many aspects of the Design academic community.
]]>“The MARTA Hackathon series is a yearlong initiative between MARTA, Sandbox ATL, Code for Atlanta, and HackGT with the goal of connecting MARTA with the Atlanta tech community to help new ways of thinking and problem solving to emerge,” said Scott Henderson, co-founder and CEO of Sandbox Communities.
“MARTA and the City of Atlanta realize they can find better solutions and breakthroughs by working with a community of experts who happen to be MARTA riders and City of Atlanta citizens,” he said.
The DBL fielded a team of four master’s, Ph.D., and Coding Boot Camp students, and a faculty member as part of its Smart City research initiatives. Over the past six months, the DBL has been working closely with the City of Atlanta and the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) to develop synergy and programs that connect Georgia Tech with the city, Smart City ambitions, and available data services.
The team focused on tying 3D visualization environments to real-time streaming data from MARTA’s online web APIs. They developed a virtual environment where users could track bus locations in real time and created a digital 3D heat map that allows users to visualize the intensity of people entering and exiting MARTA transportation.
Team member Jieun Rim is a student at the Georgia Tech Coding Boot Camp currently on her way to becoming a full-stack developer. She explained, “As a regular MARTA rider, I use mobile apps like MARTA and marta.io all the time to get the information I need to use MARTA comfortably. Developing new ways (or improving old ones) to connect users to their requested information (like train schedules or knowing if there is an accident) can help us live our daily lives in a smart and predictable environment.”
The Hackathon’s 24-hour sprint meant the DBL team had to come prepared, work efficiently, and communicate with each other.
“The timing was very challenging. We had to complete the project that included understanding MARTA's data structure for over 9,000 buses in the Atlanta area, and applying the right algorithms to it to capture live bus schedule updates and traffic conditions impacting their schedules,” said Esterling Accime, a full-stack web development student at the Coding Boot Camp. “This type of work could take as long as a month for a similar team to do what we did in a day.”
The DBL team completed a prototype of their system during the Hackathon and they plan to continue improving its performance.
“Teams got really far with their ideas, identifying some major pain points for the people using the MARTA system and around the City of Atlanta, and proposed novel solutions for it,” said Diego Osorio, who is seeking a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction, focused on tangible interactions.
Highlights for the team included learning new skills and networking with Atlanta innovators.
“It surprised me that so many volunteer programmers were willing to share their ideas, codes and experience with other people. The Hackathon is a successful platform for enthusiastic programmers to co-work,” said team member Tzu-Chieh Kurt Hong, a Ph.D. candidate in architecture focusing on design computation.
Five judges representing the MARTA board and executive team, Cisco, and Atlanta met with participants in a science fair-style showcase to determine the top teams.
Kari Watkins, a judge and an assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech, said she "was amazed at the quality of the top applications. In only 24 hours, teams created working prototypes to add rideshare into MARTA, build easy to implement kiosks, and do direct advertising on MARTA.”
Debra Lam, managing director for Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation at Georgia Tech, said, “When it comes to Hackathons, open data empowers people. MARTA is thinking about the future of transportation, and how the City of Atlanta and Georgia Tech can influence it.”
The Hackathon was one of the first visible public initiatives exposing this partnership to the broader Atlanta community.
Deputy CIO for the city, Kirk Talbott, said the city "offers a ‘real-world’ laboratory where research can be applied and scaled to solve urban challenges at a level not easily replicable in a university setting.”
Dennis Shelden, a Hackathon team member and director of the DBL, said, “This is a great example of how the City of Atlanta and Georgia Tech work together to create new ways of tackling emerging opportunities using data to improve the lives of the community.”
]]>Five College of Design instructors have won the 2016 Class of 1940 Course Survey Teaching Effectiveness Award. This award is given to a maximum of 40 Georgia Tech teachers who received the best scores on the Course-Instructor Opinion Survey for the question, "Overall, this instructor is an effective teacher".
The prize includes a one-time pre-tax award of $1000 and having their name printed in the Celebrating Teaching Day (March 14, 2017) program.
Michael Gamble, an associate professor in the School of Architecture, won the award for instructing ARCH 6069: Advanced Architecture Design I. Gamble also won the award in 2015, 2013, and 2012. He is the director of graduate studies for the School of Architecture, creative director for Gamble + Gamble Architects in Atlanta, and known for examining the environmental impact of design decisions, notably through his work with housing, energy, and building technologies.
Gamble’s research has received grants from: The Alcoa Foundation, The Kendeda Foundation, Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, and the National Endowments of the Arts. He also received First Prize for Research in an international competition sponsored by the Environmental Design and Research Association.
Dan Immergluck won the 2016 award for instructing CP 6630: Government and Housing Markets. He's won the award twice before, both for CP 6611 | Real Estate Finance and Development.
As a professor in the School of City & Regional Planning, Immergluck teaches courses in statistics, real estate finance, housing policy, and social justice and equity planning. Professor Immergluck’s research concerns affordable housing, neighborhood change, community development finance, economic development, and other topics. His applied research focuses on housing and development issues in Atlanta as well as cities around the country.
Dan is the author of four books, more than four dozen scholarly articles, numerous book chapters and encyclopedia entries, and scores of applied research reports. His scholarship is widely cited, and he has been quoted extensively in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and other media. He has testified several times before Congress and the Federal Reserve Board.
Young-Mi Choi, an assistant professor in the School of Industrial Design, won the award for instructing ID 2022: ID Studio II. The class is set up to give students the chance to interact with a variety of users, such as users with spinal cord injuries confined to a wheelchair or users with visual impairments. This allows them to practice engagement techniques with real users, obtain feedback and test their designs.
Choi teaches product development, human factors, and ergonomics. Her research activities focus on applying evidence-based design in innovation and human-centered design. Her research focuses on topics related to the roles played by users, industrial designers, engineers, and marketers during the process of creating new products and assistive technologies. She is also the director of the I3 Lab and a project director with the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wireless Inclusive Technologies (WIT RERC). She has received the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program Women of Excellence Award, Outstanding Faculty Award and multiple course teaching effectiveness awards.
Stephen Sprigle, a Professor with appointments in Bioengineering, Industrial Design and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, won the award for instructing ID 6100 -- a required class for students in the Industrial Design and Human-Computer Interaction graduate programs.The class targets the science of design, professional ethics and responsible conduct of research. Students are challenged to think through the trade-offs between various design research methods, and discuss the history and profession of industrial design.
A biomedical engineer with a license in physical therapy, Sprigle directs the Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research Lab (REARLab), which focuses on applied disability research and development. The REARLab’s research interests include the biomechanics of wheelchair seating and posture, pressure ulcer prevention, and manual wheelchair propulsion. Its development activities include standardized wheelchair and cushion testing and the design of assistive and diagnostic technologies.
Jason Freeman, a Professor in the School of Music, won the award for instructing MUSI 6003: Music Technology: History and Repertoire. His artistic practice and scholarly research focus on using technology to engage diverse audiences in collaborative, experimental, and accessible musical experiences. He also develops educational interventions (such as EarSketch) in K-12, university, and MOOC environments that broaden and increase engagement in STEM disciplines through authentic integrations of music and computing. His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, exhibited at ACM SIGGRAPH, published by Universal Edition, broadcast on public radio’s Performance Today, and commissioned through support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Freeman’s wide-ranging work has attracted support from sources such as the National Science Foundation, Google, and Turbulence. He has published his research in leading conferences and journals such as Computer Music Journal, Organised Sound, NIME, and ACM SIGCSE. Freeman received his B.A. in music from Yale University and his M.A. and D.M.A. in composition from Columbia University.
]]>Shani Sharif, graduate student at Georgia Tech in Architecture
Shani Sharif, an architect and researcher, is currently pursuing her doctoral studies in Computational Design at the School of Architecture.
Melanie Metal, graduate student at Georgia Tech in Planning
Melani Metal is pursuing a Master of City and Regional Planning in the School of City and Regional Planning.
Georgia CEFPI provided the awards to these two students stating "Your submission was deemed as stellar and your response was succinct and commendable. The selection committee wanted to convey their appreciation for your hard work and the effort you have put into your field of study."
Shani Sharif expressed her appreciation for the award stating "It is a great honor to receive Walter H. Fairchild Scholarship from Georgia CEFPI. I am truly thankful that Georgia CEFPI recognizes students’ academic achievements, and by awarding this scholarship supports and encourages higher education. "
]]>]]>
My option paper was about the history behind the development of high speed rail in France and its current financial state. High speed rail, or trains that travel at an excess of 120MPH, have become an important form of cross-country travel in Europe. States such as California have begun building the infrastructure in the United States. However, high speed rail is a controversial topic in the US with opponents criticizing the costs to develop and maintain the infrastructure and rolling stock (trains). I wanted to take a deeper dive into the economics of high speed rail in France (which has been around since 1981) to see if these criticism had any merit. Most of the documents available were in French so I translated a lot of the work into English in order to complete the option paper (thank you mom & dad for forcing me to learn your native language).
Talk a little bit about your relationship with your advisor, and how they helped you complete the paper.
My advisor, Tim Welch, was supportive throughout the process, at first we met one-on-one to agree on a topic and then we met in a group with his other advisees to hash out the methodology and talk through our progress. The group meetings were really helpful because they really kept me on track. I didn't want to fall behind the other students so we banded together and set common deadlines.
What are you up to these days? Is your research related to what you are doing now?
I accepted a job as a planner for a consulting firm in Florida before graduating. I rarely do transportation work; it's mostly updating comprehensive plans, redevelopment plans and amending land development code. High speed trains have mostly been discussed in the western US where the distances between large cities could support the technology and the political climate is more favorable. My option paper has not impacted the work I do directly but I have received emails from individuals who have read my work. I feel as though the case study I did on French high speed rail was unique because of my ability to translate French documents and make them available to English readers.
What are a few of the things you enjoyed most about the program here?
My classmates constantly challenged me and introduced me to new ideas and perspectives. I miss debating planning theory and development alternatives for our studio project. I have kept in touch with classmates and it's amazing which direction each has taken their MCRP education. That's probably my favorite part of the planning profession, you'll rarely do the same thing twice since the work is so context-sensitive.
]]>Rethinking Equity in Atlanta
April 26th, 2017
Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center
Atlanta, GA
CALL FOR PAPERS: DEADLINE 15 FEBRUARY 2017
Though the city of Atlanta continues to thrive, as it has for the past century and a half, social stratification and inequality has remained a persistent part of its urban fabric throughout. For the fifth annual Atlanta Studies Symposium, to be held at the Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center on April 26, 2017, we invite academics, citizens, and practitioners to investigate and explore past and present issues around equity and inclusion in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
This symposium poses the questions: How might we better understand the issues around equity that are specific to Atlanta? What are we talking about and not talking about, when we discuss equity in Atlanta? How might we design a future Atlanta that better serves all of its citizens?
We seek panels and paper presentations that address such topics from a wide range of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. In addition, we welcome proposals on any aspect of Atlanta, past, present, or future, though priority will be given to those that directly relate to the conference theme. We welcome both fully constituted panels of three to five paper presentations, as well as individual papers or posters for consideration for inclusion in this symposium, though priority will be given to full panel proposals.
The fifth annual Atlanta Studies Symposium will feature a keynote address from Professor Zandria Robinson of Rhodes College.
Please submit abstracts via this form no later than February 15, 2017: https://goo.gl/forms/B3gLqOoVtKbxdeZo1
Notifications will be sent out by March 1, 2017.
If you have questions about the event, please email:
atlantastudiessymposium@gmail.com
Sponsors of the event include the Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, Emory University’s Center for Digital Scholarship, Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of City and Regional Planning, and Georgia State University’s Council for the Progress of Cities, Department of History, and Department of Geosciences.
https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/atlantastudies/2017/01/10/cfp-for-atlanta-studies-symposium-2017/
]]>The integration of emerging technologies into the construction, Implementation and operation of our transportation and other civil systems is the greatest opportunity in front of us, ” says Dr. Ross.
The group will explore the benefits of smart transportation services for communities, including low income populations in urban, suburban, and rural America. Extending beyond transportation-related operational and safety topics, the event will address issues related to how smart systems are implemented. Potential impacts on mobility, access to work and opportunities, community experiences, public and private costs, and social equity will all be addressed. The Symposium will take place on Thursday, January 12, 2017 at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C.
To learn more about Dr. Ross, please click here.
]]>The Tokyo smart city project is an international joint effort between the Global Carbon Project (GCP) of the Tsukuba headquarters, the National Institute of Environmental Studies of Japan, the Department of Urban Engineering of the University of Tokyo and the Eco Urban Lab, in collaboration with Misono’s Urban Design Center UDCMi, a governmental planning agency. Georgia Tech will lead the project’s first phase by organizing an international Urban Design Studio. Professor Perry Yang of the Georgia Tech School of City & Regional Planning and School of Architecture will lead the joint studio, together with Dr. Yoshiki Yamagata, the Head of GCP, Professor Akito Murayama of the University of Tokyo, and Professor Ellen Do of the Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design and the School of Interactive Computing. More than twenty students from the School of City and Regional Planning, the School of Architecture, the School of Industrial Design, and the College of Computing will participate in the studio project.
“Tokyo is the largest mega-city of the world with a population of 37 million," said Professor Yang. "Its enormous scale, system complexity, innovation in design, and cutting-edge technologies provides an experimental urban laboratory and a terrific test bed for the smart city concept. We are hoping to develop a design integration model to make sense of this fascinating opportunity in Tokyo, and see how Georgia Tech can make contributions to this international partnership for creating the next.”
The studio is planning an on-site workshop in Tokyo in March 2017 as a study abroad opportunity. Students and faculty of Georgia Tech will travel to Japan and team up with local students and researchers in Tokyo to develop a joint design proposal and to meet with local community and governmental officials, and industrial stakeholders while in Tokyo. More background information of the smart city project and international urban design studio can be found on these sites:
Misono Urban Design Center, Tokyo, Japan: http://www.misono-tm.org/udcmi/
Global Carbon Project, Tsukuba office: http://www.cger.nies.go.jp/gcp/
International Urban Design Studio of Georgia Tech: https://waterfrontcities.wordpress.com
Eco Urban Lab of Georgia Tech: www.ecourbanlab.org
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What was your option paper about?
My option paper explores how the public sector can leverage tactical urbanism—i.e. a series of small, low-cost placemaking improvements—as a viable tool within the broader toolbox of community development. Generally, government resources have favored intensive “brick and mortar” development. My paper provides a justification for government to support a greater variety of small scale, inclusive development approaches to better meet the values of the public.
Why did you pick that topic?
I was fascinated by the global do-it-yourself movement spurred by the devastating effects of the recent economic downturn. I was also inspired by the community driven interventions I observed during my time studying in Brazil—an opportunity leveraged through a partnership with Georgia Tech and the University of Florida. I began questioning the extent of the public sector’s role in supporting the smart, earnest placemaking I observed everywhere around me. My option paper topic was essentially an argument to increase the level of government support for these community led initiatives, which I felt was low in some jurisdictions and non-existent in others.
Talk a little bit about your relationship with your advisor.
One can imagine the lack of precedent for the research I proposed. It proved difficult to define the methods and locate the relevant literature to address my topic successfully. Dan Immergluck helped to form my initial scope of work into a coherent plan of action and suggested the relevant literature I needed to produce quality work. To me, conducting research is a painstakingly beautiful process, Dan allowed enough flexibility to make a mistake, learn from it, and then, do better.
What are you up to these days? Is your research related to what you are doing now?
I’m currently based in Washington D.C. working in the social impact investment sector. I get to travel across the country to deploy creative, mission-driven capital to community projects that encourage equitable, inclusive development. While not directly related to my research, I often engage with community stakeholders committed to creating a brighter future on their terms. On a more direct note, I have begun initial conversations with the DC Office of Planning and District Department of Transportation to encourage a study and update of the current city required public space permits for street performance art.
What are a few of the things you enjoyed most about the program here?
At Tech, I had the freedom to pursue my interests full stop. The school resources (and city!) provided me with the opportunity to grow as a scholar and professional. I also recently visited the “Georgia Tech of the North” on business, and I must say, the people at Tech are much better!
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The award, announched Nov. 29, is a promotion from Tech’s designation as a Silver level BFU in 2012.
“We’re very pleased to reach this new level of designation,” said Lance Lunsway, senior director of Parking and Transportation Services. “The Institute has worked hard to promote cycling as a healthy, clean, inexpensive transportation alternative, and through our infrastructure improvements and programs we’ve seen the numbers of community members biking to campus increase significantly.”
The Bicycle Friendly University program evaluates applicants’ efforts to promote bicycling in five primary areas: engineering, encouragement, education, enforcement, and evaluation/planning, known as the Five E's. Georgia Tech particularly excelled in campus infrastructure and its plans to increase programming, such as classes and incentives for cycling.
Georgia Tech encourages bicycling as an easy option for transportation because it’s inexpensive, promotes health and physical fitness, improves air quality, and reduces congestion on campus. Several recent infrastructure improvements have been implemented with cyclists in mind, including the transformation of 6th Street to include a protected, contraflow bike lane; new bicycle markings on Ferst Drive to promote visibility and to direct cyclists; and the Tech Parkway multiuse path conversion project in collaboration with the PATH Foundation. Fix-it stations and new bike racks are being installed on campus on an ongoing basis.
Tech is also home to a station in the city of Atlanta’s new Relay Bike Share network. Users can now access bikes at the intersection of 5th and Spring streets in Tech Square, with five more campus stations coming in the spring.
Going forward, Georgia Tech will have access to a variety of free tools as well as technical assistance from the League to become even more bicycle-friendly.
Georgia Tech joins a group of 51 new and renewing BFUs from 25 states. It is the only college or university in Georgia with the Gold designation.
“In its fifth year, we’ve seen the Bicycle Friendly University program’s momentum continue to grow and reach even more campuses across the country,” said Bill Nesper, programs director for the League of American Bicyclists. “We applaud this round of BFUs for raising the standard and being innovative in making bicycling a safe, convenient, and enjoyable option for students, staff, and visitors alike.”
Each BFU must reapply for designation every four years. Learn more about bicycle resources on campus at bike.gatech.edu and the BFU program at bikeleague.org/university.
]]>Parking and Transportation Services
]]>Faculty from these four universities, with backgrounds in medicine, public health, city planning, and parks and recreation, will provide research to inform policy changes that will help make physical activity an everyday experience for all American children. PARC will focus on children in lower-income communities, often part of African American, Latino, Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islander ethnicity groups, who typically have fewer opportunities to be active. This lack of physical activity contributes to obesity, mental health problems, and increased risk for diseases in adulthood.
“The persistent disparities in physical activity and obesity will be addressed by PARC. We are focusing our studies on finding solutions that are appropriate for children from highly diverse racial and ethnic groups as well as those from low-income communities,” said Jim Sallis, PhD, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at University of California San Diego School of Medicine , co-Director of PARC.
“We need to understand what policy, environment and other motivators will get lower-income African American, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native American children playing, running, jumping, kicking and swinging. The Physical Activity Research Center will answer these questions and partner with community organizations to get our kids moving” said Nisha Botchwey, Georgia Institute of Technology School of City and Regional Planning, co-Director of PARC.
PARC received a $3 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to fuel their efforts. RWJF supports evidence-based strategies that aim to make physical activity part of a child’s daily routine. The Foundation is working to build an inclusive Culture of Health across America to ensure that all children have opportunities to grow up at a healthy weight.
“Kids, especially those who are underserved, need opportunities to be physically active in their neighborhoods and schools every day,” said Tina Kauh, lead RWJF Program Officer. “PARC will focus on finding solutions to help our most vulnerable kids be more active. This is critical for fostering lifelong healthy habits and promoting health equity within our communities and across our country.”
“The unique nature of PARC is reflected in my participation in PARC, I am on an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment to PARC and Georgia Tech from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Tom Schmid. “CDC has a long history of collaborating on strategies to promote physical activity and healthy weight with programs supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We are excited to continue this relationship with PARC which will provide valuable access to effective strategies for promoting physical activity in youth, especially minority youth in high need communities.”
Why PARC is Different?
Previous studies focused on promoting physical activity among youth, and examined education, programming, and environmental change with some progress noted overall. Unfortunately, a closer look at where gains were made shows that the disparity gap in physical activity and health remains and is wider today than in previous years. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in 2011-2014, the obesity rate among white youth was 14.7% while the obesity rate was 19.7% among black youth and 21.9% among Hispanic Youth.
PARC will conduct four targeted studies to inform policy, systems, and environmental change strategies that promote child well-being, and share findings from PARC-funded research to a broad audience. It will accelerate the application of research into practice through targeted information sharing with local, regional and national youth serving organizations and other stakeholders working to advance children’s health.
Botchwey from Georgia Tech will assess how policy development and training youth to be advocates for changes in the built environment can foster health and produce positive policy and environmental change.
Sallis from UC San Diego will examine summertime youth physical activity patterns. Youth tend to gain weight during the summer, in particular black and Latino children. This study will identify opportunities to increase their physical activity and maintain a healthy weight.
Pollack from Johns Hopkins will examine whether culturally relevant Play Streets can be adapted to low-income rural communities to increase physical activity among elementary and middle school-aged children.
Floyd from NCSU will study public park use and physical activity among children in lower-income and racial and ethnic minority communities in Raleigh-Durham and New York City. The findings will inform planning decisions for city parks by providing information about how park design can improve recreational opportunities and programs for underserved populations.
All studies conducted under PARC will address multiple racial and ethnic groups, focusing on children and youth who experience inequities in opportunities to be physically active. PARC studies will not only have the potential to help children engage in physically active lifestyles, but will also have clear implications for policy and practice.
Coordination of the Center is managed by a team in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego.
To find out more about PARC email Chad Spoon at scspoon@ucsd.edu.
]]>My option paper was a feasibility analysis examining whether the property owners along Howell Mill Road could create a viable Community Improvement District (CID) as a funding source to address the corridor's infrastructure issues.
Why did you pick that topic?
I was working as a co-op student for Jamestown Properties at the time. A friend of mine who was a neighborhood leader in Berkeley Park asked me to hop on a conference call to talk to the Asset Manager for Jamestown's White Provisions development (located on Howell Mill) about the possibility of creating a CID. The idea germinated during that call. I decided that the go/no-go decision to create a CID would require a fair amount of research and coordination which Jamestown probably would not have the resources to tackle. It seemed like a great subject for an option paper.
What was your relationship like with your faculty advisor?
I was originally assigned to a transportation advisor, but in December of my second year when I came up with the CID research idea, I realized I couldn't pursue the paper without help from a professor with a deep understanding of the real estate sector. Dan Immergluck agreed to work with me despite already having a full load of advisees. He was encouraging of my plan to take a idiographic research approach involving primarily one-on-one personal interviews. He helped me shape the paper outline and provided key expertise in how to analyze the property ownership data. I could not run with this idea without his support.
What are you up to these days? Is your research related to what you are doing now?
Yes, 100%. I called a meeting with the top 11 commercial property owners in the corridor. They all reached a consensus on the idea to create a CID and enlisted my help in setting it up since I had already spoken with so many of the owners. I am now the Executive Director of the newly formed Westside/ Howell Mill CID.
What are a few of the things you enjoyed most about the program here?
I loved working and collaborating with such a talented group of classmates. Now that we have all graduated and taken the Atlanta planning scene by storm, I have friends in high places!
]]>On October 11, 2016 Covestro, a world-leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials, and Tongji University, one of China’s most prestigious universities, signed a Partnership Agreement to create the Chair position. The agreement aims to offer excellence in education and research, and to increase awareness about the role that high-tech smart materials can play in achieving sustainable urbanization in China.
The core of the Chair for Sustainable Development centers around a project to create a blueprint for future urban communities based on low carbon and net-zero energy concepts. To this end, a systemic approach for modeling best solutions in building and transportation, as well as energy and water systems, has been developed to look at available materials for improved energy and water efficiency. The project offers the opportunity for short-term research assignments for visiting research students from within the United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) network.
Additionally, insights from the core research project will provide the basis for academic teachings, and these insights and milestones are expected to be published and presented regularly in academic journals and at an annual forum, which aims to bring together academia, industry, customers and other partners to jointly define next steps in the development and implementation of the blueprint. The Chair for Sustainable Development is steered by representatives of Covestro and the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development, and encompasses total financial support of up to 150,000 EUR per year.
“The Chair Professorship brings in opportunities of cutting-edge research in the field of ecological urban systems design by working with material scientists” said Yang. “Through carrying out the core research project, we aim to invite students from UNEP network, Tongji University and Georgia Tech to identify key opportunities and challenges, develop solutions and policy recommendations for building future sustainable urban communities based on the use of smart materials.”
To read more about the position, please visit the websites:
1. UNEP-Tongji Institute
http://unep-iesd.tongji.edu.cn/index.php?classid=169&newsid=2669&t=show
2. Eco Urban Lab
]]>Advisor : Dr. Alex Karner
Data describing transportation system performance are rapidly increasing in scale, scope, and availability. Cell phone traces, social media activity, smart transit fare cards, and real time transit vehicle information have begun to supplement legacy approaches to modeling travel demand. These data provide higher degrees of temporal and spatial resolution than existing travel surveys and can be used to shed new light on integrated system performance. While some of these sources are proprietary, expensive, and problematic with respect to privacy concerns, others are not. PhD students are sought to conduct original research on these and related topics with expertise in data management, programming, geographic information science, or statistics; substantive interests in social equity and environmental sustainability; and a desire to convert data into useful and actionable information which members of the public and planners can use to make informed decisions about the future of their cities and regions. It is expected that the final products of this research will lead to transformational changes in transportation planning practice through the creation of open source software and tools that can be deployed to address ongoing challenges related to affordable housing, transportation accessibility, and automobile dependence. Questions pertaining to the assistantship may be directed to Dr. Alex Karner (alex.karner@design.gatech.edu).
DOCTORAL ASSISTANTSHIP IN U.S. ROBOTICS INDUSTRY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Advisor: Dr. Nancey Green Leigh
Funded through a NSF study titled, Workers, Firms, and Industries in Robotic Regions, the proposed research will generate data and conduct analyses about the U.S. robotics industry and the economic impacts of robotics technology. It will do so on the heels of a significant leap in robotic capabilities that has enabled robot-human collaboration. It will situate robot use and diffusion in a regional context, building on the investigators’ previous work identifying and characterizing the U.S. robotics industry and the regions that host research, development, and commerce relating to robotics. By identifying regional factors that lead to innovations in robotics technologies and influence local firms’ decisions to use robots, this research seeks to equip local policy makers with knowledge to foster competitive and resilient places in the context of rapid technological change. Questions pertaining to the assistantship may be directed to Dr. Nancey Green Leigh (nancey.leigh@design.gatech.edu)
DOCTORAL ASSISTANTSHIPS IN TRANSPORT PLANNING, ANALYTICS, AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Advisor: Dr. Catherine L. Ross
Cutting-edge technologies, data availability, e-commerce, emerging energy alternatives, and changing travel preferences will cause dramatic shifts in the travel experience. In addition, they offer the promise of significantly increasing the safety and efficiency of our transportation system. While the research agenda and our commitment to unleashing the potential benefits of these and other recent developments is important there are other equally significant drivers. The research must be understood and integrated within the context of multi-jurisdictional stakeholder involvement, evolving policy and planning, health, public and private sector perspectives, global competitiveness and resiliency. This coalescence is the basis for structuring our transportation future and that is a primary objective of the fellowships. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicts that global air passenger traffic could double in 15 years, air freight could triple in 20 years, and port handling of containers could quadruple by 2030. Autonomous vehicles have made significant progress in recent times and on-demand transport services are revolutionizing accessibility and can bring mobility for many not well served in our cities, rural areas, and regions. The doctoral fellowships will fund students to contribute to the development and deployment of tools and knowledge that transform transportation system performance. Questions pertaining to the assistantship may be directed to Dr. Catherine Ross (catherine.ross@design.gatech.edu).
DOCTORAL ASSISTANTSHIP IN PLANNING SMART AND RESILIENT CITIES
Advisor: Dr. Subhro Guhathakurta
The rapid increase in urbanization around the world has presented a range of environmental challenges such as the depletion of non-renewable resources; air, water, and land pollution; and high rates of climate-altering emissions. These pressures have demanded planning responses that go beyond the traditional approaches, requiring integration of more high resolution spatial and temporal information to optimize urban service delivery for the varying demands of a highly diverse population. Cities are being challenged to become “smarter” in serving the demand for its services that enhances livability without compromising sustainability or resilience in the face of climate change. However, few guidelines exist for making the transition to the new form of planning to realize the idea of smart cities. In this research, we will investigate future scenarios linking urban developments to energy, water, transportation inter-linkages and develop new decision-making tools to optimize resource use while enhancing the quality of life. This endeavor will require cross-disciplinary skills such as spatial data analytics, the design of infrastructure and delivery services, computational expertise including coding, economic and social analysis, and policy and planning approaches, among others. The candidate will be working with a diverse team and participate in a supportive learning environment that is uniquely multi-disciplinary and globally dispersed. Questions pertaining to the assistantship may be directed to Dr. Subhro Guhathakurta (subhro.guhathakurta@design.gatech.edu).
DOCTORAL ASSISTANTSHIP IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITY PLANNING
Advisor: Dr. Nisha Botchwey
The School of City and Regional Planning invites applications for a doctoral fellowship in Community Development and Equity Planning under the direction of Associate Professor Nisha Botchwey. The fellowship covers tuition and salary for a period of between one and four years and, pending the outcome of a separate application process, may also carry a Georgia Tech President’s Fellowship, which would provide additional salary support. The successful applicant will conduct research on composite indicators of race, ethnicity, and equality that contribute to community development across the United States. The project will leverage existing national data sources and require original qualitative data collection. The results are expected to be relevant to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers seeking the achievement of just, sustainable, and prosperous cities and regions. Candidates are sought with backgrounds in planning, geography, statistics, public policy, GIS, or other related disciplines; experience working with various datasets and databases; and strong skills in geographic information systems. Questions pertaining to the assistantship may be directed to Dr. Nisha Botchwey (nisha.botchwey@design.gatech.edu).
]]>I used the National Park Service (NPS) as a model for why and how a public organization could make its decision-making more efficient by making it more customer-oriented. Specifically, I investigated how customer experience measurement might be implemented to plan for more meaningful access to nature for national park visitors with disabilities. Customer experience is the perception that customers have of all of their interactions with an organization. The idea of customer experience is one that is often used within the private sector to design and sell products and services but is underutilized among public organizations.
“Meaningful” access is key. Just because the picnic area and restroom meet federal requirements for accessibility does not mean that a visitor with a disability is able to fully experience the true reason one might go to a national park!
I conducted expert interviews with NPS employees at all levels as well as customer experience professionals from a variety of industries. These enabled me to identify specific improvement opportunities for the ways in which the NPS thinks about, measures, designs, and strategizes the visitor experience. I then proposed a process for collecting data on the visitor experience and design practices to utilize those customer-based insights.
My proposal will help park managers prioritize the specific access improvements that would have the greatest impact on park experiences of the target visitor segment. These included:
Why did you pick that topic?
The National Park Service is currently building a nationwide strategy for tackling the glut of accessibility-related issues across the 400+ unit park system with limited funding. With a strict budget, it is imperative that the NPS fully understand how to best prioritize improvements from the surplus of built and natural environment facilities that do not meet accessibility standards. Currently, no data-driven system exists to aid in this process, and, in fact, the NPS has been federally mandated to improve its customer service measurement and decision-making.
Upon learning about the ripeness of this major public funding management issue, my prior work within the customer experience team at the American Cancer Society came to mind. For my option paper project, I tapped many of the practices we used to measure the good and bad aspects of customer experiences at nationwide fundraising events. I looked at how those techniques could be utilized in the national park setting to measure and efficiently design better park experiences.
In general, I think there is an enormous opportunity to incorporate customer experience practices into the public planning process, and I wanted to explore that possibility!
Talk a little bit about how you worked with your advisor.
Dr. Michael Elliott was a fantastic fit for me as an option paper advisor. He provided the perfect balance of direction and autonomy. He structured my work with a set timeline for deliverables, such as outlines and drafts. He also provided principles for structuring the paper: first define the problem, and then propose a way to solve it. (This structure seems so obvious in hindsight! However, it was not clear how all of the gems of information I collected in my experts interviews would eventually fit together until I thought of the paper in that simple problem-solution manner).
Beyond those two areas of high-level guidance, his hands-off management approach allowed me to spend time letting my ideas flow in an unconstrained way. Then, as our schedules allowed, we would meet for discussions in which he would constructively reign in my lofty ideas and goals so that they could fit within the scope of the project.
What are you up to now that you've graduated?
I have just co-authored the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Human Services Transportation Plan. “Human Services Transportation” (HST) focuses on the transportation options available to, accessible to, and needed by frequently underserved populations, whose options are often reduced due to personal characteristics, such as disability and low income. HST planning is, by nature, very human-centric and thus aligns well with my customer experience focus.
The HST plan guides local jurisdictions through:
1.) assessing the mobility needs of local populations with low-incomes and/or disabilities and then
2.) integrating targeted improvements into local plans for infrastructure and services.
I have also been developing an accompanying “HST 101”, an in-person training course for city and county transportation staff, consultants, social services staff, elected officials, and interested members of the public.
I am actively seeking a full-time role where I can implement customer experience measurement and design into the planning process!
What are a few of the things you enjoyed about Tech's planning program?
In the planning program, I most enjoyed the people! I felt completely surrounded and supported by professors, staff, and students who are incredibly intelligent, original, kind-hearted, and driven from somewhere deep down inside to make our public places better. From those members of the department focused on tackling economic development and social equity issues to those innovatively addressing our transportation systems’ impacts on the environment, the diversity of the ways that each is working to improve our public places was invaluable. Every conversation had the potential to help me grow as both a professional and as a citizen of the world.
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AMAC Accessibility Solutions and Research Center this year marks 10 years of providing products and services to those with disabilities.
Also this year, the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) moved from its location in a church on 10th Street to join AMAC in the same building on Means Street.
Being in the same building led the two Centers this year to create the Centers for Inclusive Design Innovation, which has already received funding for a project.
The Centers want to mark these milestones at an open house Thursday at their offices at 512 Means St., from 4-7 p.m.
Visitors will have the opportunity to tour their space, see demonstrations, such as AMAC’s braille machines used for tactile printing, and their student disability accommodation software.
CATEA will show various posters and demonstrations from current and past research projects. That includes the posters submitted to the TechSAge Design Competition for the GatePal app featured on the College of Design, and the TechSAge ALIGN app, which was mentioned in Atlanta Magazine and nominated for a Groundbreaker Award.
Transforming Accessibility in the College of Design
Although the approaches of the two Centers are different, they both use technology to assist people with disabilities and those aging with limitations.
Focused on helping students with disabilities, AMAC first offered services in 2006 at the University of Georgia. The Center moved to the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2010. Center Director Christopher Lee, along with Noel Gregg and other colleagues at UGA, were the inspiration behind AMAC. Gregg worked with AMAC for a few years and has since retired.
Today AMAC has more than 50 staff members who serve 800 member institutions and hundreds more who use their services on an as-needed basis. Not bad for a Center that started with 14 members serving 100 universities.
During the past 10 years, AMAC faced challenges, “including reducing the high cost of accommodations … and integrating a business model that would leverage existing business partners,” Lee said in a statement.
AMAC overcame these challenges and Lee transformed the Center into “an international research and development organization focused on inclusive design in corporate offices, government organizations and nonprofit environments,” he said.
One of AMAC’s biggest grants is the First in The World Grant from the U.S. Department of Education which funds the research of the Center for Accessible Materials Innovation (CAMI). The multi-million-dollar grant will help the center study the graduation gap between students with disabilities and their peers without.
CATEA started as the Center for Rehabilitation Technology (CRT) in 1980, and became the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access in 1999.
CATEA’s focus today is on resources to help employers make accommodations decisions, promote accessible STEM education, and resources to promote health and wellness among seniors while also serving their accessibility needs.
In the past dozen years, CATEA had three national Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers funded by the federal government’s National Institute on Independent Living, Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).
These are the largest ($4.5-$4.75 million over 5 years) and most prestigious awards made by NIDILRR, and funded CATEA projects: “Workplace Accommodations” (2003-2013), “Wheeled Mobility” (2004-2016), and currently “TechSAge” (2013-2018). Current funding also includes a $2.5 million, 5-year study to demonstrate that universal design is a more effective strategy than ADA-required workplace accommodations to engage workers with disabilities.
According to CATEA Director Jon Sanford, by dollar amount, AMAC and CATEA account for about 70 percent of the outside funding in the College, with CATEA as the second largest research center in the College of Design.
Building Georgia Tech’s Accessibility Legacy
The move to create the Centers for Inclusive Design Innovation (CIDI), gives AMAC and CATEA, the two largest centers in the College, the opportunity to collaborate on a larger level, Sanford said.
“CATEA has expertise in research, particularly related to technology and the environment. AMAC has expertise in training and service provision, particularly related to information technology and assistive technology. These complementary programs can strengthen each other,” he noted.
“For example, the new Assistive Software Knowledgebase project was actually awarded to CIDI, and will use the expertise of both CATEA and AMAC.
“CIDI provides an umbrella to show one face to the outside world without losing the identities and name recognition of either center,” Sanford said.
]]>City leaders across the United States need to pay close to attention to this report. It is not a document just for the rest of the world. The messages are relevant to everyone.
Many of the best ideas for solving urban problems are being developed abroad. To succeed in coping with the pressures of urban growth, we must pay attention to innovations in other countries.
Investments in infrastructure are not optional. World-class roads, transit, schools, and utilities are key to economic competitiveness as well as quality of life. Many of our competitors get this; we have to as well.
Our urban growth and environmental challenges frequently have global dimensions. To respond to pollution, sea level rise, and security in an age of terrorism and to increase jobs and trade, we have to work together with others around the world.
When done correctly, urbanization will build economic value, protect the environment, and foster an improved quality of life for us all.
Find the World Cities Report 2016 - Urbanization and Development: Emerging Futures here.
]]>Phone: 404-894-6016
E-mail: laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu
Jack Cebe, a current SCaRP and CEE graduate student, has been been selected by the Board of Regents of the Eno Center for Transportation to participate in the 2016 Eno Future Leaders Development Conference, and become an Eno Fellow.
The Eno Future Leaders Development Conference is designed for students in transportation-related programs, including engineering, planning, public policy, public administration, economics, management, and law. Nominees are identified by their home university, and must demonstrate leadership ability and the potential to assume a senior role in a transportation-related organization in the future.
Jack’s selection as an Eno Fellow comes immediately after he learned that his paper, An Evaluation of "Road Diet" Projects on 5-lane and Greater Roadways, won third place in the American Planning Association Student Paper Competition.
"Cities are increasingly reallocating vehicular space on existing roadways to other uses such as bike lanes to help meet safety and multi-modal transportation goals,” Cebe says. "While there have been many studies evaluating the impacts of four to three lane roadway reallocation projects, also known as 'Road Diets,' there have been no studies investigating roadway reallocation projects on larger roads.”
Cebe’s paper investigates the impacts of these projects on safety, traffic operations, and multi-modal use through a literature review and analysis of twenty case studies of "Road Diet" projects on five-lane and greater roadways.
Congratulations to Cebe!
]]>MCRP students Sarah Jane Bonn and Chirag Date are joined by M.Arch. student Pegali Eghbalzad, MS/Urban Design student Grace Lu Pang, and MBA student Patrick Stephens as one of 9 Honorable Mentions among the 161 teams entered in the competition. Their proposal, Junction, is advised by Ellen Dunham-Jones and Jodi Mansbach (MCRP '10).
The grand prize winner will be chosen in Atlanta on 7 April.
http://uli.org/press-release/finalists-hines-competition-2016/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=su&utm_campaign=Hines16
PHD ASSISTANTSHIP IN HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION EQUITY
Contact: Dr. Alex Karner (alex.karner@coa.gatech.edu)
The School of City and Regional Planning invites applications for a PhD assistantship in Housing and Transportation Equity under the direction of Assistant Professor Alex Karner. The assistantship position covers tuition and salary for a period of between one and four years and, pending the outcome of a separate application process, may also carry a Georgia Tech President’s Fellowship, which would provide additional salary support. The successful applicant will conduct research on the environmental consequences of jobs-housing imbalances (including greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions from transportation), with a particular focus on low-wage jobs and affordable housing. The project will leverage existing national data sources as well as original data collection. The results are expected to be relevant to researchers, practitioners, and housing advocates seeking the achievement of just, sustainable, and prosperous cities and regions.
Candidates are sought with backgrounds in planning, geography, civil engineering, statistics, or other cognate disciplines; experience working with large public datasets, databases, and open source statistical software (e.g., R and Python); and strong skills in geographic information systems. Interested individuals should apply to the School of City and Regional Planning PhD program through the standard online application process and highlight qualifications for the “PhD Assistantship in Transportation Equity” through their personal statement. To apply, please visit: http://www.planning.gatech.edu/phd
PHD ASSISTANTSHIP IN CLIMATE CHANGE PLANNING
Contact: Brian Stone (stone@gatech.edu)
The School of City and Regional Planning invites applications for a PhD assistantship in Climate Change Planning under the direction of Professor Brian Stone. The assistantship position covers tuition and salary for a period of between one and four years and, pending the outcome of a separate application process, may also carry a Georgia Tech President’s Fellowship, which would provide additional salary support. The successful applicant will have an opportunity to work on a National Science Foundation-supported project titled, “Enhancing Emergency Preparedness for Critical Infrastructure Failure during Extreme Heat Events,” and focused on the public health risks of climate change-related extreme weather events. The most competitive applicants will hold a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning, Environmental Management, or Public Health; bring skills in geospatial analysis or numerical modeling; and/or work experience in the fields of planning or public health.
Interested individuals should apply to the School of City and Regional Planning PhD Program through the standard online application process and highlight qualifications for the “PhD Assistantship in Climate Change Planning” through their personal statement. To apply, please visit: http://www.planning.gatech.edu/phd
PHD ASSISTANTSHIP IN OPEN DATA FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Contact: Dr. Alex Karner (alex.karner@coa.gatech.edu)
The School of City and Regional Planning invites applications for a PhD assistantship in Open Data for Transportation Planning under the direction of Assistant Professor Alex Karner. The assistantship position covers tuition and salary for a period of between one and four years and, pending the outcome of a separate application process, may also carry a Georgia Tech President’s Fellowship, which would provide additional salary support. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to conduct research that uses multiple publicly available data sources to understand travel behavior at the metropolitan scale including, but not limited to, congestion patterns, and spatial and temporal variation in rates of walking, cycling, and public transit use. It is expected that the models and methods developed through this work will provide much timelier information to decision makers and planners than is currently available.
Candidates are sought with backgrounds in planning, geography, civil engineering, statistics, computer science or other cognate disciplines; experience working with large public datasets, databases, and open source statistical software (e.g., R and Python); statistical modeling, including Bayesian approaches; and strong skills in geographic information systems. Interested individuals should apply to the School of City and Regional Planning PhD program through the standard online application process and highlight qualifications for the “PhD assistantship in Open Data for Transportation Planning” through their personal statement. To apply, please visit: http://www.planning.gatech.edu/phd
PHD ASSISTANTSHIP IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND EQUITY PLANNING
Contact: Dr. Nisha Botchwey (nisha.botchwey@coa.gatech.edu)
The School of City and Regional Planning invites applications for a PhD assistantship in Community Development and Equity Planning under the direction of Associate Professor Nisha Botchwey. The assistantship position covers tuition and salary for a period of between one and four years and, pending the outcome of a separate application process, may also carry a Georgia Tech President’s Fellowship, which would provide additional salary support. The successful applicant will conduct research on composite indicators of race, ethnicity and equality that contribute to community development across the United States. The project will leverage existing national data sources and require original qualitative data collection. The results are expected to be relevant to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers seeking the achievement of just, sustainable, and prosperous cities and regions. Candidates are sought with backgrounds in planning, geography, statistics, public policy, GIS or other related disciplines; experience working with various datasets and databases; and strong skills in geographic information systems. Interested individuals should apply to the School of City and Regional Planning PhD program through the standard online application process and highlight qualifications for the “PhD Assistantship in Community Development and Equity Planning” through their personal statement. To apply, please visit: http://www.planning.gatech.edu/phd
]]>Georgia Tech invites applications for a tenure track Assistant Professorship with an expected start date of August 2016, as a joint appointment between the School of City and Regional Planning (SCaRP) and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs (The Nunn School). The successful candidate will show great promise to make significant contributions to the advancement of international development scholarship; will contribute to the teaching programs of the schools; and will engage multiLdisciplinary initiatives aimed at enhancing the role of global issues on the campus. Applicants should have research interests and will be expected to teach in global development (including International Affairs 2050 for students enrolled in the joint global development minor), international affairs, and urban planning. Focus within international development is open and could range within the umbrella areas of energy, environment, natural resources, infrastructure, sustainability, urbanization, and public health. Candidates should be fluent in the theories and practice of global political and economic development. All applicants should show promise or evidence of outstanding scholarly achievement. A doctoral degree in international affairs, planning, or a related field is required. Joint appointment to the two schools is anticipated, with primary tenure home in the unit most closely aligned with the individual’s intellectual interests.
Applicants should email the items specified below to Marilu Suarez at the following e-mail address: scarp-dev@inta.gatech.edu
The email subject line should read: International Development Search.
Review of applications will begin 1 November 2015 and end on 1 December 2015, or until the position is filled.
SCaRP is a global leader in fostering sustainable, resilient and just communities, offering professional master’s degrees in City and Regional Planning, Geographic Information Science, and Urban Design, a PhD, and certificates in GIS and in Real Estate Development. School research is augmented by the Center for Geographic Information Systems, and the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development. SCaRP has active international partnerships in China, Germany, India, and Republic of Korea and with U.N. Habitat.
The Nunn School delivers innovative programs and cuttingLedge research that integrate technology and the study of international affairs. The School offers BS, professional MS, and Ph.D. degrees, a minor in international affairs, and certificate programs in International Affairs; Asian Affairs; European Affairs; Latin American Affairs; and Scenarios, Modeling and Military Games. School research is augmented by the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies, and the Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy.
Together with the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, SCaRP and the Nunn School lead a campus-wide undergraduate minor in global development studies and anticipate a new graduate certificate in international development. The successful candidate will be expected to participate in the core teaching and activities of these joint programs. The Institute’s Global Nexus partnership joins our schools with the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in advancing global health.
Georgia Tech is one of the world’s premier research universities, consistently ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 public universities and the Times Higher Education’s world top 10 technology universities. Tech enrolls and employs over 5,000 international students and exchange fellows and operates campuses and programs in many countries. Half of Tech undergraduates study abroad during their degree programs. Expanding the Institute’s global footprint and ensuring that we are graduating good global citizens is one of the five goals in Georgia Tech’s strategic plan.
Atlanta is the nation’s seventh largest concentration of higher education activity, an unparalleled planning laboratory illustrating the many opportunities and challenges of planning for sustainable urban development, and a principal international hub of the Southeast states with 65 consular offices. One of America’s fastest growing metro areas, Atlanta is home to the headquarters of C.A.R.E., The Carter Center, Habitat for Humanity International, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, strongly committed to diversity within its community. We welcome all qualified applicants, including minority group members, women, and persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
]]>Caroline Burnette
Caroline’s research interests focus on urban information systems and how they can be adapted to inform planning decisions. She is working as a graduate research assistant under Dr. Guhathakurta in the Center for Geographic Information Systems while pursuing her Master’s in City and Regional Planning. Her current project involves mapping vacant land and infill potential in Atlanta and across Fulton County.
Caroline holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Florida State University. There, she performed research in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, which largely influenced her decision to pursue a master’s degree in the field of planning. Prior to moving to Atlanta, Caroline worked at Walt Disney World in Orlando as an intern in civil engineering, structural engineering, and project management.
Yunkyung Choi
Yunkyung Choi's research interests are centered on sustainable development, specifically on the relationship between transit-oriented development (TOD) and gentrification. She is currently working with Dr. Subhro Guhathakurta at the Center for Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as a research assistant, focusing on community resilience of mixed-use transit-oriented development.
Prior to beginning the PhD program, Yunkyung worked at the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), and the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS). She holds a master's degree in Urban Planning (2014) from University of Southern California, and a B.S. (2008) and a M.S. (2010) in Housing and Interior Design from Kyung Hee University in South Korea.
Heonyeong Lee
Heonyeong Lee’s research interests lies in regional economic performance and planning and policy measures for improving regional economic resilience. He is currently working with Dr. Nancy Leigh for the NSF funded project, Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Processes and System (RIPS) as a research assistant.
Prior to joining the PhD program, he worked at the Korea Environment Institute from 2013 to 2015 where he engaged in several studies on community development planning and evaluating community subsidy program. Heonyeong earned both a bachelor (2011) and master (2013) degree in Urban Planning and Engineering from Yonsei University.
]]>October 16th, 2015 from 9am – 1pm: RSVP HERE
Friday, November 20th, from 9am - 1pm: RSVP HERE
Architecture East Building
Room 217
245 Fourth St. NW
Atlanta, GA 30332
For directions and parking, please visit the College of Architecture’s information page: http://www.coa.gatech.edu/about/visit/directions
]]>The CGIS’s new space can accommodate 10 full-time staff and 30 student researchers. Additionally, the Tech Square facilities are home to the CGIS subsidiary, the Imagine Lab.
CGIS shares a lobby and utility space with the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD), emphasizing the synergies and collaboration between the two. There is also a brand new classroom on the floor, and a conference room complete with state of the art technology.
]]>The Eisenhower program strives to attract qualified students to transportation education and research and advance transportation workforce development. Students that apply to this highly competitive program are reviewed by a National Selection Panel that is composed of prominent transportation professionals; funds are awarded to cover tuition costs, travel and research expenses.
Cebe is beginning his studies this fall, pursuing a dual masters in city & regional planning and civil engineering. He has been working in the transportation field for the past four years, which he says has given him perspective on some of the greatest needs for transportation practitioners and communities around the United States. His proposed research focuses on finding systematic approaches of integrating transportation, storm water, and green space networks to enhance the attractiveness and functionality of these systems; finding space-saving transportation and land use planning/design solutions that maintain transportation effectiveness while providing safer, more attractive human spaces; and finding tools to better integrate pedestrian, bicycle, and transit modes into local and regional travel demand modeling.
Queen, too, is pursuing a dual degree in planning and civil engineering. “Transportation moves me, literally and figuratively; it has long been one of my most profound passions,” she says. That passion has led her to pursue research that focuses on evaluating conventional and unconventional urban transit modes with particular emphasis on safety, reliability, economic, and environmental considerations. She is investigating the performance, costs and benefits of each mode and the circumstances for which each mode is well suited.
]]>A new National Science Foundation-funded research network will connect scientists at nine universities with infrastructure groups, public policy experts, and industry partners to reimagine cities. Georgia Tech will be an anchor of the $12 million network, which will be led by the University of Minnesota, and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Ted Russell will serve as a co-director.
“We’re bringing some very different communities together more than past projects have done,” Russell said. “We are getting the engineering community, the health community, the atmospheric sciences community, the economics communities, the policy communities in the same virtual room to look to the future.”
“We’re looking at real-life cities and figuring out how to make these cities work better and how to help cities [in general] evolve.”
The idea is to reimagine infrastructure — energy grids, road networks, green spaces, and food and water systems — to create cities that are highly functional, that promote the health of residents and the environment, and that have that intangible “vibe” that makes them desirable places to live and work.
“We have to think in new ways about a city’s physical infrastructure to develop sustainable solutions,” said Anu Ramaswami, the project’s director and a professor in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. “Understanding that these physical systems are interconnected serves as a foundation for this work. For example, urban farms wouldn’t work very well without thinking about water, energy and transportation infrastructure as well as people, markets and policies.”
The network will use cities across the United States and in India as “test beds” for its work, a unique approach that Russell said means the outcome of the network’s studies will have significant impact. Atlanta is one of those cities.
“One of the points we made with this proposal is that it’s action-oriented, with the idea that the output of this project is not papers, it’s actually actions,” he said. “[We will] not only specify what actions might be taken but actually help realize those actions.”
The project, called a Sustainability Research Network in NSF parlance, runs for four years.
“Real success at the end of those four years would be one or more cities — having worked with us from the beginning — take actions that will lead to improving the livability of their city,” Russell said. “That could come in multiple ways: improved transit options, improved plans for water usage, effective urban farming, or strategies to improve air quality that they’ve actually implemented and to inform their citizenry of how to reduce their exposures to harmful chemicals and lead more healthy lives.”
The network stretches beyond civil and environmental engineering at Tech: Nisha Botchwey, an associate professor in the School of City and Regional Planning, and Peter Webster, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, will have significant roles, as will Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (better known as CEISMC).
In fact, Botchwey will lead the education component of the project, which includes outreach to K-12 students, college graduate students and Native American communities. Those efforts will include an innovative interdisciplinary summer school at the network’s nine partner schools.
Russell said Tech’s wide-ranging involvement in the project fits in perfectly with the Institute-wide focus in the coming decade on sustainability and community. Officials announced the Serve•Learn•Sustain initiative earlier this year as part of the Institute’s reaccreditation process.
“This fits in extremely well with that, because we are hitting all of those pieces in [the project],” Russell said.
Learn more about the project in the University of Minnesota news release and on the project’s website.
]]>How will we build the cities of the future in a sustainable way?
A new National Science Foundation-funded research network will connect scientists at nine universities with infrastructure groups, public policy experts, and industry partners to reimagine cities. Georgia Tech will be an anchor of the $12 million network, which will be led by the University of Minnesota, and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Ted Russell will serve as a co-director.
“We’re bringing some very different communities together more than past projects have done,” Russell said. “We are getting the engineering community, the health community, the atmospheric sciences community, the economics communities, the policy communities in the same virtual room to look to the future.”
“We’re looking at real-life cities and figuring out how to make these cities work better and how to help cities [in general] evolve.”
The idea is to reimagine infrastructure — energy grids, road networks, green spaces, and food and water systems — to create cities that are highly functional, that promote the health of residents and the environment, and that have that intangible “vibe” that makes them desirable places to live and work.
“We have to think in new ways about a city’s physical infrastructure to develop sustainable solutions,” said Anu Ramaswami, the project’s director and a professor in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. “Understanding that these physical systems are interconnected serves as a foundation for this work. For example, urban farms wouldn’t work very well without thinking about water, energy and transportation infrastructure as well as people, markets and policies.”
The network will use cities across the United States and in India as “test beds” for its work, a unique approach that Russell said means the outcome of the network’s studies will have significant impact. Atlanta is one of those cities.
“One of the points we made with this proposal is that it’s action-oriented, with the idea that the output of this project is not papers, it’s actually actions,” he said. “[We will] not only specify what actions might be taken but actually help realize those actions.”
The project, called a Sustainability Research Network in NSF parlance, runs for four years.
“Real success at the end of those four years would be one or more cities — having worked with us from the beginning — take actions that will lead to improving the livability of their city,” Russell said. “That could come in multiple ways: improved transit options, improved plans for water usage, effective urban farming, or strategies to improve air quality that they’ve actually implemented and to inform their citizenry of how to reduce their exposures to harmful chemicals and lead more healthy lives.”
The network stretches beyond civil and environmental engineering at Tech: Nisha Botchwey, an associate professor in the School of City and Regional Planning, and Peter Webster, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, will have significant roles, as will Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (better known as CEISMC).
In fact, Botchwey will lead the education component of the project, which includes outreach to K-12 students, college graduate students and Native American communities. Those efforts will include an innovative interdisciplinary summer school at the network’s nine partner schools.
Russell said Tech’s wide-ranging involvement in the project fits in perfectly with the Institute-wide focus in the coming decade on sustainability and community. Officials announced the Serve•Learn•Sustain initiative earlier this year as part of the Institute’s reaccreditation process.
“This fits in extremely well with that, because we are hitting all of those pieces in [the project],” Russell said.
Learn more about the project in the University of Minnesota news release and on the project’s website.
]]>The project includes two components. The first, called Cycle Atlanta: Phase 1.0 Study, focuses on five cycling corridors that extend from the Atlanta BeltLine into the center of the city. The second component, an app called CycleAtlanta, collects data about cyclists’ routes, origins, destinations, demographics, and features of note in the City of Atlanta. The goal of the project is to connect citizens to local government through the app, allowing them to participate in the planning process without being inhibited by spatial or temporal limitations in existing participatory planning practices.
The CycleAtlanta app team also built an interactive map that allows users to see where cyclists are riding in Atlanta. The interactive map can sort route information based on the ride purpose, rider type, gender, age, and ethnicity, providing access to the data as it is uploaded for viewing and analysis.
The project has the full support of City of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, representatives from community improvement districts, Georgia Tech, City Council members, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition among many others. The project was kicked off at a press event in the fall of 2013 where Mayor Kasim Reed and Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson both spoke. The event marked the launch of the Cycle Atlanta app and the beginning of the planning project.
At the event, the Mayor committed to using this project to achieve city goals such as doubling bicycle commute to work mode share to 2.2% by 2016, becoming a top ten city in the US for cycling to work, becoming a top ten city for cycling safety, doubling the miles of high-quality bicycle lanes/cycle tracks, doubling the miles of high-quality linked shared-use paths, and achieving a Silver-Level Bicycle Friendly Community designation from the League of American Bicyclists.
]]>The studio, in partnership with the Ray Anderson Foundation and the Georgia Conservancy, created the vision of a sustainable highway with implications for global influence in highway design and specific plans and design studies for I-85 and the Mission Zero Highway. The project is led by Richard Dagenhart, interim chair of the School of Architecture, along with a team of urban designers from Perkins+Will in Atlanta (Elizabeth Ward, Cassie Branum, Jeff Williams, Kevin Bacon and Ryan Gravel, all Georgia Tech alums who hold dual Master of Architecture and Master of City and Regional Planning degrees).
The project is intended to be a 10-year effort involving the College of Archtitecture and faculty and students from across Georgia Tech. For more information on the Mission Zero corridor project, visit http://www.coa.gatech.edu/sites/coa.gatech.edu/files/images/mzc.pd (33MB pdf). Additional information on the studio and the project can be found on the Georgia Conservancy’s website at http://www.georgiaconservancy.org/blueprints/missionzero.html.
]]>
Applicants must apply and be accepted to the PhD program in City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech. A masters degree in city and regional planning or related field is required to be eligible for this fellowship. Successful applicants will have a strong foundation in spatial analysis, application of GIS techniques, and knowledge of sustainable urban, regional and/or local economic development. Along with the standard application process for the Ph.D. program, applicants should also send a letter of interest that includes a description of prior training and work experience, and a CV, in pdf form as an email attachment to: RIPS-fellowship@tsquare.gatech.edu.
The School of City and Regional Planning is a global leader in fostering sustainable, resilient and just communities (www.planning.gatech.edu). Faculty include the current editors of the Journal of Planning Education and Research; the former chief planning officials of the City of Atlanta and the Georgia Regional Transportation Agency; three former presidents of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning; and six Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. School research is augmented by the Center for Geographic Information Systems, the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, and the University Transportation Centers. Georgia Tech is one of the world’s premier research universities, consistently ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 public universities and the Times Higher Education’s world top 10 technology universities.
Atlanta is an unparalleled planning laboratory illustrating the many opportunities and challenges of planning for sustainable urban development. One of America’s fastest growing metro areas, Atlanta is an increasingly diverse region with a growing international presence that has a rich history of pioneering social justice and community engagement.
The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, strongly committed to diversity within its community. We welcome all qualified applicants, including minority group members, women, persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
]]>Applicants must apply and be accepted to the PhD program in City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech. A masters degree in city and regional planning or related field is required to be eligible for this fellowship. Successful applicants will have a strong foundation in spatial analysis, application of GIS techniques, and knowledge of sustainable urban, regional and/or local economic development. Along with the standard application process for the Ph.D. program, applicants should also send a letter of interest that includes a description of prior training and work experience, and a CV, in pdf form as an email attachment to: RIPS-fellowship@tsquare.gatech.edu.
]]>Among those interviewed are alumnus Ryan Gravel (MCP/M.Arch ’99), whose thesis served as the concept for the Atlanta Beltline; Mike Dobbins, SCaRP professor of practice and former planning commissioner of the City of Atlanta; Nisha Botchwey, SCaRP associate professor and developer of the Built Environment and Public Health Clearinghouse; and Brian Stone, SCaRP associate professor and director of the PhD program.
In the three new student spotlight videos, MCRP student Khaliff Davis, dual M.Arch + MCRP student Ai-Lien Vuong, and PhD student Ben Kraft detail their experiences at SCaRP. All of these videos are all available on the SCaRP multimedia page, the School’s YouTube page, and on selected pages throughout the site.
]]>The award has been established in the name of Harry West, the Atlanta Regional Commission’s longest serving executive director, who exemplified visionary leadership that resulted in lasting benefits to the Atlanta region. Mr. West additionally served as a Professor of Practice in the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development at Georgia Tech from 2006 to 2014.
Mr. West convened regional leaders to craft bold initiatives in a range of key areas, from water supply and quality to livable communities. The recipient will be recognized at ARC’s annual State of the Region breakfast on November 7, 2014. Nominations must be submitted by October 17, 2014. E-mail to Julie Ralston @ jralston@atlantaregional.com or mail to Julie Ralston, Atlanta Regional Commission, 40 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303.
To be considered for the Harry West Visionary Leadership Award, nominees must:
1) Demonstrate leadership in addressing important regional issues or opportunities
2) Exhibit vision in communicating how change can occur in the Atlanta region
3) Work collaboratively with others in addressing regional challenges
4) Inspire actions that will create long-term benefits for the region and its citizens.
Individuals must live in City of Atlanta, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry or Rockdale counties. Individual nominees may work in any sector – from public, private or non-profit.
Please click here to view the nomination form.
Read more on the ARC's webiste.
Award text and description written by Dan Rueter, ACIP, Manager of Community Development at the Atlanta Regional Commision.
]]>The award has been established in the name of Harry West, the Atlanta Regional Commission’s longest serving executive director, who exemplified visionary leadership that resulted in lasting benefits to the Atlanta region. Mr. West additionally served as a Professor of Practice in the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development at Georgia Tech from 2006 to 2014.
]]>Generally regarded as the father of American landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted integrated civil & environmental engineering, community building and natural systems to create treasured examples of multi-purpose park systems and infrastructure in 24 states and the District of Columbia, including Central Park and Ocean Parkway in New York City, the Emerald Necklace in Boston, the Riverside Community in Illinois, and Druid Hills in Atlanta. This endowed chair has been created to inspire future generations of transformational civil and environmental engineers with the concepts pioneered and developed by the legendary landscape architect.
Candidates must intend to work in interdisciplinary areas that address critical local, national, and global challenges and contribute to the strategic research directions of the School, College, and Institute. It is expected that the candidate would have a courtesy appointment in multiple departments and/or colleges at Georgia Tech.
The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has vibrant programs in Construction Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Water Resources, Geotechnical Engineering, Structural Engineering/Mechanics/Materials, and Transportation Engineering. In both Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, the School’s undergraduate programs are ranked 3rd nationally, and the graduate programs are ranked 5th and 4th, respectively. The School currently has approximately 750 undergraduate and 400 graduate students, and 54 full time tenure track faculty.
Applications will be given maximum consideration if received by December 1, 2014. Screening of applicants will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. While the expectation is for this to be a tenured, full-time, nine-month appointment at the rank of Full Professor, candidates with an innovative professional and practice-oriented background are invited to apply at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor-of-the-Practice. All candidates must hold a Doctorate in civil or environmental engineering or other related field. Applicants should submit a cover letter indicating research and teaching interests and a brief statement on how they would make use of the support from the endowed funds; a curriculum vitae; up to three samples of recent work; and contact information for five references to:
Olmsted.chair@ce.gatech.edu
Olmsted Search Committee Chair
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
790 Atlantic Drive
Atlanta, GA 30332-0355
The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is situated at the heart of the Georgia Institute of Technology campus, in Midtown Atlanta, and benefits from its association with a vibrant, global metropolis. Georgia Tech, a unit of the University System of Georgia, is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and encourages applications from women and members of traditionally under-represented minority groups. For more information regarding the Olmsted Chair, please visit http://www.olmsted.gatech.edu. For more information regarding the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, please visit http://www.ce.gatech.edu/.
]]>Ross addressed the audience in the historic building of the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers on September 25, 2014 and gave insight into her long experience in transport policy and research, as well as her interest in gender and diversity.
The two-day conference was organized by genderSTE, a network of European researchers and policy makers supported by the European Commission.
]]>The projects and studios presented in the exhibit highlighted the creativity and innovation of the city planning community at Georgia Tech, and together show how city and regional planning has changed over the decades. The projects are now available for all to see in the School’s new exhibit publication, 60 Years of Planning Education and Practice: An Alumni Exhibit.
The book is available for online viewing free of charge on the 60th Anniversary page of our website. Take a look, and witness our alumni’s shared quest of improving communities, bettering lives, and creating a sustainable future.
]]>The scholarship awards presentation will be held during the Celebrating Tomorrow’s Leaders: Leadership APTA & the American Public Transportation Foundation Awards Ceremony, on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX.
]]>Dr. Ross is an internationally known transportation and urban planner. She is one of the world’s experts on Megaregions and sustainability – bringing together regions and cities around transportation, water, energy, land development and health, and creating places that compete in a global world. Her book, Megaregions and Global Competitiveness (2009), is a leading reference on these emerging geographies.
Her extensive research on regional resilience and sustainability focuses on water, energy and transportation. Her work has been funded by numerous public agencies, the private sector and many local, city, and state governments throughout the country and abroad. Her recent book “Health Impact Assessment in the United States,” was published in 2014 by Springer.
She is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and a former Urban Land Institute Fellow. In 2009, she advised the Obama Administration on the first-ever White House Office of Urban Affairs.
Georgia Tech’s undefeated football team will be playing Duke on Saturday when Dr. Ross receives her award.
]]>Applicants should email the following materials to Prof. Subhrajit Guhathakurta, Chair, Transportation Planning Search Committee, scarptranspsearch@t-square.gatech.edu, scanned in order into a single PDF:
Review of applications will begin 15 November 2014 and continue until the position is filled.
The School of City and Regional Planning is a global leader in fostering sustainable, resilient and just communities. Faculty include the current editors of the Journal of Planning Education and Research; the former chief planning officials of the City of Atlanta and the Georgia Regional Transportation Agency; three former presidents of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning; and six Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. School research is augmented by the Center for Geographic Information Systems, the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, and the University Transportation Centers. Georgia Tech is one of the world’s premier research universities, consistently ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 public universities and the Times Higher Education’s world top 10 technology universities.
Atlanta is an unparalleled planning laboratory illustrating the many opportunities and challenges of planning for sustainable urban development. One of America’s fastest growing metro areas, Atlanta is an increasingly diverse region with a growing international presence that has a rich history of pioneering social justice and community engagement.
The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, strongly committed to diversity within its community. We welcome all qualified applicants, including minority group members, women, persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
]]>The geography of coffee production was at one time as stable as the typical American “cup of joe” was generic. Coffee producing countries limited exports to stabilize prices for farmers, much in the way that OPEC does with oil. However, since the 1990s the coffee industry has undergone tremendous changes that have impacted where coffee is grown, the routines of production, and how it is marketed internationally.
Moving from a fairly generic commodity crop, now coffee is regarded as a specialty item differentiated by eco-friendliness, fairness to producers, and taste profile. Equally diverse are the range in prices received by modern producers, the lowest prices are set by large producers in Brazil and Vietnam, while the highest values are set by high quality producers that follow refined processing techniques. Modern producers are not only faced with this growing completion, but also have to compete in the current market and adapt to growing threats related of climate change and disease. For example, in 2013 prices plummeted to a ten year low (before rebounding in 2014), and since 2012, the International Coffee Organization estimates that coffee leaf rust has caused nearly a half a billion dollars in losses to local farmers and seriously impacted the agricultural workforce.
So what allows coffee producing regions to remain resilient in the face of these challenges?
This is the question that drove Thomas Douthat, a fourth year PhD student from School of City and Regional Planning, to Chiapas, Mexico. With the support of a Fulbright Garcia-Robles Fellowship Douthat is currently undertaking research on resilience in coffee clusters.
Douthat's research focuses on how the economic structure of coffee clusters impacts resilience. This involves testing the impact of agglomeration on long-term land use, measuring and comparing knowledge networks between coffee mills in different areas using social network analysis methods, and creating case studies of collaboration and adaptation in areas that are dominated by either cooperative or private transnational coffee intermediaries. This research will help to understand how local conditions impact the way different agricultural clusters interact with global value chains. These value chains govern the distribution of a product’s value from producers, to exporters, to final retail outlets. Strategies that allow producers to obtain more of the end value of a product are important for rural development.
Understanding how local coffee clusters can achieve resilience in the face of climate change and global market forces is an important question for regional development in developing regions. Not only has coffee played a crucial role in the economy of many tropical countries, but it has also been linked to environmental services such a biodiversity and hydrological conservation, cultural preservation and regional tourism. As such, the importance of coffee has parallels to that of wine in rural California or dairy in Vermont, except coffee grows in regions where sustainable growth is exceptionally important for biodiversity and poverty concerns. Coffee can therefore be regarded as a poster child of sustainable development initiatives.
Douthat’s research in Mexico follows fieldwork in Costa Rica, and is sponsored by a Fulbright Garcia-Robles grant. This program is a bilateral initiative between Mexico and the United States, and it has permitted Thomas to spend February to November, 2014 as a Visiting Scholar at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), a public research institution in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chis. He hopes this study will be a useful tool to develop regional development policies in coffee growing countries and knowledge about how to create resilient agricultural clusters.
]]>The designation acknowledges Tech’s work with public and private sector partners in the state and region to support economic development through innovation and entrepreneurship, technology transfer, workforce development, and community development. Tech received the designation after conducting a self-review and submitting an application for independent review.
“Public universities serve as economic engines for their local communities and states by conducting cutting-edge research to reach new breakthroughs, and by developing the talent to help existing businesses grow stronger and enabling new ones to develop and thrive,” APLU President Peter McPherson said. “The institutions receiving the 2014 Innovation and Economic Prosperity University designation serve as models. They demonstrate how public research universities extend beyond their campuses to engage their communities in economic development that creates jobs and improves lives.”
The IEP designation is valid for five years, and requires an application for re-designation.
]]>The Georgia Tech community was greatly affected by West’s vision and his years of service to Atlanta. “Harry could have chosen to pursue a comfortable retirement, but he instead decided to share his wisdom and experience by coming to work with the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development as a Professor of Practice,” Dean Steve French says. “He made valuable contributions to our research and teaching missions over the past decade. But above all else, Harry was a kind and gentle soul, who really wanted to make a difference in this world.”
Services will be held on Thursday, July 17th at 11:00 am at H.M. Patterson & Son-Oglethorpe Hill Chapel, 4550 Peachtree Road Ne, Atlanta, GA 30319. to read the H.M. Patterson obituary and for more information, please click here.
Visitation will be Wednesday, July 16th from 6pm to 8pm.
In 2008, Mr. West was interviewed by Dan Reuter of the Atlanta Regional Commission as part of the Georgia Planning Association's History of GPA video series. That interview is available online at this link.
Read the ARC's press release here.
]]>“Health Impact Assessment in the United States” analyzes the goals, tools, and methods of HIA, and the competencies that are central to establishing best practices. It sets out the core principles that differentiate HIA from environmental and similar assessments, fleshing them out with case examples from the U.S. and abroad. Details of each step of the HIA process take follow-through into account, giving readers insights into not only collecting and evaluating data, but also communicating findings effectively to decision-makers and stakeholders.
The HIA has an increasingly vital place in the future of health-related policy, making “Health Impact Assessment in the United States” a valued manual and critical ideabook for students and practitioners in public health, public policy, urban planning, and community planning.
]]>CQGRD is currently accepting applications for a research scientist position. The successful candidate will work with an established research team to conduct research in accordance with the Center's Strategic planning areas, including transportation and infrastructure, healthy places, land development and regional governance, air quality and natural environment, and community design and architecture. In addition to conducting research on quality growth and related issues, the position requires the ability to write successful grant proposals, technical reports, and manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, and provide management and project oversight.
Please click here to visit the official job site for more information and to apply.
]]>These awards are presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves through professional leadership, mentoring, academic excellence and sustained service on behalf of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the College of Architecture.
Ellen Yi-Luen Do, Ph.D., Professor, College of Architecture & College of Computing (School of Interactive Computing)
Dracy Blackwell, Academic Advisor II, School of City and Regional Planning
Elora Raymond, City and Regional Planning PhD Student and Graduate Research Assistant
Jasmine Burton, Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design Student
]]>Pictured: (from left) Bruce Stiftel, FAICP (current chairperson, Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning); Leon Eplan, FAICP (director of Georgia Tech's City Planning program, 1979-82); David Kirk, FAICP; Joel Putterman, FAICP; Steve French, FAICP (current dean, Georgia Tech's College of Architecture); Ellen Heath, FAICP; MCP ‘82; Jeff Rader, FAICP (MCP ‘87); Arthur (Chris) Nelson, FAICP (former Georgia Tech faculty member, 1987-01); Glen Coyne, FAICP (MCP ’87); Cheryl Contant (director of Georgia Tech's City Planning Program, 1999-2008).
]]>Saturday, 26 April
1300-1415: Associate Professor Brian Stone. Planning for Climate Change in Cities: How to Change the Weather. GWCC
1430-1600: Dawn Riley (MArch/MCRP '14). Small Town Revitalization and Economic Development. GWCC.
Sunday, 27 April
1045-1200: Assistant Professor Timothy F. Welch, Assistant Professor Bill Drummond, Dana Habeeb (PhD class of '14), and Professor Pat Mokhatrian. S454 - Climate Action Plans: Promises and Pitfalls. GWCC C202/203/204.
1300-1415: Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones. Fall of Non-Residential Real Estate: The Day the Office Died.
1430-1545: Associate Professor Nisha Botchwey, Harry West Professor Catherine Ross, Research Scientist Sarah Smith, and Valerie Wilson. Atlanta Beltline Health Impact Assessment. GWCC C101.
1430-1545: Associate Professor Jennifer Clark and Assistant Professor Anna Kim. The Economy of Immigration and Planning. GWCC.
1430-1545: Professor Dan Immergluck, June Thomas, and Faculty Alumnus Harley Etienne. Foreclosures, Distress and Neighborhood Response (S487). GWCC C 107.
1600-1730: Angie Laurie, Professor of Practice Michael Dobbins, Frank Fernandez, and Debra Scott. How can the Atlanta Falcons Stadium Benefits the Communities it Impacts?
1730-1845: Associate Professor Michael Elliott and Harry West Professor Catherine Ross. Constructing a Multi-Attribute Decision Support Tool for the Atlanta Beltline. GWCC C 102.
Monday, 28 April
0900-1015: David C. Rouse, Eugenie L. Birch, and Harry West Professor Catherine Ross. Planning Research Centers. GWCC C207.
1030-1200: Professor Nancey Green Leigh. Global Solutions for Local Problems: Atlanta Aerotropolis. GWCC C201.
1200-1400: Meredith Britt (MCRP Class of '14). Poster on Assessing Commonalities in Public Art Practice and Comprehensive Planning: A Direction for Atlanta. GWCC, Hall C1.
1200-1400: Charlene Mingus (MCRP/MS/CE Class of '14), Maria Sotnikova (MCRP/MS-PP Class of '14), and George Maier (MCRP/MS-CE Class of '14). Poster on Sustainable Sidewalk Infrastructure Management: An Economic Life-Cycle Analysis of the City of Atlanta, Georgia's Sidewalk System. GWCC, Hall C1
1200-1400: Marion Phillips (MCRP Class of '14). Poster on Inequitable Infrastructure Investment: An Atlanta Case Study. GWCC, Hall C1.
1200-1400: Kyungsoon Wang (PhD Class of '15). Poster on Suburban Smart Growth Planning: Effects on Home Values. GWCC, Hall C1.
1430-1545: Professor of Practice Michael Dobbins, Katherine Moore, and Johanna McCrehan (MCRP '12). Blueprints for Successful Communities.
1430-1715: Associate Professor Nisha Botchwey and R. Harrell. Aging, Immigration, Gentrification, Regional Planning and Diversity. APA Diversity Summit.
1300-1400: Professor Nancey Green Leigh, Nate Hoelzel (PhD Class of '15), and Ben Kraft (PhD Class of '16). Sustainable Industrial Land. GWCC C302.
1300-1415: Lecturer Heather Alhadeff (MCP '01). Immigration and it's Effects upon Economic Development for Metro Atlanta.
1630-1900: Professor Emeritus Randy Roark will be a recipient of Best Comprehensive Plan Award from the APA Small Town and Rural Planning Division for the Newton 2050 Plan that included work done by a 2009 MCRP planning studio.
Tuesday, 29 April
0730-0845: Associate Professor Nisha Botchwey, Research Scientist Sarah Smith, and Janelle Williams. HIA for HUD's Choice Neighborhoods. GWCC Georgia Ballroom 1.
0915-1045: Barbara Faga (PhD Class of '15). Legacy of Atlanta's Olympic Games.
1430-1545: APA Outstanding Student Project Award Presented to Gillam Campbell, Marvin Clermont, Kate Colberg, Richelle Gosman, Anna Harkness, Paul Lorenc, Amy Moore, Dzung Nguyen, Jen Yun, and Yi Zhou (all MCRP '13). GWCC, Hall 2.
1600-1716: Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones. Challenges of Sprawl Retrofit.
1600-1716: Professor Dan Immergluck, Mark Walters, Beth Altxhuler, and Frank Alexander. The Neighborhood Concept. GWCC C102.
Don't forget to get your copy of the conference book on Atlanta by faculty alumnus Harley Etienne and Barbara Faga (PhD Class of '15) entitled Planning Atlanta. APA Planners Press, 2014.
]]>Mohamed received his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Guyana, his MS in Environmental Engineering from the University of South Florida, and his PhD in City and Regional Planning from Cornell. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge, resident scholar in the Humanities Center at Wayne State, and a Master’s dissertation supervisor at University College, University of London.
]]>“It highlights all the things we are doing that otherwise people would not know,” Ide said. “A beautiful tree canopy helps in recruiting students and faculty. Once they see the peaceful environment, they want to come in and know more about what we have [on campus].”
The award, given by the Arbor Day Foundation, is funded by a grant from Toyota.
Ide and his team first heard about the award through a representative from the Forest Service, when she recruited them to apply for the recognition in 2008.
That marked the first year Georgia Tech earned a Tree Campus USA designation. Since then, the school’s commitment to improving its tree collection has continued to climb.
Last year, the landscaping team inventoried the trees on campus using a geographical information system, commonly referred to as GIS. In the end, the total count of trees numbered close to 12,000.
“We can locate any tree on campus, just with a handheld device,” said George Robertson, construction foreman for the landscaping team. “It pinpoints the tree — it’ll tell you what kind it is, how tall — and this shows us which trees we’ve tended recently.”
In order to earn this year’s distinction, Georgia Tech demonstrated excellence in five areas of campus forest management: a tree advisory committee, a campus tree care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for a campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and the sponsorship of student service-learning projects.
The last tenet is near and dear to Ide’s heart, especially with regard to the support students showed for the tree program during this year’s Tech Beautification Day. More than 1,000 students participated in the philanthropic landscaping program, which took place Saturday, March 29.
“We’re educating a new generation to be exposed in environmental stewardship,” Ide said. “To see students giving up their Saturdays to plant for the tree program, that’s a beautiful thing.”
http://www.news.gatech.edu/2014/04/21/tech-named-tree-campus-usa-sixth-year
]]>What initially attracted you to apply for the Fulbright Award?
Tyger: The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is an ideal opportunity to pursue research that I am passionate about while experiencing another culture. After a summer of research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an Environmental Health Intern, I really wanted to continue environmental health research. The Fulbright program offered the perfect opportunity to develop my own unique research proposal while also living abroad, which has always been a dream of mine.
What was the application process like?
Tyger: I began my application in August and just found out that I was awarded a Fulbright grant last week [early March]. With great feedback and assistance from the staff in Georgia Tech’s Fellowship Office, I went through numerous drafts of my research proposal and personal statement before final copies were submitted. The contacts in Finland that I reached out to about hosting me were incredibly receptive and eager to assist me with my application. I am also grateful to have references that were excited about my ideas and happy to write letters of recommendation. Following an interview with Georgia Tech’s Fulbright review committee, my final application was submitted in October, and I was notified that I made it to the final round in January.
What do you think helped you stand out from other applicants?
Tyger: I think my background as a Georgia Tech MCRP student, experience at CDC, and work as a Graduate Research Assistant at Georgia Tech’s Center for Geographic Information Systems, as well as other internships, helped my stand out. In addition to my passion for the research topic, I also think I clearly communicated my desire to engage in Finnish culture and bring back my experiences to the U.S. I imagine that the feasibility of my research project was a plus, since I am contributing to an ongoing research project and I am being hosted by two universities.
What contact will you have with your research partners leading up to your trip to Finland?
Tyger: I will be Skyping and emailing with my hosts (members of the research team) until I leave to work out the details of my research plan. The Fulbright Center in Finland has already been very helpful and I will be staying in touch with them as well.
What will you do to help prepare you for your research project and living in Finland?
Tyger: I will be doing a lot of reading on the subject so that I am ready to hit the ground running (perhaps skating) when I get there. I hope to arrive in Helsinki this summer before the grant period officially starts in September so I can begin my cultural immersion. Until then, I will be studying Finnish, keeping up with the news in Finland, learning about Finnish culture and history, and talk to friends that have live in Finland.
I am so excited to see where this adventure leads! Regardless of my career path, I know this research will be valuable for future research and practice as a planner. This will certainly be a period of great personal growth and a major milestone in my life.
Taylor Tyger is a graduate student at Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning specializing in environmental and health planning and is expected to graduate in May 2014.
]]>Tech Truck Tournament, held Tuesday, Feb. 26, invited popular Atlanta food trucks to campus for a one-day event. The 16 invitees set up shop around the perimeter of Tech Green. Students, faculty and staff from across campus flocked to the trucks, determined to eat their way through as many vendors as possible.
Esther Shin, a first year mechanical engineering student, heard about the event on Facebook and from flyers posted on campus.
“I was so sad when they postponed the original event,” she said, referring to a delay caused by snow days the week before. “Having food trucks on campus gives me more of a city experience, and I’m excited to try these [pulled pork and Asian rib-eye tacos] from Yumbii.” Yumbii is an Asian-Mexican food truck.
But on Tuesday, the choice between fish tacos and meatball sliders wasn’t as straightforward as it might have seemed. Event feedback, including customer count by truck, will help determine which food trucks receive permits to operate on campus year-round. As Rich Steele, senior director of Campus Services explained, “We’re asking people to initially vote with their purchases, and in the afternoon they’ll be sent an email link to a website where they can complete a survey.”
That survey, the link for which was sent to event attendees, who swiped their BuzzCards while waiting in line, allowed diners to rate the trucks they visited on both customer service and food quality.
The Tournament, co-hosted by Campus Services, Dining Services, and the Student Center, was not the first step in bringing food trucks to campus, though it may have been the most publicly visible. Inspiration for the idea struck more than a year ago, and administrators have since come to view the integration of food trucks into Tech dining culture as an important development.
“With food trucks so prevalent in Atlanta, the city offers an incredible variety of foods, especially ethnic cuisines, and we just can’t offer that range of food on campus by ourselves,” Steele said. “Increasing the variety of options students have will increase their dining satisfaction, and that’s a major goal.”
On-campus food truck service is set to begin the week of March 24, the week after spring break. Before that happens, administrators will issue operating permits to between six and 10 of the most popular food trucks, all based on the results from the Tournament.
Trucks from this group will offer lunch service Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a rotational schedule determining who comes each day. Up to four trucks will operate on campus daily.
The food trucks will be centrally located on campus, specifically at two places: the College of Architecture plaza behind Clough Commons and the College of Computing plaza near the Howey Physics building.
Bogna Grabicka, a research scientist in the chemical and biomolecular engineering building, believes the food trucks will help promote an even greater sense of community on campus.
“A mix [of students and faculty] can come, students can stand in line with professors and chat,” she said. “Talking about food doesn’t require a degree.”
http://www.news.gatech.edu/2014/03/04/festival-gives-food-trucks-right-w...
]]>“This app helps people who want the information before they get to the train station or bus stop,” said Kari Watkins, an assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech. “For bus and shuttle stops where there is no sign for next arrivals this app is the rider’s only source of information.”
OneBusAway is free to download and has information on transit systems in Atlanta, Seattle and Tampa. The app automatically recognizes which city the user is in, and captures data from the local transit source. The coding for the transit-tracking app was used to develop New York City’s MTA Bus Time.
The app gathers real-time location data by tapping GPS units already installed on buses and trains. Recently, MARTA made their GPS data publicly available so that software developers might use it to build apps and other tools to improve the rider experience. Riders can search OneBusAway for nearby train and bus stops and receive up-to-the-minute arrival and departure information.
MARTA also has a real-time transit-tracking app that provides information exclusively for its bus and train network.
“One of our priorities is improving the overall customer experience through the use of technology,” said Keith T. Parker, MARTA’s CEO. “That’s why we launched the On-the-Go mobile app providing real-time train and bus arrivals. We’re also excited to work with OneBusAway, and the metro Atlanta tech community, in developing solutions that will help retain and attract transit riders.”
OneBusAway’s ability to combine data on multiple transit agencies in the Atlanta region might be one way to attract riders, by helping them transfer more easily between transit systems.
“The goal is to make OneBusAway multiagency, multiregional and multimodal,” said Watkins, who co-founded the app while at the University of Washington in Seattle and is known on Twitter as @transitmom.
The Atlanta version of the app is run by Watkins’ research group, the Urban Transportation Information Lab. It has been developed by students Tushar Humbe, from the School of Computer Science, and Landon Reed, from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
The program is funded by Georgia Tech’s Institute for People and Technology (IPaT), Georgia Tech’sGraphics, Visualization, and Usability (GVU) Center, the National Center for Transportation Systems Productivity and Management and a U.S. Department of Transportation Eisenhower Fellowship.
The idea behind the app is to take a lot of the guesswork out of riding public transportation. When riders are still at their desks, at home or in a coffee shop, they can open the app on their smartphone or computer, search for nearby transit options, and know exactly how many minutes they have until the next bus or train arrives.
Watkins and Candace Brakewood, a PhD student with Watkins’ group, are launching a new study in April that seeks to quantify how real-time transit information affects ridership through studies in Atlanta and New York City.
Prior studies from Watkins and colleagues of the OneBusAway app in Seattle and Tampa found that the app’s users have a more favorable view of transit, feel safer on transit, spend less time waiting on buses and trains and report riding transit more.
OneBusAway utilizes open-source software, so enterprising transit riders can suggest tweaks to the app or develop their own transit-arrival signs. On the web, OneBusAway features a mode that is compatible with large displays, so that businesses near transit can display real-time information for patrons wishing to ride a bus or train.
Someday, Watkins envisions, transit riders will have an app that knows their route to work, what time they want to arrive, and sends alerts if a bus or train is going to be early or late.
“It gives back some of the power you give away as a transit rider,” Watkins said.
Watkins is a Georgia Tech alumna (CE 97) and was recently named to Mass Transit Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list. Her Cycle Atlanta and OneBusAway apps have been making the rounds in local and national media for the ways they could change how people commute. She’s also been an expert source for transportation stories by NPR and The Atlantic Cities.
“We’re all figuring out how we can optimize what we have and make better use of the space that exists,” Watkins said. “Even those who aren’t environmentally minded recognize the congestion and space issues and are tired of it. We have to make all our modes function better, which includes providing better information.”
Download the free apps for Android, iPhone and Windows Phone or visit atlanta.onebusaway.org for more information.
This research is supported by the National Center for Transportation Systems Productivity and Management, a U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) University Transportation Center. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agency.
Research News
Georgia Institute of Technology
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Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA
@GTResearchNews
Media Relations Contacts: Brett Israel (@btiatl) (404-385-1933) (brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (jtoon@gatech.edu)
Writer: Brett Israel
]]>Media Relations Contacts: Brett Israel (@btiatl) (404-385-1933) (brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (jtoon@gatech.edu)
Writer: Brett Israel
]]>In Engaging Vulnerable Populations in Health Impact Assessment, Harkness sets out to find which populations may be overlooked by traditional methods of community engagement and what strategies can increase participation from vulnerable groups. Through a review of existing literature on challenges in community engagement and working with vulnerable populations, an evaluation of HIAs from eleven states (using the Health Impact Project’s HIA database), and interviews with HIA practitioners and policy experts, she develops a framework for engaging vulnerable populations in HIAs.
The resulting framework aims to make the successful engagement of vulnerable populations an integral part of the HIA process. Harkness proposes a five step system: 1) Review HIAs addressing similar issues, identify stakeholder groups and vulnerable populations, evaluate available engagement methods, and assess the potential benefits of the engagement process. 2) Identify partners to act as bridges to the community and select outreach methods that can connect with all residents. 3) Document and quantify outreach methods and results. 4) Evaluate outreach methods and results based on “pillars of a successful activity” and “social goal” criteria. 5) Reinforce new relationships to build on and use in the future. Just as a doctor would be sure to examine the most vulnerable parts of the human body to respond to a patient’s needs, this framework helps HIA practitioners engage a community’s most vulnerable populations and create recommendations that are more responsive to all residents in a community.
Anna Rose Harkness is a 2013 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning. Advising for her applied research paper was conducted by Associate Professor Nisha Botchwey.
]]>Pictured (left to right): Professor Heung Soon Kim; Professor Kyushik Oh, chairperson; Professor Steve French, dean of College of Architecture; Professor Bruce Stiftel, chairperson; Professor Sugie Lee, alumnus of Georgia Tech’s School of City & Regional Planning (’04); and Professor Jin A. Park
]]>Bin Gong, a planning/engineering graduate of Chongqing University located in Chongqing, China, has worked on the master planning project for over 12 years as an urban designer. Yang Chen, a planning/engineering graduate of Sun Yat-Sen University located in Guangdong, China, has been working on planning and urban design in Guangdong for over 6 years. The two scholars will attend classes on sustainable development and suburban redevelopment over the course of their one-year appointment at Georgia Tech.
In March, the entire studio team will travel to Guangdong for one week, at which point Gong and Chen will have the opportunity to catch up with colleagues in Guangzhou, as well as family and friends. This international exchange is part of a growing partnership between Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture and the Guangzhou Urban Planning Bureau. Gong and Chen were selected through an evaluation process organized by GDUPI in 2013 which requires candidates to hold a degree in urban planning, urban design, or architecture and to have worked in the institute for over 5 years. In addition to the professional exchange, GDUPI hosts Georgia Tech students each summer. To date, 15 students have taken part in the summer program over the last five years.
Pictured (left to right): Yang Chen and Bin Gong
]]>The special issue kicks off with a two-page time lapse photo taken by recent alumnus Sinan Sinharoy (MCRP ’13), marking a streak of light created by, not headlights of passing cars, but pedestrians enjoying a summer evening along the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail.
Next, Georgia Tech finds itself intertwined with the city’s history in “Atlanta, the Next Chapter” as the author jaunts through the region’s colored past. “To me, the big story in the long sweep of things is that this place has typically been pragmatic,” says Bruce Stiftel, chair of Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning. “There has usually been a bipartisan way to figure out [how] to go forward despite the fragmented jurisdictions.”
Barbara Faga, a planning doctoral student at Georgia Tech and coeditor of the forthcoming Planning Atlanta, explains that the city’s willingness to get things done without much governmental infighting has more to do with a lust for development dollars than an enlightened political sphere. “Planning follows projects,” says Faga. “It’s like the new (Falcons) stadium. Did we do a plan for the stadium?” While this method of large-scale development projects being hammered home by a motivated political leadership leaves planners scrambling to “make it work,” one member of Atlanta’s old guard of planners believes it is also what saved the city.
“The Olympics came at the moment of greatest need for the city,” says Leon Eplan, former planning commissioner and development in the 1990s. “I can’t prove the cause and effect... All I know is that people were moving back to the city, converting offices to housing, and it all started at the time of the Olympics after 40 years of decline.” Georgia Tech, where Eplan served as the director of the university’s planning program, benefitted directly from a number of new sports venues and dormitories left over after the end of the 1996 summer games. Following a cycle of decline and rebirth through selected investment, Georgia Tech now sits at the center of the city’s growth.
No better example of Georgia Tech’s role in Atlanta’s latest reincarnation as a healthy, walkable urban center exists than the BeltLine. In “At the Beginning,” Ben Smith recaps the BeltLine’s humble start as a 1999 Georgia Tech master’s thesis and the impact it has had on its creator, Ryan Gravel (MCRP/March ’99). Thirteen years after sending his thesis to a bevy of elected officials, Gravel is now an urban designer at the architectural firm in charge of designing the 22 mile stretch of trails, transit, and parks that make up the BeltLine. “Some people like it because of the transit. Some people like it because of the trails. Others like it because of the parks, or the public art. But they all see it as part of a larger vision. That’s what makes it politically durable,” says Gravel.
However, for every feel good story of growth in Atlanta comes the inevitable flip side of the coin. “Fighting the Water Wars on a Different Front” chronicles Atlanta’s efforts to deal with decaying water infrastructure. “In the mid ‘90s, every single time it rained in Atlanta there was raw sewage and material from bathrooms flowing into tributaries,” says Sally Bethea (MCP ’81), executive director of the nonprofit Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and alumna of Georgia Tech’s city planning program. “We had a Third World sewer system. And it was impacting public health and property values.” A lawsuit shouldered by Bethea, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, and the EPA forced the city to address its aging wastewater system. As a result, current Atlanta residents are footing the bill to update its extensive underground water network through a spike in water and sewer rates. For its part, Marsha Walton writes that the “Georgia Tech campus has accomplished a 30 percent reduction in water use since 2007, with low-flow fixtures, an irrigation master plan, rainwater collection, and changes in the way water is used by its many laboratories.”
Another instance of Atlanta playing catch-up is highlighted in Laurel Paget-Seekins’ (MCRP ’07; CEE PhD ’11) piece on “Transportation and Equality”. As a transit advocate in Atlanta for five years, Paget-Seekins writes that poor transportation access and economic segregation have limited opportunities for upward mobility for Atlanta’s low-income residents. “By 2010, more than four-fifths of Atlanta’s poor lived in the suburbs, where transit and non-motorized trip-making is difficult. Unfortunately, there is still a perception that transit is a social service for poor (black) people and not a vital transportation infrastructure investment. This contributes to the refusal of the state of Georgia to fund transit and the failure of the transportation regional sales tax in 2012.” The solution, as with most things, comes down to funding. More specifically, it comes down to making a decision as a region to not accept Atlanta’s ranking near the bottom of nearly every study analyzing various metrics related to equality, writes Paget-Seekins.
This spring, as planners flock to Atlanta and its warm weather, they will undoubtedly cross paths with Georgia Tech, its students, alumni, and educators. The APA National Planning Conference provides an ideal backdrop to continue the discussions offered in January’s special issue of Planning, and one can expect the Georgia Tech community to be listening and waiting for ideas to write the city’s next big story.
]]>View Dr. Ross' keynote on "Transportation, Freight, and Megaregions - the Future of the Piedmont Megaregion."
]]>“I want to convince you that your future destiny is, in fact, tied to international engagement and global learning. That a failure to see this will make it hard to survive,” Stiftel cautioned his fellow planning educators during a keynote address delivered at the 2013 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Administrator’s Conference in Columbus, Ohio.
In his five years as chair of Georgia Tech’s City & Regional Planning program, Stiftel has done more than talk the talk when it comes to embracing a mindset of global cooperation. Georgia Tech studio projects that tackle real-world planning issues have alternated between China and India over the past four years, a partnership between Georgia Tech and Hanyang University in the Republic of Korea was signed in late 2013, and a new joint Ecological Urban Design Lab with Tongji University in Shanghai began work this January. By expanding the school’s focus to an international scale, Stiftel believes his students are able to see first-hand how local action can contribute to efforts at mitigating climate change, managing urbanization, and promoting equity. Planning schools at Florida State, Virginia Tech, Cornell, MIT, the University of Virginia, and the University of Southern California among others also provide noteworthy models of international engagement.
American planning schools can no longer afford to work in isolation says Stiftel. “As planning educators we are past the era when we thought of ourselves as the core and the developing world as the periphery. We now know that the corners have a great deal to teach us; that we can help each other by challenging assumptions and opening new perspectives.”
For much of the past century, the planning world has looked to America for ideas; however, today's issues are bigger than any one country. If planners are to begin to address these global issues, Stiftel believes planning schools must be able to teach future planners how to work globally.
]]>With projects encompassing urban farms, gardening, hive research, and digital developments, a growing population of students, faculty, and staff are finding ways to study and source food for campus and the community.
If the wind is just right and you listen carefully on Tech Walk, you might hear a faint buzzing sound. It’s not coming from Tech’s beloved mascot: It’s the sound of thousands of bees in their hives atop the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.
The Urban Honey Bee Project, developed by Jennifer Leavey, the integrated science curriculum coordinator for the College of Sciences, gives students from all majors an opportunity to conduct their own hive-related research with scientists and students from other disciplines.
The project garnered so much attention on campus that Leavey began offering introductory beekeeping classes, enabling anyone to join in the activities of the rooftop apiary.
Leavey is interested in looking at community and rooftop gardens to compare the productivity of gardens that have bees with ones that don’t. The group is currently in discussions with a variety of community groups to set that up.
Steven Van Ginkel, a research engineer in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has worked with people across the city and country to bring local, sustainable food sources to these so-called food deserts — areas with limited access to fresh, affordable groceries. Van Ginkel, who grew up on a farm in Iowa and holds degrees in fisheries and environmental engineering, leads a net zero water, energy and nutrient, high-intensity aquaponics initiative.
Aquaponics, which allows people to grow both vegetables and fish with the same resources, is ideal for small urban spaces. Systems can be built at any scale and size, with multiple ways to nourish produce and fish. Van Ginkel is working to install a system at Underground Atlanta that could help revive the waning tourist area. Representatives from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have voiced interest in constructing an aeroponics system, similar to hydroponics, for the airport’s atrium. He has even consulted with students on building a system at their fraternity house.
Van Ginkel envisions an aquaponics system on campus that would use food waste from dining halls along with rainwater and solar energy to grow fresh food to then be consumed in dining halls once again.
Another urban farming initiative is led by the student group ArkFab. Just a few blocks south of campus in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, ArkFab has constructed a vertical farm at the Wheat Street Garden next to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site. The partnership with Truly Living Well, an Atlanta nonprofit that supports sustainable urban agriculture, brings a local, sustainable food source to the downtown area.
The idea, which emerged from the 2011 Ideas to SERVE competition, won a Ford Motor Company Grant in 2012 and has drawn together groups such as Engineers Without Borders, Engineers for a Sustainable World, and Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. It's lead by Jeanette Yen, a professor and director of the Center for Biologically-Inspired Design in the School of Biology, and recently earned two additional grants totaling $100,000.
Like many people at Georgia Tech, Carl DiSalvo is looking at how technology can enhance our everyday lives. The assistant professor in Tech’s digital media graduate program studies the products and process of interaction design, and his research centers on a basic goal: providing technology tools to help people who want to pursue community-based agriculture projects.
“Many people participate in community gardens,” he said. “Others have sizable gardens, and they might sell their produce at a local farmer's market or even give their food away. That's really important to food banks and churches and other services that provide fresh fruits and vegetables to people in need.”
One of DiSalvo’s high-tech strategies is to use Hackathons, now a common occurrence in the computing community, to create the interactive solutions he is after. He’s developing a series of hackathons in Atlanta that will focus on designing better software to support local food systems, partnering with local organizations such as the Atlanta Local Food Initiative, City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office, and Atlanta Community Food Bank.
“Our hope is that on a pragmatic level something will get built — an idea will be generated, and over the course of the next year an actual tool gets produced that will be used by the citizens of greater Atlanta,” he said.
He puts his research into practice with one of his classes at a space just west of campus called the Friends of English Avenue Farm. The two-person endeavor is run on a vacant lot, and every other week fruits and vegetables are given away to the people in the neighborhood. His class studies the operation to determine what kinds of tools could help manage the farm, attract donors and volunteers, and communicate its mission to a wider audience. So far, they’ve created a web-based application that converts raw data into various graphic formats, enabling the farm’s manager to track yield over time.
“Using this tool she can show in a compelling visual format how much produce and the variety of produce that the farm has contributed to the community,” DiSalvo said. “It’s a very special place, and a wonderful service.”
Back on campus, on the southeast side of the Instructional Center lawn, six garden beds are home to fresh produce maintained by Students Organizing for Sustainability (SOS).
“People are confused about where their food comes from, but it’s something you should know,” said Stephanie Kehl, vice president of SOS. The garden is a cooperative effort of students, faculty, and staff with all levels of gardening experience. Those who take up tools in the garden may harvest whatever produce they want, and SOS donates leftovers to local soup kitchens.
SOS participants typically gather to tend the garden about once a week. It’s home to more than a dozen crops – all grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides – giving gardeners an array of take-home options.
“Diversification is more interesting than having just one variety,” Kehl said.
Local food from outside campus can be found on Tech Walk every Thursday in the spring and fall at the Georgia Tech Farmers Market, and a sustainable dining committee lets students be involved in reducing the negative environmental impacts of on-campus dining services.
Find the full story and videos at http://www.news.gatech.edu/features/urban-farming
]]>Carly Queen, a graduate planning student at Georgia Tech and co-organizer of the student conference, observed that the two conferences were well integrated: "The student conference operated as a separate track within the SCAPA conference allowing conference participants the ability to jump between SCAPA sessions and student-led sessions." Queen also noted that the Southeast Planning Students Conference's silent auction benefitted from the additional conference participants. "Books and signed baseballs were auctioned to raise money for each APA chapters. The Georgia Tech items raised $70 for student travel."
Perhaps the greatest benefit of the conference came from the opportunity for students to network with professionals and to receive feedback on their papers. Georgia Tech was represented by graduate planning students Taylor Tyger, Tharunya Balan, and Marion Phillips in the breakout student sessions. In addition, Dr. Bruce Stiftel, chair of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning, moderated one of the student sessions. "It is important to share the work we are doing at Tech, and I really enjoyed learning about the research my peers are conducting at other institutions," said Tyger who presented on pedestrian fatalities near transit stops. "The Southeast Planning Conference is one of the best opportunities for students in the southeast to meet students and alumni from other programs and develop professional relationships."
]]>The trip began with an early morning walking tour of Fort Negley and Jefferson Heights neighborhoods led by Jim Williamson and Jim Bowen of the River City Company. This look at innovative affordable housing projects was followed by a tour of southside Chattanooga that included visits to Greenspace, a LEED certified hostel oriented towards climbers/cyclists, and an extension of the Riverwalk along the Tennessee River.
Students had the opportunity to learn from and interface with professionals at the Trust for Public Land, Chattanooga's Community Design Group, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, the Benwood Foundation, and several other planning organizations in the region. Not all academic, the trip also included dinner at Food Works and ample time for student exploration of Chattanooga's cultural scene. This year’s trip was coordinated by Dr. Brian Stone, Dr. Michael Elliott, and Dr. Bruce Stiftel.
]]>"She has the passion and vision that makes her well-suited to carry out our goal of providing a challenging and rewarding experience for Purdue's top students," said Timothy Sands, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. Phillips' appointment as dean concludes the university's national search, and she will begin her tenure following ratification by Purdue's Board of Trustees. "The pool of finalists was an exceptional group of candidates, and we appreciate everyone who was involved in the process," said Mark J.T. Smith, dean of the Graduate School and search advisory committee chair. "Dean Phillips will be a great leader and advocate for Purdue's Honor College."
For more information on Phillips' appointment, visit:
For more information on alumni of the Georgia Tech City Planning PhD program, vist:
http://www.planning.gatech.edu/people/alumni/phd
]]>Atlanta has made great strides towards establishing a grassroots, local food systems over the past five years. Barriers to growing and selling food are being removed, public safety regulations are being implemented, and a vibrant advocacy culture continues to educate the city's residents on the importance of locally and regionally produced food. In "A Food System Analysis of the City of Atlanta," Seanna Berry (MCRP '13) analyzes the positive growth of Atlanta's current food system, investigates best practices in the United States, and maps the collaborative process necessary for Atlanta to achieve its food access goals.
Berry's analysis of Atlanta's food production, processing, distribution, access, and resource recovery acknowledges recent institutional progress and identifies several gaps and barriers that still exist in city-wide policy and knowledge. While Atlanta is home to over 165 community gardens and numerous urban farming enterprises, many farmers are hamstrung by laws that limit the selling of food on-site in residential areas. Additionally, writes Berry, "Personal gardens are neither expressly permitted or prohibited." Ambiguity in the law, restrictions on composting, and a gap in knowledge about the amount and location of publically owned, vacant land in Atlanta suitable for farming, constrains what appears to be an incipient, large-scale movement.
To address these issues, Berry outlines seven priorities to advance a robust and healthy food system. While the majority of the priorities revolve around land use analysis and the mapping of the current food system (food asset mapping, cost of community services study, land inventory, development of an urban agricultural incubator site, and food asset and access mapping), specific policy recommendations and educational components anchor the list. Berry lays the ground work for many of her recommendations through preliminary mapping and goes on to identify funding sources and organizations that are positioned to advocate for long-term change. As Atlanta’s local foods movement steps away from the moniker of “emerging” and seeks to gain mainstream traction, Berry writes that now is the time for the local and state governments to join in creating an integrated and healthy food system.
Seanna Berry is a 2013 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning, and advising for her applied research paper was conducted by Professor Michael Elliott.
]]>Members of Georgia Tech’s Student Planning Association transformed two metered parking spots in Technology Square into a temporary public park on Friday, September 20. The informal park is part of an annual open-source project called PARK(ing) Day, which aims to start a dialogue on how urban space is allocated. Begun in 2005 by a San Francisco art and design studio, the project has evolved to include individuals and organizations around the world.
The coinciding Georgia Tech Family Weekend generated a large amount of foot traffic by the event, with students, professors, parents, and other Atlantans stopping by the park to enjoy music, games, and street food. "The park was a huge success. We achieved the goal of creating a welcoming space and got people off the street and into the park," said event co-organizer Marion Phillips. Fellow Student Planning Association member Greg Giuffrida added, "If it gets people to start thinking about all the space devoted to cars, we have been successful." While the event takes place only once a year, the Student Planning Association received requests to poach the parking spaces on a monthly basis.
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The School of City and Regional Planning (SCaRP) at Georgia Tech invites applications for a tenure track nine-month position at the rank of Assistant Professor with an expected start date of August 2014. We seek candidates who will contribute to the teaching of our core courses as well as expand course offerings in transportation planning and geographic information systems. The successful candidate will be expected to maintain an active research program leading to significant contribution to the advancement of the field and become an active participant in Georgia Tech’s National Center for Transportation System Productivity and Management, one of ten national Tier One University Transportation Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. A PhD in planning, or a related field is required, and candidates must show promise of significant scholarship.
Applicants should email the following materials to the search committee chair, Bill Drummond (scarp-transpgis@t-square.gatech.edu), scanned in order into a single PDF:
1. Cover letter
2. Statement of teaching philosophy
3. Statement of research accomplishments and future research plans
4. Names and addresses (including email) of three academic/professional references
5. Curriculum vitae
The School of City and Regional Planning is a global leader in fostering sustainable, resilient and just communities. Faculty include the current editors of the Journal of Planning Education and Research; the former chief planning officials of the City of Atlanta, the Georgia Regional Transportation Agency, and the Atlanta Regional Commission; three former presidents of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning; and six Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. School research is augmented by the Center for Geographic Information Systems, the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, and the National Center for Transportation Productivity and Management. Georgia Tech is one of the world’s premier research universities, consistently ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 public universities and the Times Higher Education’s world top 10 technology universities.
Atlanta is an unparalleled planning laboratory illustrating both the best and the worst of late twentieth/early twenty-first century urban development. As one of America’s fastest growing metro areas, it “leads” in sprawl, traffic congestion, public service privatization, and long-term water supply concerns. At the same time, it is an increasingly diverse region with a growing international presence that has a rich history of pioneering social justice and pulling together for a common purpose.
The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, dedicated to recruiting a diverse faculty. We welcome all qualified applicants to apply, including women, minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities.
In order to assess the potential of mobile applications to facilitate a dialogue between planners and the community, Xie identified five objectives of citizen participation: information exchange, education, support building, decision-making supplement, and representational input. Although the more common community feedback methods such as neighborhood meetings, citizen advisory groups, task forces, and group surveys managed to meet all five objectives when completed in conjunction with one another, only mobile applications and online forums achieved all objectives in one fell swoop. Despite the potential of apps to more concisely meet citizen participation objectives, the design of mobile apps for planning-specific functions has received scant attention in planning schools .
To overcome this void, Xie produced a conceptual app design for an existing board game called Race to School. The game, originally developed by Dr. Nisha Botchwey of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning, promotes physical activity in children and healthy neighborhoods through a sequence of educational lessons, scavenger hunts, and game playing. Through the conversion of the board game to a voluntarily downloaded app on a mobile device, data generated by students could be saved and utilized by cities – cutting through the extensive red tape often associated with collecting data from minors. While Xie does not believe that mobile apps can replace all forms of planning-related citizen participation, the opportunity to engage often overlooked population segments such as elementary school students has the potential to expand which groups are included in the planning process.
LiWei Xie is a 2013 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning, and advising for her applied research paper was conducted by Associate Professor Nisha Botchwey.
]]>“Thanks to the outstanding work of our faculty, staff, students and partners, Georgia Tech enjoys a long track record of continued excellence,” said Georgia Tech President G. P. “Bud” Peterson. “We are committed to building on our success in teaching and research, developing leaders and innovators who will improve the human condition in Georgia, the U.S., and around the globe.”
Tech’s College of Engineering maintained its 5th place ranking for undergraduate engineering programs that award doctoral degrees. With eight of its engineering programs ranked in the top five, Tech also continued its strong showing in individual disciplines.
Three other Georgia Tech initiatives are cited in the publication’s “Academic Programs to Look For” — internships, senior capstone design and undergraduate research.
The Scheller College of Business ranked 27th for undergraduate business education, up five spots from the previous year’s report.
GEORGIA TECH BY THE NUMBERS
National Ranks
# 7 - Public University
# 5 - Engineering
# 27 - Undergraduate Business Programs
]]>Recent School of City and Regional Planning alumnus Patrick Terranova's presentation focused on the feasibility of Baltimore, Maryland as a host for the 2024 Olympic Games. Terranova's proposal built on his 2013 applied research paper which explored current and best practices of Olympic Park and Athletes Village development and the implications of these practices on a potential Baltimore bid.
A graduate of Georgia Tech and Tongi University, Hang Yu's presentation compared the planning and post-game utilization of Olympic venues in Beijing and Atlanta. While much has been written about these two Olympic Games, the implications of these two mega-events on their respective cities are only just being understood.
In a similar same vein as Yu, Professor of Practice Michael Dobbins presented his work to-date on a comprehensive assessment of Atlanta's Centennial Olympics. Dobbins' study was done in conjunction with Leon Eplan, Atlanta's former City Planning program director and former Atlanta Commissioner of Planning, and Randy Roark, former Director of Development for the Corporation for Olympic Development in Atlanta. Dobbins also presented on the behalf of Associate Professor Perry Yang a plan for the Kaoshiung World Games of 2009. The plan, the winner of a 2005 international design competition, explored environmentally and economically resilient approaches to larger city development strategies and has carried its momentum into a 2013 studio project at Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning.
]]>Using the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) as a case study, Carragher conducted surveys of transit riders and non-riders in order to test visually which network features best integrate multiple modes on paper-based maps. On-board surveys gauged the reaction of train riders to maps displaying bus routes branching off a park and ride lot, bus routes to and from popular destinations, and bus routes with at least 20-minute headways. A second mail-home survey targeted non-riders and bus-only riders in an effort to broaden the study to both customers that need MARTA for basic mobility and customers that can choose to use MARTA.
Findings from the surveys showed multi-modal maps to be effective tools for improving the legibility of transit systems when compared to current MARTA maps. In addition, 43 percent of survey participants indicated that they would ride the bus more often if they had access to the new maps. However, only 9 percent of non-bus riders reached through the mail-home surveys stated a preference to utilize MARTA bus in the future given access to multi-modal maps. While the potential ridership increases appear modest, Carragher concludes that multi-modal maps that focus on specific network features, such as bus frequencies or landmarks, instead of overwhelming users with all the possible route choices could make MARTA's complex system a little easier to digest.
Margaret Finch Carragher is a 2013 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning and School of Civil Engineering. Advising for her thesis was conducted by Professor Catherine Ross, Assistant Professor Kari Watkins, and Professor Randall Guensler.
]]>Since 2012, SCaRP has been home to JPER, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning’s (ACSP) flagship academic journal. Dr. Subhro Guhathakurta, the Director of Georgia Tech’s Center for GIS, and Dr. Nancey Green Leigh, Associate Dean for Research for Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture, serve as co-executive editors of JPER and will continue their tenure through 2016. The JPER Writing Workshop aims to create networking opportunities for early career academics in the planning field, and help equip these scholars with greater knowledge of the publishing process and its relevance to career development. The two day event has been held since the late 1990s and compliments the ACSP PhD Dissertation workshop.
This year’s JPER Writing Workshop included collaboration with Dr. Nisha Botchwey and Dr. Bruce Stiftel, chairperson of SCaRP. Dr. Stiftel enjoys a long relationship with both JPER and ACSP. He previously served as editor of JPER and president of ACSP. Participants of the workshop represented diverse academic backgrounds and came from the following institutions: Rice University, Auburn University, University of Michigan, NYU, UMASS, UNC, UC Irvine, University of Maryland, University of Florida, UNC-Charlotte, Kansas State University, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and University of Toronto.
The workshop participants began by submitting a manuscript for a mock double-blind peer-review to a mock journal editor. This is the process by which an academic article is sent to an anonymous reviewer who makes a recommendation on whether the manuscript is worthy of publication. After reading the reviews, the mock journal editor composes a decision letter either to accept, accept with major revisions, revise and resubmit, or reject. Less than half of articles submitted to JPER are accepted for final publication, so learning about the publishing process from the inside can be crucial for young academics. Comments in hand, this year’s crop of participants engaged in two intense days of discussion and article revision under SCaRP faculty’s mentorship. All participants reported that the workshop benefited their research agenda’s and that they would recommend the experience to others. Comments include that participants left “feeling empowered to write,” and that they benefited from “faculty willingness to answer any question.”
JPER’s Editors would like to thank the Georgia Tech Student Success Center for providing excellent facilities, as well as Highland Bakery for its work catering the workshop’s lunches, and the Peachtree Club for hosting a highly entertaining social for participants and faculty. For those interested in participating in the 2014 edition of the JPER Writing Workshop, please contact Managing Editor, Luci Yamamoto (jper.editors@gmail.com).
Article written by Thomas Douthat.
]]>The Princeton Review named Tech to its sixth annual Green Honor Roll for the year 2014. Tech was one of 22 colleges and universities receiving the highest possible score of 99. More than 800 schools were evaluated for the annual listing.
Georgia Tech has also earned a place in the Sierra Club’s Top 10 Cool Schools list, which spotlights universities placing an emphasis on environmental responsibility. This is the second year Tech has been included on the list, this year at No. 8. Georgia Tech’s place on this list is also featured on Business Insider.
"Georgia Tech has been designing and constructing sustainable buildings for decades, holistically integrating architecture, landscape, engineering, technology and ecology," said Howard Wertheimer, director of Capital Planning and Space Management. "It is part of our ethos to be good stewards of our environment, and we work hard every day to make informed decisions that will create a memorable campus experience for our students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors."
To learn more about Tech’s past green honors, visit greenbuzz.gatech.edu/awards, or greenbuzz.gatech.edu.
]]>
Institute Communications
]]>Georgia Tech’s Westside Community Alliance (WCA) is creating an archive of materials related to Tech/Westside programs and is asking members of the campus community to submit related items.
The WCA is a communications network developed in 2011 by the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, the College of Architecture, and the Office of Government and Community Relations that aims to create cross-community connections.
“In the past semester alone, members of the Tech community have participated in a number of Westside projects including community mapping and engaging high school students in bioengineering research,” said Sheri Davis-Faulkner, WCA community liaison.
Submissions to the archive may include maps, presentations, photos, and website links — anything related to Tech’s Westside initiatives. Contact Davis-Faulkner at sheridf@iac.gatech.edu.
]]>The Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons earned the platinum designation nearly two years after it opened in 2011, a goal that was in the minds of staff, designers and project managers from the beginning of design and construction. Clough Commons is topped with a green roof as well as solar panels, and the adjacent Tech Green is home to a 1.4 million gallon cistern that provides water for toilet flushing and landscaping.
The Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions Laboratory building, part of the North Avenue Research Park Complex, was designated LEED platinum in January. The 42,000-square-foot facility houses offices and labs for research on energy-related solutions such as high-efficiency combustion engines, biomass gasification kinetics, biochemical-enzymatic conversion of biomass materials and capture of carbon dioxide.
On the west edge of campus, renovations to the Stamps Health Services building enabled the facility to become LEED certified for Commercial Interiors. Stamps provides for students’ health-related needs, including medical, dental, optical, psychiatric and pharmaceutical.
Tech’s three newest LEED-certified buildings join the ranks of six other campus structures that are certified at various levels: the College of Business (silver), Klaus Advanced Computing Building (gold), Old Civil Engineering Building (gold), Zelnak Center (gold), Women’s Softball Complex (gold) and North Avenue Apartments (gold).
Other facilities currently under LEED review with the U.S. Green Building Council include the Historic Academy of Medicine, McCamish Pavilion, Ken Byers Tennis Complex and Stephen C. Hall Building. Since 2009, all new construction and renovations on campus have been conducted to meet or exceed LEED Gold standards.
]]>Institute Communications
]]>The President’s Committee on Disabilities and Access will determine if campus barriers — whether physical or technology-related — adversely impact access to Tech’s programs or services anywhere across the 400-acre campus, which houses some 238 buildings and other structures.
“Georgia Tech is committed to the inclusion of individuals with disabilities throughout our campus community and ensuring full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other pertinent laws, that recognize and protect the civil rights of people with disabilities,” Peterson said. “This committee will have broad oversight responsibilities to ensure that we are meeting our responsibilities and obligations.”
Once convened, the committee will be charged with reviewing Institute policies, identifying potential problem areas, and benchmarking against national best practices for disability and access compliance. The committee will detail its findings in an annual report to the president that will include recommendations for improvement.
Initial committee members include:
Individuals interested in the committee's progress can track the activities on a soon to be established website or can contact one of the committee members directly.
]]>Office of Institute Diversity
404-385-3686
]]>Georgia Tech Starter is a university-based, peer-reviewed crowd-funding platform for science and engineering research projects.
Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) researcher Allison Mercer began the process of founding the site a year ago, after learning that faculty and researchers from other universities were using crowd-source funding
websites.
“I thought we could make Georgia Tech Starter a way to be more aboveboard, in regards to funding,” Mercer said. “Everything is peer-reviewed, so donors know the money will be used exactly as described.”
The site is perfect for generating seed funding (typically amounts up to $5,000) or helping to gather data for a larger project, Mercer said.
Researchers can access the Georgia Tech Starter site at starter.gatech.edu and begin the application process. A series of questions will help ensure compliance with requirements. Researchers will receive a review of their projects as well as feedback on how to better craft the project’s message for posting on Georgia Tech Starter.
“Our strategic plan calls for defining the technological research university of the 21st century and for the relentless pursuit of institutional effectiveness,” said Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “Georgia Tech Starter is a perfect example of innovation and thinking out of the box. Executive Vice President for Research Steve Cross and I encourage faculty and researchers to participate by submitting proposals and letting the world know about the wonderful research going on here.”
Projects will be posted on the site for 60 days, and donors will only be charged if the funding goals are reached. So far, six projects are under review. When the site has 12 projects, it will be launched to the public.
Mercer mentions the reduction of taxpayer-funded sources’ budgets as the main reason behind the Georgia Tech Starter idea.
“The success of projects on other popular crowd-source funding sites is roughly 43 percent, which is much better than the odds on receiving funding from more conventional funding sources,” Mercer said. “And Georgia Tech Starter can help support projects in ways other than monetarily. Supporters who don’t donate can instead spread the word about projects via social media sites, which can lead to more exposure and funding.”
Open to faculty researchers and students, approval requirements are as follows: faculty must have department head approval, GTRI researchers must have lab approval, and students must have a faculty sponsor.
]]>Georgia Tech Research Institute
]]>The citation accompanying this award provides an overview of the accomplishments of each of the award winners within the past year:
Dr. Nisha Botchwey, an Associate Professor in the School of City and Regional Planning, joined Georgia Tech in 2012. In her brief tenure at Tech, Prof. Botchwey has obtained strong national leadership recognition. She was elected as a Southeastern schools representative to the Governing Board of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), ACSP’s delegate to the research committee of the National Academy of Environmental Design, and a member of the Director’s Advisory Council of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has an active and influential research agenda, with recognition as a leading authority on connections between the built environment and public health. In addition, Prof. Botchwey has had an active influence in the Heathy Places Research Group, served on the College of Architecture's search committee for a new Dean, and advised the student-run Social Justice Committee.
Dana Habeeb, a PhD student and Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of City and Regional Planning, has already established an impressive record of research and teaching. Through her doctoral work focused on urbanization and climate change, Dana served as co-author on two papers published in 2012 - one in the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning and a second in the Journal of Environmental Management - and is the lead author on a third peer-reviewed paper currently under review. Having distinguished herself as a graduate teaching assistant in a studio course focused on climate change issues in coastal Georgia, Dana is one of the few doctoral students who have been entrusted to serve as sole instructor of a graduate level course, Urban Environmental Planning and Design, in 2012 and 2013. Beyond her scholarly and teaching contributions to the School of City and Regional Planning, Dana is among the most active doctoral students in student governance. She was selected by her peers to serve as the doctoral student representative to the faculty in each year from 2010 to the present, and further served as the doctoral social chair from 2010 to 2012. She has served as the PhD representative to the planning student finance association and has further served on multiple faculty search and special purpose committees. In addition, Dana is a board member of the Cabbagetown Initiative Community Development in which she seeks to create new green space in her neighborhood.
Past winners of the award are Ann Gerondelis (2011-2012), Christine Cagelosi (2011-2012), Roya Agharahimi (2011-2012), Ellen Dunham-Jones (2010-2011), Ning Ai (2010-2011), Nancey Green Leigh (2009-2010), Paola Sanguinetti (2009-2010), Krystal Persaud (2009-2010), Betty Dowling (2008-2009), Jessica Doyle (2008-2009), and Shannon Barnes (2008-2009).
]]>Students can complete the 34 credit-hour curriculum in one calendar year including two semesters of full-time coursework and a capstone project course offered during the summer. Part-time students may complete the program in two or three academic years plus one summer session for the capstone project course.
The MS-GIST degree provides students with a common core of required knowledge, a strong foundation of technology skills, and the flexibility to apply those skills to a broad range of professional and academic fields. Many of the GIST graduates will continue to view themselves as members of traditional professions such as engineering, environmental science, or architecture, but many others will place themselves within the newly-emerging professions directly related to geospatial technologies.
Additional information on the new program is available at
http://www.planning.gatech.edu/academics/msgist/overview
]]>School of City and Regional Planning
Center for Geographic Information Systems
]]>This well-earned honor reflects 12 years with CGIS in which Tony has served as the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on over 25 projects and developed 17 GIS products for various clients including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the State of Georgia (DNR and DHR), The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, Morehouse School of Medicine, The Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund International, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Atlanta BeltLine Inc., and the City of Atlanta.
More recently, Tony has co-developed a new model for online courses to be delivered through CGIS and has been instrumental in developing a strategic vision for the newly approved Masters in Geographic Information Systems Technologies (MS-GIST) degree to be offered through the School of City and Regional Planning beginning in fall 2013. Along with his research interests and duties as Associate Director of CGIS, Tony teaches introductory GIS courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
]]>Marvin's research looks at the effects of sea level rise on the resources, habitats, and culture of Sandfly, Pinpoint, and Hog Hammock along Georgia's coast. He began the research as part of a larger project funded by the Georgia Conservancy and Georgia Tech and quickly found the initial project's combination of science, African-American history, and planning a solid stepping stone for further research.
Marvin’s findings indicate that the block and roads around the Georgia Regional Hospital at Savannah in Sandfly will be partially inundated if no adaptation strategies are taken and Pin Point will become further isolated as a major transportation artery into the secluded community will be cut off due to rising sea levels. Hog Hammock will be hit the hardest by projected sea level rise, with over 90 percent of inhabited land to be impacted if no adaptation strategies are implemented.
The distinction, awarded in late March by a panel of Academy of Sciences members, will not mark the end point of Marvin's research on the gradual deterioration of the Gullah Geechee's historic character. He is currently researching food access issues in the area, the influence of Walmart on the local economy, and the potential for transit-oriented development (TOD) to improve access to these sparsely populated and often forgotten islands on the Georgia coast.
]]>Chairperson Bruce Stiftel writes that, “Anna Kim will expand Georgia Tech’s capabilities in economic development markedly, giving us direct skills in labor market analysis, and opening up possibilities for various areas of work related to the immigrant experience in the workplace. We are excited to expand our community and economic development group with an exciting young teacher.”
Dr. Kim is currently the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Pomona College in California. A graduate of UCLA’s urban planning Ph.D. program with a B.A. in women’s studies and history from Claremont McKenna College and an M.A. in ethnic studies from the University of California-San Diego, Kim’s research is focused on immigrant participation in the informal economy and related issues of labor markets and economic and community development. An acclaimed young teacher at Pomona College, Kim will teach community development and economic development courses at Georgia Tech.
“Tim Welch will join the researchers at Georgia Tech investigating avenues to respond to the climate change," writes Stiftel. "Welsh challenges us to change transportation system design to lead to urban form that has lower carbon impact. His work will advance the agenda of Tech’s National Center for Transportation Productivity and Management and will no doubt be the basis for innovations in city planning practice in the critical years ahead.”
Mr. Welch is a doctoral candidate in urban and regional planning and research assistant in the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland at College Park. He has a B.A. in finance from Washington State University, LL.B. from University of Windsor, J.D. from University of Detroit-Mercy, and a Master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Florida State University. Welch’s research is focused on reducing carbon emissions from transportation, and vehicle miles travelled reduction strategies. He will teach transportation planning and related courses at Georgia Tech.
]]>The School of City and Regional Planning will have yet another strong showing at the annual conference with over 20 current students attending, along with a several faculty members and numerous alumni. Below is a list of SCaRP-related presentations (to be updated as more information becomes available):
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Mr. Campbell brought his penchant for public speaking, honed behind a church pulpit in a small Alabama farming community, first to Tuskegee Institute where he received a B.S. in architecture and then to graduate school at Georgia Tech. While at Tech, he translated his knack for public speaking into a capacity for writing. Two of his former classmates, present at the award presentation, heralded his work ethic as the reason why he developed into the best writer in the class by the time they graduated in 1970. Fitting with his career, Mr. Campbell’s graduation from Georgia Tech with a Masters in City Planning was no small milestone. He holds the distinct honor of being not only the first African-American to receive a graduate degree from Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning, but from the university as a whole.
Following a trailblazing academic career, Mr. Campbell left an equally noteworthy professional footprint that included roles as County Commissioner of Hamilton County, TN, Southeast Program Director for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Florida President of ER Enterprises, Chairman of the Board of the Housing Assistance Council, and Southeast Area Director for the Farmers Home Administration. In 1986, Mr. Campbell founded ACC Development, a planning and development consulting business based in Chattanooga, and served as CEO through 1995. The following year, Mr. Campbell transitioned back to public service when he accepted an appointment as Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Four years later, President Clinton tapped Campbell for the position of Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the Department of Commerce in which he was the principal adviser to Secretary Norman Y. Mineta on economic development issues within the United States.
Mr. Campbell used his Senate confirmation hearing for the position of Assistant Secretary of Commerce as an opportunity to express his views on the role of economic development:
“Economic equality is a public good. Society is more stable and stronger when its people are able to fulfill their basic human aspirations. I believe that economic development that produces broadly-shared prosperity is in the public interest and that achievement of such prosperity is a public purpose.”
It was this compassionate and progressive view of economic development that Mr. Campell applied to his work. Secretary Mineta once noted that Mr. Campbell’s distinguished career gave him the “first-hand knowledge necessary to help our Nation’s distressed communities best achieve sustainable economic futures.” Mr. Campbell’s more than 30 years of contributions to the field of planning not only made him a valuable ally to distressed communities across the country and to those “left behind” in traditional economic development, but also a make him a model for future planners.
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Members of the campus community are invited to submit nominations for:
Applications will be accepted through March 29, and winners will be recognized during the campus Earth Day celebration, on Friday, April 19. Self-nominations are accepted. Application forms are available for download (see Related Files, right) To see a list of past winners, visit the Earth Day website.
]]>Saturday included tours of campus developments and planning highlights around Atlanta and finished with a gala at the Georgia Tech Hotel. During the gala, school chair Bruce Stiftel recognized Arthur Campbell (MCP ‘70) as a Distinguished Alumnus, and alumni from each of the past six decades and one current student shared memories of their time at Tech and aspirations for the future of the school. In addition, a 60th Anniversary Fund to benefit students in the School of City and Regional Planning was inaugurated.
At a Sunday brunch, an exploratory committee was formed to increase alumni activities and involvement with the School
To contribute to the 60th Anniversary Student Fund, access the contribution form at http://tinyurl.com/60thFund or to stay in touch, join the 500+ alumni LinkedIn Network at http://tinyurl.com/SCARPalumni . The City Planning 60th exhibition will remain open through 29 March in Stubbins Gallery, 2nd Floor, Architecture-East Building, 9am-4:30pm Monday-Wednesday and Friday; 9am – 8pm Thursday.
View an animated slideshow of the reception and view more images from the celebration.
]]>Each year, the intensive Eno Fellowship provides twenty graudate students a first-hand look at how transportation policy is developed and implemented, and offers participants an opportunity to meet with top government officials, leaders of associations, and members of Congress and their staff.
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2013 HUD Secretary's Opportunity and Empowerment Award
Patty McIntosh (MCP ’85), Principal and Founder, Melaver McIntosh
Previously the Vice President for Coastal Programs at the Georgia Conservancy, Patty McIntosh established Melaver McIntosh in January 2010 with partner Martin Melaver. Together, they help communities and businesses develop sustainability strategies through organizational change, plan and program development, and market positioning. The firm served as part of the Laney Walker/Bethlehem core development team in which Patty and her team facilitated private-sector investment in the revitalization effort, conducted community and media outreach, and assisted the city with program development around smart growth principles and place-making.
The Laney Walker/Bethlehem Revitalization Initiative, involving two historic African American neighborhoods in Augusta, Georgia, aimed to reverse decades of blight and disinvestment and to regenerate nearly 1,100 acres of Augusta’s urban center. The project has been shaped by a disciplined, deliberate planning process and community involvement process resulting in: a master plan identifying seven priority development areas; market studies assessing how best to attract a broad mix of residential and commercial users; a pattern book directing development partners to mesh smart growth principles with historic architectural patterns and features; a green guide to ensure sustainable development practices; and selection of 30+ development partners to assist the City’s Housing Department with design, engineering, construction, marketing, and program development.
2013 APA National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Firm
Goody Clancy is an interdisciplinary architecture and planning firm in Boston. The group’s eleven planners and urban designers work together on a wide variety of projects mostly in the eastern United States including comprehensive plans, neighborhood revitalization, downtown redevelopment, and campus plans. They aim to develop broad public participation strategies tailored to the individual communities, to collaborate with consultants across a variety of disciplines on responsive plans, and to develop strategies that their clients can implement.
Jeff Sauser (MCRP/MArch ’10), Urban Planner/ Designer, Goody Clancy
Jeff started at Goody Clancy in July of 2011 as a planner and urban designer. He has worked on a variety of projects from downtown master plans to transit feasibility/economic development studies. Harnessing the skills that he was first exposed to at Georgia Tech, Jeff has recently assumed increased responsibility as deputy project manager for two projects in New Orleans, one revising the city’s comprehensive zoning code and the other developing transportation and livability scenarios for the future of a 5-square mile swath of the city’s core.
Phil Schaeffing (MCRP ’12), Urban Planner/ Designer, Goody Clancy
Phil joined Goody Clancy as an urban planner and designer shortly after graduating in the spring of 2012. His responsibilities include urban design development, GIS analysis, and report writing, and he enjoys the wide-variety of projects he has had the opportunity to be a part of since joining the firm. In particular, the Choice Neighborhood projects allowed him to move from GIS analysis, to site analysis, and finally to developing a plan of action that combines housing, education, and job opportunities all within the same day.
]]>“At first, they couldn’t understand why I wanted us to examine Northside Drive; they said ‘there’s nothing on it,’” said Dobbins, a professor of practice in the School of City and Regional Planning. “Until they realized that there is.”
Northside is actually a diamond in the rough when it comes to the role it could play in improving transportation and providing development opportunities in Atlanta. The street serves as the west frame of Atlanta’s downtown and midtown core, connecting Cobb County to Atlantic Station, Georgia Tech, the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome, the Atlanta University Center, West End and points south.
“Northside should be a grand transit boulevard, a seam between east and west, not the divide that it is,” Dobbins said. “Our goal is to help change that.”
Dobbins became familiar with Northside’s potential while working as commissioner of planning for the City of Atlanta from 1996 to 2002. For the studio, he partnered with Emory McClinton, a board member of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), to develop the studio program.
“A lot is happening in the Northside corridor,” Dobbins said. “The State Road and Tollway Authority’s strategically located site at 17th Street is up for sale without conditions that would serve transit connectivity. Tech is seeking to establish better programs and physical linkages with its westside neighborhoods. The multimodal passenger terminal could be built in the future. A new stadium is in play. Why wouldn’t now be a good time to plan comprehensively?”
So during fall semester, with funding from the GDOT, the city, the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, Midtown Alliance and Tech, city planning and civil engineering students in Dobbins’ studio took on the challenge of creating a plan for Northside Drive.
Some of the recommendations include:
The main purpose of the plan is for Tech to establish an active, lively face on Northside, welcoming the new development and older neighborhoods across the way.
“The plan also provides suggestions on how the city, GDOT, Tech and Coca-Cola can collaborate to achieve shared goals,” Dobbins added.
Before the end of fall semester, the students shared their findings with stakeholders including the GDOT, city, other agencies, neighborhood and other civic leaders, and developers — and the stakeholders listened.
“The unique thing about a student project is that there aren’t the biases that can occur when an interest group initiates the research,” Dobbins said. “So I think leaders are more open to suggestions.”
But, Dobbins also said that people tend to underestimate what students are capable of.
“It has been an interesting reaction,” Dobbins said. “People didn’t think the project would be as useful as it has been in terms of providing information about what can be done.”
Although the studio is finished and the students have moved on, the project is not. Dobbins will now share the plan with the 150 people on his stakeholder list to get feedback.
Regardless of what happens next, the project has already accomplished two of Dobbins’ goals: getting people who are normally suspicious of others’ motives to come together in the same room and communicate, and getting the city to recognize that Northside Drive needs to be formally designated as a transit corridor.
“The ultimate goal would be to have a transportation system serving emerging development patterns based on what the students are proposing,” Dobbins said. “The city and GDOT would use the information in the plan to update their plans and funding priorities accordingly. We’ll just have to see what happens next.”
For more information, contact Dobbins or visit the project website.
]]>To commemorate all that we have accomplished together and apart, the School of City and Regional Planning has scheduled a 60th Anniversary Celebration, to be held on March 1-3, 2013. Part of this celebration will consist of reflections on changes to planning, its impact on our society, and our alumni’s impact on both. We seek to publicly recognize and learn from not only the cumulative work of alumni as a whole, but also the specific work of individual planning graduates. We propose to recognize our alumni by holding an exhibition, both during and after the Celebration, showing your work over the years since 1952.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time the School has attempted to mount an exhibition of our alumni’s work, and we are depending on you to provide us with both outstanding ad exemplary cases of planning work over the past 60 years. This work will first be curated into an exhibition and mounted in the newly renovated Hugh Stubbins Gallery in the East Architecture Building, and later uploaded to the internet as a permanent exhibition of our alumni’s work. All work submitted will be placed in a digital archive – available for all to see – and become an ongoing repository for the creative and analytic work of the School and College.
Deadline for submission extended to Feb. 22nd
For information on what information we need from you and how to submit your work, view this letter from Associate Professor Michael Elliott: Call for Work
Please join us for a weekend of events and entertainment the weekend of March 1. Register here.
]]>michael.elliott@coa.gatech.edu
(404) 894-9841
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To evaluate the accessibility of public facilities in the Atlanta metropolitan region, Brodie identifies potentially affected population clusters and analyzes disproportionality and disparity of access to public facilities among the population groups. Her results show that while many of the groups historically impacted by environmental justice issues enjoy access to schools, libraries, and transit, comparatively minority populations have disproportionately limited access to city parks.
Brodie’s method for identifying potential environmental justice issues not only pinpoints areas in need of improvement in Atlanta but can also serve as a model for further study of access to private facilities such as grocery stores and shopping. By discovering deficiencies in accessibility, municipalities are better able to understand the regional impacts of transportation improvements as well as more easily comply with the spirit of environmental justice regulations.
Stefanie Brodie is a 2012 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City & Regional Planning and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is currently pursuing a PhD in Civil Engineering at Georgia Tech. Professors Adjo Amekudzi, Catherine Ross, and Michael Meyer served on Brodie’s thesis advisory committee.
]]>To examine the hierarchy of city centers distributed throughout Atlanta, Sewell utilized Georgia Tech’s SMARTRAQ dataset to map the distribution of commercial activity. He then used kernel density estimation and several other quantitative and qualitative analyses to objectively compare Atlanta’s hierarchy of centers with commonly held notions of centrality throughout time.
Sewell’s research shows “that beneath Atlanta’s urban fabric, there exists complex logic generating a hierarchial structure of centers at multiple scales.” This supports the theory that centrality develops by a dual process: through the minimization of distance in the global network and the through the intensification of street patterns in the local road network. Like all urban places, Atlanta’s hierarchy of city centers forms complex layers of meaning, the very complexity necessary for good, urban life.
Patrick Sewell is a 2011 graduate of Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning and currently works as a Credit Risk Analyst at Regions Financial Corporation. Professors John Peponis, Michael Dobbins, and Perry Yang served on Sewell’s thesis advisory committee.
]]>Parks, plazas, and other public spaces serve as epicenters of democratic expression and communal interaction. However, governments across the country are transferring ownership of public spaces to private entities in an effort to reduce costs. In the 2012 Georgia Tech applied research paper “Using Public Spaces Freely: Ownership and Management of Public Spaces,” Allison Buchwach (MCRP ’12) identifies a lack of direct comparisons between publically and privately developed and operated spaces and their ability to serve the public.
To explore the effects that ownership and management structure can have on the ability to use public space freely, Buchwach chose 12 outdoor spaces around the City of Atlanta including Piedmont Park and One Atlantic Center's plaza. The strength and weaknesses these two locations plus five other publically owned and managed spaces and five other privately owned and managed spaces were evaluated using an adjusted Nemeth index that focused on access, security, rules, design, and amenities.
In an effort to offer the most accessible environment possible for any member of the public and to accommodate a large diversity of public activities, Buchwach recommends that municipalities keep an open mind to private ownership of public spaces. She argues that while private entities are less likely to create public space in the absence of regulation, differences in ownership status play little role in the creation of successful public space. Private entities can create public spaces just as effectively as the public sector, and therefore governmental bodies should incentivize public space creation in the private sector. The most important factor in determining if a space maintains a public nature, argues Buchwach, is not who built it and who controls it, but rather the geographical size of the space.
Allison Buchwach is a 2012 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning, and currently works as the Transportation and Community Development Intern at the Center for Neighborhood Technology. Associate Professor Brian Stone served as her applied research paper advisor.
]]>Bringing business to a region can be equated to big game fishing: governors, legislators, and economic planners traditionally try to reel in the big catch, a large corporation from out-of-state. However, according to the 2012 Georgia Tech applied research paper, “Economic Gardening: Mapping Fertile Gardens,” the market is overcrowded with other like-minded regions offering increasingly better bait to attract the small amount of large corporations available. In his research paper, John Minter (MCRP ’12) writes that between 1994 and 2008, the state of Georgia did better than most, ranking as the fourth most successful state at recruiting outside companies, but “Only four percent of new jobs during that time span were the result of relocations.” The other ninety-six percent of new jobs grew from expansions of existing companies or new, local startups. “The continual watering, nurturing, and guiding [of] the growth of small businesses within the community,” known as Economic Gardening, “is a more sound economic development approach,” argues Minter.
Economic Gardening presents a demand-side alternative to the big catch mentality that dominates much of economic development today. Through the development of a mapping tool that identifies spatial opportunities and its application to Economic Gardening case studies around the country, Minter provides a powerful tool for understanding local economies and builds a compelling case for renewed governmental investment in small businesses. For communities hard hit by the recession due to an overreliance on one or two industries, Economic Gardening has experienced a resurgence, and the mapping tool offered by Minter makes identifying companies to grow within a community manageable.
John Minter is a 2012 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City & Regional Planning, and Associate Professor William Drummond advised his applied research paper. Minter is currently a GIS Analyst at John Gallup & Associates.
]]>As part of the annual celebration of World Town Planning Day, Georgia Tech’s Student Planning Association hosted a panel discussion on 5 November about the proposals for a new Atlanta Falcons stadium. The student group invited Representative Mike Dudgeon (R), Representative Rashard Taylor (D), Reverend Anthony Motley, and Georgia Tech's Dr. Benjamin Flowers to present the concerns and promote the opportunities that a partially tax-payer funded project could bring the city. Each speaker advocated for their positions through individual presentations and an audience question and answer session. Endorsed by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), World Town Planning Day advances public and professional interest in planning throughout 30 countries around globe each November.
]]>Minimum parking requirements dictate the scale of a city and render an environment unwalkable argues a 2012 Georgia Tech applied research paper. In “Parking: Its Effect on the Form and the Experience of the City,” Stephen Taul (MCRP ’12) claims parking regulations must be redesigned to prioritize the pedestrian and promote efficient use of space if a city is serious about encouraging social interaction.
Taul places three urban districts at the center of his detailed analysis of Atlanta's parking: Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead. While all three districts follow many of the prescriptions of New Urbanist parking guidelines such as hiding the parking in the rear of a building or integrating parking into the ground level of a large structure, street level activity nevertheless suffers due to large lot sizes and individual ownership of parking facilities. To estimate the amount of street activity generated by parking, parcel data was used to show the locations in Atlanta with parking as a principle land use. Representative locations were then analyzed individually and cross-compared with parcel analysis of cities with strong public realms.
In order to create a more walkable urban district, Taul contends cities must regulate the amount, ownership, and design of parking through five basic principles. These rules include: parking requirements based on factors of walkability, required shared parking, common ownership of parking, maximized on-street parking, and direct connections from off-street parking to the public sidewalk. By offering alternatives to the “out of sight, out of mind” approach that pervades modern transportation planning discussions about parking, Taul’s 2012 applied research paper challenges a lingering obstacle to the successful design of truly walkable cities.
Stephen Taul is a 2012 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning, and advising for his applied research paper was conducted by Associate Professor Richard Dagenhart.
]]>GIS is a rapidly emerging field of study, centered on the acquisition, management, analysis, and dissemination of information that is spatially referenced to locations on, above, and below earth’s surface. This field is highly transdisciplinary with growing importance in a number of traditional academic disciplines and related professional fields. It is also becoming an important tool in understanding the conditions of and prospects for underdeveloped regions, which is transforming the process of crafting development strategies. However, the majority of GIS research has been contextually situated in places where data are relatively easily available and can be verified through standardized techniques. In contrast, the problems in developing countries have been issues of “messy,” incomplete, and/or non-existent data, which compels the use of heuristic techniques to acquire and develop shadow data systems for analysis. These techniques, often based on satellite and aerial imagery, are still in their infancy and rarely incorporated in GIS courses. This summer study abroad program will develop a compendium of methods for GIS analyses in data poor regions. By engaging with the real issues of underdevelopment through new forms of GIS techniques we plan to make critical and fundamental contributions to research and training in both GIS and development planning.
The curriculum will be delivered in close partnership with the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-B) at Bangalore. IIIT-B is a premier educational institution offering a range of undergraduate and graduate degrees focused on various aspects of information technology that is located at the heart of India’s “Silicon Valley.” The course participants will include Indian students from IIT-B, and possibly from other institutions, who will work on the same projects and learn alongside their Georgia Tech counterparts.
The course will involve intensive application geospatial tools and technologies for pre-selected projects (within reasonable distance from the IIIT-B campus). Students will also have a classroom component with lectures and exercises for 12 hours each week. While most of these lectures will be delivered by the assigned teaching faculty, other personnel from relevant institutions in India and from non-governmental organizations engaged in development work will be invited to share their knowledge and experience. We expect this experience to be both intensive and transformational for the students at multiple levels. The institutional partner, IIIT-B, will provide one faculty member to complement the Georgia Tech faculty assigned to this course. The director of IIIT-B has also committed to provide complementary accommodations to all Georgia Tech students participating this coursework on their campus (their student housing is excellent and offers single-room accommodation to every student). Students can also avail of subsidized meals the institute cafeteria. The intention is to make this experience within financial reach of most students. The Georgia Tech students will experience Indian graduate student life living in their midst, in facilities that are on par with those they are used to in this country.
More information on the summer course is available here.
]]>Georgia Tech students and faculty joined planning professionals across the region for the Georgia Planning Association’s Annual Fall Conference held in Columbus, GA, 26-28 September. The conference coincided with the first annual Southeast Student Planning Conference and extended its themes of education, advocacy, and networking to sixty-six graduate city and regional planning students from ten universities. The twin conferences included sixteen presentations by Tech students, faculty, and alumni.
Placemaking in the Age of Austerity – How to Create Great Places on a Shoe-String Budget
Is Your Community “Drought Ready?”
Sustainable Redevelopment
Ethics of Forecasting
Is Georgia Ready to Share? Exploring Bike Sharing as a Transportation Option in Georgia
AICP Exam Review – History and Theory
Innovations in Multi-Modal Transit Mapping
Putting Georgia’s Cities Back to Work: Integrating Light Industry into Mixed-Use Urban Development
Bantum towns in the Deep South: Tiny Town Revitalization
Artesano: A Sustainable Neighborhood for Entrepreneurs and Craftsmen in the Heart of Houston
Ruination to Revitalization: Rebuilding a War-Torn City in Baghdad
German Approaches to Brownfield Redevelopment: Insights for Georgia’s
Energy Consumption and Population Density in Metro Atlanta
Reflections on Healthy Communities Summit six
For more information about the conference, read 2012 GPA Fall Conference in Review
]]>Deadline: Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2012 and continue until the position is filled.
The School of City and Regional Planning (SCaRP) at Georgia Tech invites applications for a tenure track nine-month position at the rank of Assistant Professor with an expected start date of August 2013. While the tenure home of the position will be in the School of City and Regional Planning, the successful candidate may be jointly appointed with the School of Public Policy if appropriate.
We seek candidates who will contribute to the teaching of our core courses as well as expand course offerings in economic and community development (some possibilities are workforce development, neighborhood economic development, minority and small business development, economic justice, and economic resiliency). The successful candidate will be expected to maintain an active research program leading to significant contribution to the advancement of the field.
A PhD in planning, or a related field is required. A prior professional degree or practice experience in planning may alternatively demonstrate commitment to the field. Candidates must show promise of significant scholarship.
Applicants should submit the following materials, scanned in order into one PDF, to: scarp-edcd-app@t-square.gatech.edu:
1. Cover letter
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Up to two publications
4. Statement of teaching philosophy
5. Statement of research accomplishments and future research plans
6. Names and addresses (including email) of three academic/professional references.
Other communication may be addressed to:
Professor Nancey Green Leigh
Search Committee Chair
School of City and Regional Planning
Georgia Institute of Technology
245 4th St NW
Atlanta, GA 30332-0155
The School of City and Regional Planning is a global leader in fostering sustainable, resilient and just communities. Faculty include the current editors of the Journal of Planning Education and Research; the former chief planning officials of the City of Atlanta, the Georgia Regional Transportation Agency, and the Atlanta Regional Commission; three former presidents of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning; and six Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. School research is augmented by the Center for Geographic Information Systems, the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, and the National Center for Transportation Productivity and Management. Georgia Tech is one of the world’s premier research universities, consistently ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 public universities and the Times Higher Education’s world top 10 technology universities.
Atlanta is an unparalleled planning laboratory illustrating both the best and the worst of late twentieth/early twenty-first century urban development. As one of America’s fastest growing metro areas, it “leads” in sprawl, traffic congestion, public service privatization, and long-term water supply concerns. At the same time, it is an increasingly diverse region with a growing international presence that has a rich history of pioneering social justice and pulling together for a common purpose.
The Georgia Institute of Technology is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, dedicated to recruiting a diverse faculty. We welcome all qualified applicants to apply, including women, minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities.
]]>Sixty-six graduate city and regional planning students from ten universities gathered in Columbus, Georgia, from September 26-28th for the first ever Southeast Student Planning Conference organized by the Georgia Planning Association and Georgia Tech in conjunction with Georgia Planning Association (GPA) meetings. Twenty-two students presented papers on themes of Human Factors in Transportation Planning, Creating and Tracking Urban and Rural Jobs in the New Economy, Technology in Urban Planning, Public Participation that Works, Remaking Places and Developing Destinations, International Perspectives, and The Heartbeat of Healthy Communities.
The conference was organized by a Student Program Committee chaired by Garrett Hyer (Georgia Tech) , and including Dominick Ardis (Florida State University), Juan Castillo Jr. (University of Florida), Darren Cooper (Georgia Tech), Justine Crighton (University of Georgia), Richelle Gosman (Georgia Tech), Anna Harkness (Georgia Tech), Lamar Jabar (Virginia Commonwealth University), Renee LoSapio (Virginia Tech), Spencer Moore (Auburn University), Abby Ness (University of Virginia), Christopher Pettit (Clemson University), Ted Ranney (Georgia Tech), Ashley Robertson (University of North Carolina), Christina Span (Georgia Tech), and Travis Voyles (Georgia Tech). GPA members Brad Davis of Robert and Company and Bruce Stiftel, FAICP, of Georgia Tech advised the group. Nisha Botchwey of Georgia Tech, Adam Hazell of Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, GPA President Laura Keyes of Atlanta Regional Commission, Jen Price of Sycamore Consulting, Rebecca Retclaff of Auburn, and Bruce Stiftel of Georgia Tech moderated the student sessions. GPA Conference Committee Chair Corey Hull and Conference Manger Elizabeth Trombetta were instrumental in arrangements for the student conference.
The student conference was arranged so that students could attend either student sessions or GPA conference sessions and GPA conference participants were able to join student sessions as well. More information about GPA’s conference is online at: http://georgiaplanning.org/conference-news/georgia-planning-association-holds-conference-in-columbus/
The South Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association and Clemson University will host a second SE Student Planning Conference in Fall 2013 in conjunction with SCAPA’s annual fall conference.
]]>Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
School of City and Regional Planning
The School of City and Regional Planning (SCaRP) at Georgia Tech invites applications for a tenure track nine-month position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor with an expected start date of August 2013. While the tenure home of the position will be in the School of City and Regional Planning, the successful candidate may be jointly appointed with the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, if appropriate.
We seek candidates who will contribute to the teaching of our core courses as well as expand course offerings in transportation planning. Specific interest areas might include: transportation planning methods; urban modeling and simulation; decision and planning support systems; policy analysis; travel behavior and forecasting; transportation and land use interactions; non-motorized transportation; public transit; transportation economics; and transportation risk and security.
Applicants must have a doctorate in City and Regional Planning, Civil and Environmental Engineering or a closely related field. Candidates must show promise of significant scholarship, and should be able to contribute to the University’s major strategic investment in transportation planning and engineering. This may include focused contributions to existing joint degree programs; the newly designated National Center for Transportation System Productivity and Management; the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development; the Center for Geographic Information Systems and/or other academic and research initiatives. The successful candidate should demonstrate the ability or clear promise to develop a successful program of sponsored research.
The Search Committee will begin screening applications 16 November 2012 and will continue to accept applications until the position is filled. Applicants should submit the following materials, scanned in order into one PDF, to: scarp-tp-app@t-square.gatech.edu
1. A letter of interest
2. Curriculum Vitae including record of publications and grant-funded research.
3. Statement of teaching philosophy
4. Contact information for three referees.
Other communication may be addressed to:
Subhro Guhathakurta, Chair
Transportation Planning Search Committee
Professor of City and Regional Planning
Director, Center for Geographic Information Systems
Georgia Institute of Technology
280 Ferst Drive NW
Atlanta, GA 30332-0695 USA
Phone: +1.404.385.0900
A research-led and highly interdisciplinary community of scholars, the School of City and Regional Planning is a global leader in fostering sustainable, resilient and just communities. Faculty include the current editors of the Journal of Planning Education and Research; the former chief planning officials of the City of Atlanta, the Georgia Regional Transportation Agency, and the Atlanta Regional Commission; three former presidents of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning; and six Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. They are responsible for an average of more $2 million per year of externally funded research, serve on eighteen editorial boards, and are widely sought after to frame and advise on local, state, federal, and international human settlements policy, research foundations, private developers, and learned societies. School research is augmented by the Center for Geographic Information Systems, the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, and the National Center for Transportation Productivity and Management. Georgia Tech is one of the world’s premier research universities, consistently ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 public universities and the Times Higher Education’s world top 10 technology universities.
Atlanta is an unparalleled planning laboratory illustrating both the best and the worst of late twentieth/early twenty-first century urban development. As one of America’s fastest growing metro areas, it “leads” in sprawl, traffic congestion, public service privatization, and long-term water supply concerns. At the same time, it is an increasingly diverse region with a growing international presence that has a rich history of pioneering social justice and pulling together for a common purpose.
Georgia Institute of Technology is an equal opportunity employer committed to expanding the educational diversity of its faculty and students and encourages applications from a broad variety of candidates.
]]>Transportation Planning Search Committee
]]>Even during the greatest economic downturn in the U.S. since the Great Depression, development still trended toward urban sprawl according to recent findings from a 2012 Georgia Tech applied research paper. In “A Changing Paradigm? Measuring Urban Decentralization through the Great Recession,” Laura Schultz (MCRP ’12) challenges the popular belief that cities reversed the trend of decentralization in the wake of the housing bubble burst.
“While the growth of urban centers has been studied from many angles, no one had looked specifically at the recession, a unique period of time in the U.S. housing market which made this project very appealing to me,” says Schultz about her multi-city study.
Schultz assessed residential development trends during the past decade by measuring how population, housing, vacancy, and occupancy rates fared in 12 major US cities. Dan Immergluck, a professor of housing and real estate markets at Georgia Tech, states that Schultz’ findings are highly significant because “[T]hey call into question the assertions made by some popular urban observers that the housing crisis has put an end to sprawl and a ‘rationalization’ of metropolitan investment patterns.”
Schultz found that decentralization continued in all 12 cities studied, in some cases demonstrating an overall trend reversal from centralization to decentralization or even accelerated decentralization rates. According to Immergluck, these patterns of sprawl continued after the onset of the economic crisis even in “cities that had shown some signs of more compact development trends before the crisis hit.” Schultz’s research sheds new light on current housing trends and offers significant evidence that cities are continuing to expand outward, even in the midst of a great financial crisis.
Laura Schultz is a 2012 graduate of the Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning and currently works as an Economic Development Associate at Hudson Square Connection in New York, NY.
]]>Just as Brain Quest can be highly engaging for students learning science, and Scrabble can be a fun way to sharpen teenagers’ vocabulary skills, Terminus — a game created by three Tech graduate students — can teach high schoolers all about transportation planning.
As part of their summer work with the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Amy Ingles and Denise Smith, civil engineering students, and Johann Weber, a public policy student, were asked to teach high school students participating in Clark Atlanta University’s Summer Transportation Institute how transportation planning works in metro Atlanta.
With Terminus, players are paired off and given a fictitious district within a larger metro area, economic and demographic background on the district, a budget and a stack of cards representing options for transportation infrastructure projects for their district. Options include projects such as road repairs, highway interchanges, light rail lines, buses or multiuse paths.
“Personalities make a big difference, and the kids brought their perceptions of infrastructure with them when they played,” said Weber. He said that one student was dismayed to learn that projects he favored would not be the ones most beneficial for his community. The cost of a project varies depending on the region, as well as how many points it would earn the district in each of three categories: economic, environment and equity.
“People approach it in different ways, but it was really fun and well-received,” Weber said.
The ARC has participated in the Clark Atlanta University program for a number of years, but, this year, wanted to revamp how it presented the topic of transportation planning to students.
“Last year, our senior folks felt they wanted something a little more fun and interactive than in the past,” said Byron Rushing, an ARC bicycle and pedestrian planner who worked with the Tech interns on the project. The idea of Terminus was largely based on the format of the regional roundtable for the TSPLOST vote that took place in July. The referendum may have died at the polls this summer, but its lessons live on in Terminus.
“We liked the idea because it was already kind of a competitive game in real life to come up with the funding list, so we tried to boil that down to be super simple for high schoolers,” Rushing said. Though students didn’t necessarily have to understand all the nuances of every project to play, the game creators did want a realistic outcome. “We tried to put it in enough of a framework that it was logical how the projects worked out. Having [Johann] certainly helped with that, since he could conceive all the different ways projects could work for each district.”
Debriefing with the students after the game, both Rushing and his colleague Nathan Soldat, an ARC senior transit planner, were pleasantly surprised.
“Some of the questions got more technical and were based off the cards from the game; they were not afraid to ask if they didn’t know what a term was,” Soldat said.
The ARC plans to continue using Terminus with high school students through its Mock Atlanta Regional Commission (MARC) program, which is similar to a Model United Nations. “The kids who come are already interested in that field of study, so that group may be even more engaged and informed,” Soldat said.
Terminus is now copyrighted to the ARC, and Weber also submitted it for presentation at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. He has also presented the idea to Georgia Tech faculty who may be able to incorporate it into their curriculum.
“We really just want to expose more people to transportation planning,” Weber said.
Created By: Kristen Shaw
]]>Kristen Bailey, Institute Communications
]]>2013 PhD Assistantship in Sustainable Local Economic Development Planning
The PhD Program of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning is pleased to announce a three year research assistantship, beginning Fall 2013, with a focus on multiple aspects of sustainable local economic development planning in the U.S. The research may also incorporate comparative analyses between the U.S. and other countries depending on the successful applicant’s interests. The assistantship covers tuition and a stipend. A master's degree in planning is required. Information about the PhD program and general admission requirements may be found at: http://www.planning.gatech.edu/academics/phd/overview
A separate 250 word essay outlining the applicant's research interests in sustainable local economic development must be submitted to the PhD program director after completing the on-line application process for the PhD Program. For more information, prospective Ph.D. students should contact Professor Nancey Green Leigh at: ngleigh@gatech.edu.
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In 2006, the average household in Atlanta spent 29 percent of their income on housing costs and 32 percent of their income on transportation expenses. Philip Schaeffing (MCRP '12) writes in his 2012 applied research paper, Transit-Accessible Workforce Housing Opportunities in Atlanta: An Analysis of Housing and Employment Characteristics Near Current and Future Transit Lines, that housing, employment, and transportation “investment are inextricably linked yet these policies are not always well-coordinated, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Low-income and workforce households who live near transit options that are connected to job and activity centers can significantly reduce their transportation costs and free more of their budget for other vital needs.” While the defeat of the July T-SPLOST referendum in metro Atlanta remains a missed opportunity for new and expanded transit facilities, a comprehensive analysis of housing, employment, and transportation could improve on the proposed project list when the region revisits the referendum in two years.
Schaeffing's approach utilizes spatial analysis techniques in a geographic information system (GIS) to study the 2010 Census and American Community Survey data. A series of thematic maps illustrate the connection between housing and jobs via transit, and illuminate potential opportunities to preserve affordable housing and to develop mixed-income transit-oriented development (MITOD).
In order to coordinate investment between housing, employment, and transportation, Schaeffing recommends the creation of a revolving loan fund to provide patient capital for the acquisition of land near transit, the coordination of affordable housing requirements at the regional level, and the inclusion of policies that ensure the coexistence of workforce and market-rate housing in an effort to produce vital mixed-income communities near transit. By acknowledging the impact transportation investment can have on housing and employment, the Atlanta region has the opportunity to improve upon future plans for equitability and economic competitiveness in the next transportation investment referendum.
Philip Schaeffing is a 2012 graduate of Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning, and advising for his applied research paper was conducted by Professor Dan Immergluck.
]]>As the community outreach component of the Student Planning Association, the Social Justice Committee seeks to create opportunities for students to practice their planning skills by participating in projects in underserved communities that lack resources, power, or voice, in an effort to raise social justice awareness at Georgia Tech. Founded in 2009, the Social Justice Committee has been active in a number of projects ranging from designing a plan for a community garden for the Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association to organizing the GT Jam for Haiti, a concert to raise funds for two Atlanta-based organizations assisting in relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti.
This school year, the Social Justice Committee continued to stay busy, with a volunteer group of twenty students working on four projects, including:
The Memorandum of Understanding between the Social Justice Committee and New Life S.A.Y. Yes! was designed to address areas of concern among the community. Together, a group of nine students participated in community group meetings to identify concerns and possible solutions. Students used the information provided in community meetings and their own research to develop a report offering: recommendations for urban design and safety improvements; strategies for gainful employment for the community’s unemployed and underemployed residents; solutions for addressing vacant properties; recommendations to engage residents with the community garden; and an analysis of previous studies and plans to identify impacts on the site. The completed report was presented to the community group by the students in June, and will be available on the Student Planning Association’s website.
The Social Justice Committee looks forward to building its relationship with New Life S.A.Y. Yes! and is excited to take on a rich, and varied array of projects in the 2012-2013 school year. The committee is currently finalizing projects for next year, as well as focusing on creating new opportunities for community service while strengthening its presence in the greater Georgia Tech community. If you have ideas for a potential project, or would like more information on how the Social Justice Committee can work with your community, please contact the chair, Christina Span at cspan3@gatech.edu.
Christina Span is a City Planning and Public Policy dual degree student and is SPA’s 2012-2013 Social Justice Committee chairperson. Originally from Michigan, Christina has a BS in architecture from Lawrence Technological University and a BA in sociology from Wayne State University. She is specializing in economic development and works as a research assistant at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute.
]]>Books Published
Student Achievements
Alumni Achievements
Comings and Goings
This story is from the Spring/Summer 2012 edition of the SCaRP newsletter.
Dr. Nisha Botchwey joined SCaRP as an Associate Professor in January, 2012. Dr. Botchwey comes to Georgia Tech from the University of Virginia, where she was an Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning and Public Health Sciences. Dr. Botchwey earned a B.A. in environmental science and public policy from Harvard University, an MCRP and Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MPH from the University of Virginia. Dr. Botchwey maintains an interdisciplinary approach to her research and teaching, with a focus on the intersection between the built environment and its impact on the health of communities. Dr. Botchwey and I sat down together to discuss her background, research, and plans for the future at the School.
Anna Harkness: You joined the city planning department here at Georgia Tech in January. How did you end up working in city planning, studying it, and getting to where you are today?
Dr. Nisha Botchwey: How did I get into planning? I was diving off the coast of Montego Bay [Jamaica], doing research at the time. [At the end of the morning’s dive] I noticed a squatter community adjacent to an all-inclusive resort, and realized that the concerns I had with the health of the coral reef in the Montego Bay Marine Park was directly related to what was happening on the land. In order to address my concerns with the reef I needed to understand the planning and development patterns on the coast. That turned into my undergraduate thesis at Harvard University, and was followed the next summer by work on the Montego Bay 2014 Redevelopment Plan.
I then moved to the University of Pennsylvania to study planning with Ian McHarg given his prowess in the area of environmental planning. It was at the beginning of my training in Philadelphia when I was introduced to North Philadelphia, an urban ecosystem far away from the Caribbean that had experienced so much disinvestment -- destruction of the physical environment impacting the social capital and quality of life. So my focus shifted from eutrophication, coral reefs, and coastal development, to health and quality of life of people in low-income communities and community development activities of local institutions.
AH: And so that sort of reoriented you from environmental planning to community development planning?
NB: I see it as two sides of the same coin, because you can’t divorce environmental planning from community development; one should inform the other. They are symbiotic in many ways. With effective community development there are jobs for residents, good schools, quality housing and safe infrastructure, all balanced by a healthy environment. It is hard to sustain one without the other. It really needs to be connected. This perspective is directly in line with my training. My undergrad degree is in Environmental Science and Public Policy, where I focused on marine ecosystems and environmental management. Shortly thereafter, my eyes were opened to the city ecosystem support with a masters and doctoral degree in City and Regional Planning. I have since completed a Masters of Public Health degree and incorporate this understanding in my work as well.
AH: These days you focus a lot on public health. How did that come in to your research?
NB: In looking at religious institutions in North Philadelphia and their contributions to community development, I saw that faith-based organizations were providing a significant amount of health services to the North Philadelphia community. The health services they were providing were not high-capital services that one would access in a typical hospital setting; they were more along the lines of education, health fairs, screenings for school, referrals to get the high-cost services at hospitals or other clinics. The Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) were catching people who were falling through the established safety net of care in this neighborhood. They were catching folks that didn’t have anywhere else to go. FBOs serve as intermediaries to promote health in cities by providing needed services to the hardest to reach populations and partnering with other organizations to help more people realize improved health outcomes.
But also at that time I was a personal trainer and started a non-profit in North Philadelphia called the Trinity Center. Among its mission themes, the Trinity Center worked to promote health in the community, an effort that I led. The participants in the healthy communities program learned how to use their local environment to be more physically active and eat better. We had small group sessions once a week and exercise on the sidewalks and in nearby parks. The participants completed an environmental audit to identify the things they wanted to change in their immediate neighborhood and responded with a few local clean-ups. We then celebrated with a community festival that included lots of health information and screenings.
Most recently, my work in South Africa through the Water and Health in Limpopo Project brings together villagers who live in a water-deficient region of the country. In partnership with these local residents and a team of physicians, engineers, educators, nurses and planners, we identified health, education and infrastructure concerns. To complete the circle, we designed and built a variety of solutions and are monitoring their success.
I wanted my work to improve the health of the natural environment and its occupants more broadly. This extends to where I am now, to how do you develop a workforce of planners and public health practitioners who can develop a vision, implement, and maintain healthy communities. It extends beyond what I was doing at the beginning of my training, to where I am now as a profesoor writing, teaching and applying best practices in healthy communities so that there’s an army of people who can go out and do this work.
AH: On that note, can you talk a little about the work you’ve done to develop healthy communities courses?
NB: A few years ago, I presented at an American Public Health Association meeting on built environment and public health training. The audience response was quite positive, especially in wanting more information on what a model curriculum for a healthy communities class would look like. In response, I led a group of faculty from various universities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a paper outlining a model built environment and public health curriculum that has been used across the nation. Once published, I took the rest of the material that did not make its way into the article and developed the Built Environment + Public Health Curriculum website, www.bephc.com, which hosts guidance on readings, exercises, training in built environment and public health that we see in Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, from faculty who have a research interest in this area, to schools that offer courses, have certificate or specializations, or joint degree programs with public health. And it’s been a really neat resource, and I’m looking forward to developing it further, given the changing landscape in healthy communities research and practice.
I would love to see SCaRP develop our offerings in the area of health and the built environment in a way that allows us to graduate students who to take leadership roles in addressing these issues locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
AH: What are you doing here at Tech to continue that work, and going forward?
NB: One of the things I didn’t talk much about was my interest in citizen participation, and not just engaging communities, but this notion of public engagement methodologies. This is where you are able to better understand how best to approach different types of communities given the social, economic, and technological context in which they operate. My South Africa work is a great example of how complicated, yet rewarding an investment in this critical dimension of community development can be. Emerging questions that many of us are beginning to struggle with in this area concerns public engagement in this new era of tweets, blogs and online surveys. Of additional concern is how to consistently reach communities who have limited access to these online venues, who are often the same group that have not participated in the planning and redevelopment of their neighborhoods. These are exciting topics to work on and a great city to work in to realize change.
Anna Harkness is a second-year MCRP student at Georgia Tech and the editor of the SCaRP newsletter. She came to Atlanta from California, where she earned a BA in economics from Scripps College. She is specializing in land use and works for the Center for Quality Growth and Regiona
As the capstone of the MCRP program, students undertake original research in a subject relating to city and regional planning, resulting in an applied research paper or thesis. These works demonstrate the student’s ability to analyze challenges and situations they will encounter in professional practice. Here 2012 MCRP graduate Cara Woods provides an overview of her applied research paper.
Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s the way citizens and governments view community engagement has changed drastically. As civil rights activists expressed their displeasure with neighborhood changes they did not support, poorly distributed city resources, and general inequality, a need for public participation and community engagement became evident. The first interactions between neighborhood groups and local governments were conflict-based. Community organizers assumed that their interests and those of the government were in opposition (Kathi, 2005).
Since that time economic, changes have altered the way citizens use city resources. Neighborhood associations have started privatizing city services in instances where the city’s budget could not meet neighborhood needs. Additionally various age groups view community engagement differently, making it difficult to engage all generations at one time. This research attempts to figure out how Atlanta’s NPU stacks up against these new challenges.
Methodology
The initial steps for this analysis were the selection of comparable cities with neighborhood-based citizen participation and/or community engagement programs. Cities with similar demographic makeups to that of Atlanta were selected. To assess the effectiveness of local government neighborhood departments, surveys were conducted with planners or administrators from each of the selected city departments.
Within the City of Atlanta NPU chairs and neighborhood association presidents were sought out for interviews as well. Three NPUs were selected based on their demographic components. Demographic diversity was a priority in this selection. The purpose of these interview questions was to assess whether the NPU system addresses the needs of citizens, improves the allocation of resources to all neighborhoods, and increases local government’s understanding of citizen priorities.
Citizens’ Perspective
Ultimately, what NPU Participants wanted the most, across the board, was to see the city dedicate a budget to each NPU. In order to advertise NPU meetings, enhance engagement efforts, and encourage leadership NPU participants felt that NPUs needed to receive funding. However, participants were unsure how this funding could be fairly allocated since some NPUs have more neighborhoods within their boundaries.
Participants would also like to be assured that their voices are actually heard through the Neighborhood Planning Units. They wanted to see appointees from APAB or the NPUs serving on the Urban Design Commission (UDC) and the License Review Board (LRB). Additionally, participants recommended that when a license is denied at the NPU level, that the LRB communicate with the NPU as to why the denial was made. As one participant noted, when a business is not supported by its neighborhood it is difficult for that business to thrive.
NPU participants would also like see various kinds of training. When new people come into leadership positions, there is not always someone there to train them. These positions are already time consuming enough without having to learn about planning terminology on their own. Additionally, few residents are professional meeting facilitators, accountants, or community organizers, so workshops and training on keeping neighbors engaged and running a functional neighborhood association would be useful for many neighborhoods. Participants also expressed a need for technical assistance to run websites and create advertising.
Finally, improved communication from the city via standardized NPU websites was recommended. One participant saw a campaign branding the NPUs as being important, because of the amount of time that has passed since their creation. Another advantage of a branding campaign for the NPUs would be taking some of the pressure off of the neighborhoods to advertise and promote the importance of participation.
The Ideal Model
The role of planners and administrators in the ideal model is to facilitate meetings, provide technical expertise, and provide tools for community engagement. In order for a community engagement system to function the way it was intended neighborhood groups need to be able to engage people in their service area and run a functional organization. Many community engagement programs rely on neighborhood associations to get and keep people involved. In order for the neighborhood advisory groups to truly represent the priorities of an area it is important for neighborhood associations to be able to engage the maximum number of people. Because of this, offering capacity building and training is important. In addition to this training and as recommended by participants, training in planning terminology would be a great asset to any community engagement model.
It is important that elected officials participate in any community engagement model. They must also be supportive of the model, and willing to assess their own work. Participants noted that the council members often supplemented a lot of the work of neighborhood associations and the NPUs. The public support of the mayor was also seen as being a major factor in the success of NPUs.
The ideal model recognizes that how community engagement and citizen participation are defined has changed over time. While some people see voting and attending meetings as an ideal way to affect neighborhood change, many people would rather volunteer their time to community service activities like cleanups, housing rehabilitation or gardening. In order to keep diverse groups engaged it is important for a community engagement model to allow for different forms of participation from voting to volunteering.
An ideal community engagement model would have a formal democratic process to include neighborhood input into planning processes. The importance of communication from both directions cannot be underestimated. When lines of neighborhood-government remain open distribution of services is more equitable and implementation of programs becomes easier.
Conclusion
In the past, due to high levels of economic competition citizen participation in government decisions tended to be focused on the desire to shape decisions about growth resources. Those who participated had the most to gain or lose from decisions about where growth and land development would happen. The engagement needs of the city during urban renewal when the NPUs were created have shifted. Now land development is on the backburner and vacant housing, crime, and redevelopment are at the forefront of citizen’s concerns.
In order for the NPU system to remain relevant it is important for it to be coupled with training, have a more flexible definition of community engagement, emphasizing the importance of neighborhood input, and for politicians to truly get behind it in public support and funding. Advertising the history importance, and purpose of NPU participation is key. Acknowledging changing neighborhood needs will be important even as the economy recovers. Engaging young people is the only method to make the program and individual neighborhood efforts sustainable. People who work closely with the NPU believe that if the city truly values input from its neighborhoods, then there will be more funding in the future for the work that NPUs do. Finally for the NPU system to function the way that it was intended it is important that the city makes an effort to prioritize neighborhood input, and make sure that decisions made by NPUs carry a heavy weight.
Cara Woods graduated from the MCRP program in May 2012 with a specialization in Community Development and will begin working with Habitat for Humanity International in New Orleans in August. She came to the School from the University of South Florida, where she earned a B.A. in sociology and anthropology.
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Attendees for the conference are not only great students; they also must have shown their commitment to public service and outreach to communities or underrepresented groups. In his letter of application, Silveira emphasized his own public service – including volunteering with the Refugee Resettlement at Catholic Charities of Atlanta – as well as his desire to remain a career-long public servant.
Silveira will also have an opportunity to present at the conference on a transportation topic of his choice. He looks forward to the opportunities he will have to meet with national leaders in transportation and what advice they will offer for future leaders at a time when transportation policy is in flux.
Silveira was nominated by faculty at Georgia Tech through the School of City and Regional Planning. Only one student nomination could be made per department within the Institute. He is grateful to the Georgia Transportation Institute (GTI) for sponsoring his attendance to the conference.
The plan puts forth strategies to manage and revitalize vacant land for sustainable productive uses in the context of Cleveland’s population decline, dispersed pattern of vacancy and changing economy. Hoelzel served on the 30-member committee as the City’s Brownfield Programs and Industrial-Commercial Landbank Manager. Within the plan, the committee recommended innovative ideas, including leveraging local landbanks to create a city-wide greenspace network of parks, urban farms and storm water management; area-wide brownfield remediation; and preparing vacant properties to generate clean energy. APA’s award also recognizes certain components of the project that have been implemented, including public workshops, a vacant land ideas-to-action booklet and granting $600,000 for 56 vacant land pilot projects led by residents and community organizations.
Hoelzel reflects on his experience: “The re-imagining process in Cleveland is truly innovative and inspiring. We created brilliant, and practical, ideas to address some of Cleveland’s biggest planning challenges. The work done by those involved impacts all Clevelanders. As such, it is exciting to see the planning profession’s leadership recognize our work.”
The planning process was guided by Terry Schwarz, Director of Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, and she notes Hoelzel’s contribution: “Nate’s expertise of brownfields and ability to make connections between the City’s landbanks and the overall goals of the plan were invaluable. His approach offered real solutions and resources, which have since been adopted and used in various projects.”
Hoelzel started at Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Plan in the fall of 2009. He is currently preparing a dissertation proposal focused on sustainable industrial development in brownfield-impacted urban neighborhoods. He can be reached at nateholelzel@gatech.edu.
]]>During the opening reception, students and local planning organizations, including the Atlanta Regional Commission and two community improvement districts, displayed their work to stimulate discussion with attendees. The crowd received instant voting clickers on their way into the auditorium and were polled at the beginning and the end of the event about their knowledge and opinions of the TIA. Results were instantly displayed on screen, letting people see what others thought. For the main event, the Chairman of the Regional Roundtable, the Senior Policy Advisor for Transportation to the City of Atlanta's Mayor, and the Director of the Georgia Sierra Club shared their views about the strengths and weaknesses of the TIA, focusing on issues of economy, equity, and the environment. Taken together, the three panelists presented a balanced perspective of the TIA which led to an informative question-and-answer session afterward. The event concluded by encouraging attendees to learn more about the projects and share that information to help the region make an informed decision.
For more information about the TIA, please visit http://www.atlantaregionalroundtable.com/
]]>By Patrick Terranova, MCRP Candidate (Class of 2013)
Over the past couple years, at least one urban industry seems to be burgeoning not despite the recession, but because of it: food trucks. Due in part to lower overhead costs than those of operating a restaurant as well as a greater degree of flexibility in the industry, cities all over the country have seen a growing number mobile food vendors taking to the streets to provide good eats to foodies, professionals, and curious bystanders. While I appreciate a good curbside lunch as much as the next person, I had never spent much time thinking about how street food applies to my studies in planning school.
All of that changed this summer during my fellowship in the Baltimore Mayor’s Office. I worked for ten weeks in the Office of Economic and Neighborhood and Development under Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Charged with researching best practices and crafting plans and policies on how to both welcome and regulate the phenomenon that has recently arrived in the city, I found myself being referred to as Baltimore’s “Food Truck Czar.”
A big part of how my project came about was due to heavy media coverage of the issue in the last year. It came to a fever pitch in Baltimore after one of our truck vendors received a complaint from a local restaurant owner, culminating in a city official ordering the truck to shut down for not having a Street Vendor’s license. But until that instance, it had not been clear that food trucks even needed such a license. Public outcry ensued. Ultimately, the Mayor intervened in support of the trucks, temporarily lifting some restrictions and allowing a grace period for trucks to become fully licensed.
The episode above is not an anomaly, as I discovered in my research. Across the country, many cities are facing the issue of city codes and ordinances apply to food trucks, and how the permitting process should work. In general, there are three major licenses that food trucks need: a state license and tax ID number, some kind of city agency vending permit, and a health permit. It is also common for the permitting process to be onerous and unclear. Where great differences lie between cities’ approaches, and where great contention often occurs, is over where the trucks are allowed to operate.
It was not long ago that all street vendors in Atlanta were limited to a maximum of two set locations per vendor. Changes to this policy last year allowed trucks to operate at locations on private property, such as parking lots and entertainment venues. More recently, the City of Atlanta has passed an ordinance decreasing the distance a truck must maintain from a business selling similar products from 1,500 feet to 200 feet. While Atlanta’s once-draconian policies are gradually becoming more relaxed, operating a food truck on public property in the city remains a serious challenge. This fact differentiates Atlanta’s food truck scene from cities with more progressive vending policies, which afford food trucks greater flexibility in terms of location. Even still, Atlanta seems to be approaching the national standard of permitting food trucks provided their vendors are fully licensed, maintain some kind of distance from nearby brick-and-mortar restaurants, and are cognizant of pedestrian traffic, bus zones, fire hydrants, and other right-of-way concerns.
Another concern I found myself addressing this summer is the issue of parking for the trucks. Given the fact that food trucks occupy a greater than average amount of linear curb space per vehicle – often in areas with acute parking issues – and public access to the right-of-way is affected. Further, the issue of parking fees is a cause for concern. How many meters’ worth should a food truck pay for? How do cities prevent revenue loss from trucks occupying spaces longer than traditional parkers and reducing the turnover rates for parking spots? How do you balance food truck vendors’ desire for flexibility of location with a need to regulate to the roads?
These are among the many questions cities must answer as they move forward with policies to address growth of the industry. Boston has responded by requiring trucks to provide a schedule of every single location they will go to, and pay market-based “rent” based on each of those locations. In Baltimore, we created several pilot zones that were designated strictly for food truck use in high-demand areas, while still allowing for trucks to operate elsewhere if they were respectful of nearby businesses. Atlanta has in some ways avoided the issue for now, due to its limitations on food truck locations and relatively low number of vendors, but it too will have to think about how to move forward as consumer demand for street food rises.
There are many threads that weave together and depict city life, and street culture is certainly a part of that tapestry. With the number of aspiring mobile food entrepreneurs, and demand for their products on the rise, the food truck industry is providing a path for small business incubation and alternative economic development by, quite literally, taking to the streets. In addition to their convenience, they also provide a refreshing break from the generic, adding some charm and character to a culture often dominated by chains and brand names. The proliferation of food trucks has also added to the discussion of the role of the right-of-way; while often seen as a means of getting around, our city streets can become vibrant social spaces as well (an issue I hope to delve into further during my own planning studies at Tech). If done right, cities can find ways to responsibly grow the food truck industry so that vendors, residents, and governments alike can all benefit.
Patrick Terranova is in his first year in the MCRP program specializing in Land & Community Development and Economic Development. He received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Public Administration from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA.
]]>Dr. Subhrajit Guhathakurta, or Dr. Subhro, is the new director of The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Center for Geographic and Information Systems. Born in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, and the son of an engineer, his primary and secondary education was under the strict rule of the Jesuits. He later attended Jadavpur University in Kolkata for his Bachelors degree in Architecture. With extensive experience in developing and applying geo-spatial technologies, he also has spent time studying economic development in India and California, and has taught as a visiting professor in London, Bangalore, Brisbane, and Germany. It was my pleasure to sit down with him for a bit to learn more about how he arrived in Atlanta. Here is how our conversation took place.
Drew Swope: Dr. Subhro, please tell us about your foray into City Planning.
Dr. Subhro: Well, as an architecture student in Kolkata, I made a decision during my senior year that I wouldn’t enjoy practicing the discipline. In an effort to learn about various options, I sat down with my faculty advisor who gave me the book, “Making City Planning Work” by Alan Jacobs, a man whom I have since befriended. This book is all about how San Francisco became the city that it is, it’s a beautiful book and goes into the nitty-gritty of how planning actually gets done. I was interested in the diverse studies and opportunities that planning could provide so I began looking into furthering my studies in this field.
D: Following undergrad, you went straight into a planning program? Where?
S: Yes, I graduated in the Spring of 1985, stayed in Kolkata for the summer, and left for Iowa State University in August.
D: Is this where your interests in GIS were developed?
S: Sort of, I had always been interested in technology and here I became fascinated with the ability computers have to automate numerous planning functions. It was this interest that initially led my research around computer modeling tools. At the time urban modeling was in the doldrums, but I was still interested in its potential so I focused my masters thesis around it. I eventually developed my paper further and received the Chester Rapkin award for the best paper in the Journal of Planning Education and Research. The paper discusses how computational tools can follow the trajectory of and support urban planning theory. In the 80s, people were interested in communicative planning so I elaborated on how these tools can help make cities a platform for every kind of person to have a voice and enjoy a lifestyle they aspire towards.
D: That’s really interesting. I think there are many people in Atlanta who would like to see GIS used more progressively to educate communities and encourage them toward public participation. So then, when you graduated, did you stay in Iowa? America?
S: Ha, no and yes. I moved to San Francisco to start the Ph.D. program at Berkeley, which, as I mentioned, is where I met Alan Jacobs.
D: Did you continue your GIS studies there?
S: No, I did include GIS and urban modeling in my application to Berkeley, but instead focused on development work and how to enable underprivileged people to participate in the formal economy. I focused on how the state can create the foundation that fosters or stunts economic growth and wrote my thesis on a case in India. The federal government was regulating economic activity for small-scale manufacturing industries and this regulation was intended to encourage entrepreneurship, but instead prevented small businesses from being competitive from economies of scale. However, this was also the time that John Landis was at Berkeley and the work he did there with his California Urban Futures project influenced me and he eventually became a mentor of mine.
D: Well, tell me how did your GIS expertise develop?
S: Well GIS has always been a part of what I did. Oftentimes, students have come into my office explaining, “I want to do a project on GIS” in which I always explained, GIS is a tool that may help explain or clarify a problem, but what is important is defining the problem itself. Once the problem is defined, only then can we judge if GIS is the appropriate tool. Then, in 2002, eight years after I was hired as an assistant professor at ASU, I started an urban modeling and simulation lab influenced by John Landis’ California Urban Futures project. I began working with UrbanSim, an open source programming software, with a computer science faculty colleague and two students, one from computer science and the other from planning, to begin creating realistic scenarios of metro Phoenix’s future.
D: So using urban modeling and GIS within UrbanSim you would create scenarios to understand implications of future development and population growth?
S: Yes, but it was much more than that. Using the original research from this lab, we received a large grant from a local donor, which funded the creation of the Digital Phoenix Project. This allowed us to bring together a large interdisciplinary team with planners, architects, computer scientists, life scientists, civil engineers, and landscape architects. We created richly textured visual models of Phoenix’s downtown core that helped us create digital scenarios based on components of city population, transportation, materials used for development, employment, air quality, and water consumption. These scenarios then helped us understand how different policies and social behaviors would create different future environments that could be evaluated through a series of sustainability indicators. This tool was used to engage the local officials and residents interested in the future of Phoenix.
This project developed my understanding of how geo-spatial tools can assist planning for a city’s future and influenced me to incorporate a deeper sensitivity to sustainability of urban futures. In 2005, I was one of the first professors appointed to Arizona State University’s new School of Sustainability, which brought me to one of my current research projects: Investigating how the different designs of neighborhoods influence their consumption of energy.
D: So is this part of your vision for the Georgia Tech’s Center for Geographic and Information Systems?
S: Well sure, I’ll be interested in continuing my research, but my focus for the center is a bit bigger. Working with such a progressive research institute, I’m hoping this will become a center to connect all parts of this campus. If there is research involving space or place I want to find a way to collaborate with that. Furthermore, I’d like to connect outside of campus as well. I would like Georgia Tech’s GIS center to be a nerve center of an international network. I have worked with universities all over the world in China, India, London, Germany, Australia and South Africa. I think our center can become an important part of the international community in developing and applying geospatial technologies.
Drew Swope is a second year MCRP student concentrating in economic development. He recieved a Bachelor's in Urban Studies from Furman University and currently works with Charis Community Housing.
]]>A Ferris wheel over a river. A shiny new eco-city built on an existing wetland.Hundreds of glass skyscrapers under construction. A massive slogan on a communist flag flashes over the screen: “Tianjin will be the new face of economic prosperity and success.”
As we exit the 3D theatre of the Tianjin Urban Planning Hall & Exhibition Center I ask my co-worker how he felt about what we just saw.
“It’s very impressive,” he replied. “But do you think it’s sustainable, this sort of development?” I asked, my head still reeling from what I had just seen. “I think you just have to get used to the massive and rapid development in China.”
In short, that was my summer. My eight-week internship with the China Academy of Urban Planning & Design in Beijing was a fascinating and eye-opening experience that often left me speechless; it was not until coming home that I have finally found the words.
I arrived in Beijing in June – disoriented, jet-lagged, and naïve. I have traveled to many different places and experienced many different cultures throughout my studies, but nothing could have prepared me for the intense culture shock of China; I have never been somewhere so completely foreign to me. A large part was due to the language barrier; not only was it difficult to not be able to speak or understand Chinese, but I found it a great handicap to not be able to read or write. I often felt that I could not fully access the culture or relate to the people because of this language barrier.
Fortunately, a few people in my department spoke English. I was placed in the Urban Design Research Department on the sixth floor of what turned out to be a large building of a very large company; CAUPD is home to thousands of employees in multiple cities (Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing) and is still a growing company. The Academy is a national institute of planning, design and engineering under the authority of the Ministry of Construction; it is a public institution that operates as a private firm, with the public and private sectors often blurred. Within the company are multiple departments such as housing, landscape, international relations, transportation, etc; all of the departments work together to complete a diverse range of regional and master plans throughout China. My department worked on the planning and design of projects of multiple scales, from small resorts to entirely new cities.
In my first week of work, I was taken on a business trip; my director was leading an Urban Design Research Conference in the city of Chengdu, and I was brought along to see CAUPD’s recent work in the earthquake ravaged Sichuan province. It was here that I got my first taste of the planning process in China. In 2008, the small town of Beichuan was struck by the Sichuan earthquake; 80% of the buildings were destroyed and over 5,000 lives were lost (over ¼ of the population) – both the town and the people were devastated. The remaining town now serves as a memorial to those lost and those who live on - it is an eerie feeling seeing a town frozen in such a horrifying moment. But Beichuan has a happier story too. From all of this destruction came a new life for the town - the new town is located in a more stable site about twenty minutes away from the old town. Many provinces in China jumped to action after the disaster, each one claiming an area to aid - all nonprofit. CAUPD was hired to do the planning for new Beichuan - a feat which is still quite unbelievable to me. In a matter of three years, an entirely new town has sprung up - roads, sidewalks, parks, memorials, museums, schools, residences, hotels, libraries, gyms, stadiums, shops - all complete. It is another eerie feeling, although a much different kind, to see an entire town planned at once - but in this case, what else is there to do? We visited two other reconstructed towns that weekend; it was here that I discovered the benefits and downfalls of such massive and rapid reconstruction. China’s government allows planners the unique position of power and control; because of this, cities can be planned, developed, and built in the short time span of a few years. In some ways, especially for the town of Beichuan, this works very well; it also, however, encourages planners to proceed headlong into projects that might not have been completely thought through – this will be a recurring theme through out my time with CAUPD. In any event, I will be very interested to see how the towns develop over the next few years - once life begins to infiltrate them.
While my business trip was my introduction to Chinese planning, my work at CAUPD involved projects on a much smaller scale. I worked specifically on a resort development project in the city of Jinan, developing four sites with hotels; I also conducted a variety of relevant case study research. The resort is being built on a wetland north of the Yellow River, so I spent much of my time, research, and design efforts focused on sustainable practices. Because the primary aim of Chinese development is economic growth, it was extremely important for me to keep this in mind as I pushed for sustainable design. I provided examples of habitat preservation that had spurred tourism, rainwater collection that had saved money, waterfront recreation that incorporates rather than destroys the natural wetlands; they were not only interested in what I had to say, but eager to learn more.
While China wants to be at the forefront of green technologies, they have thus far proven to put economic development above and often at the expense of the environment. The Sino-Singapore Eco-City in Tianjin is one example. The efforts of the eco-city tended to be focused around green technology: wind turbines, solar panels, low-flow fixtures, etc. When talking about how the design will incorporate a desalination plant, I mentioned that desalination plants are incredibly expensive, they consume large amounts of energy, emit large amounts of carbon, and produce a salty byproduct that is toxic to marine life. Is this in fact, sustainable, even just economically speaking? They said that it will be slightly more expensive but that because the water would not be used for drinking it was not anything to worry about. Just as my question was misunderstood, so too is the concept of an ecological city. Building a brand new city without need is never sustainable; creating developments seeking tourism, profit, and economic growth is rarely ecological, no matter how much green technology is inserted into the plan. It is great that China is not only interested in green practices, but able to implement them at a rapid pace and scale; however, it is not until the true meaning of “sustainable” is understood that these developments will be successful models for the future.
While I hope that this article conveys both the positive and negative aspects of the Chinese planning process, I also hope to impart that my experience with CAUPD was an extremely positive one. The people I worked with were warm, hospitable, and welcoming; they were open to new ideas and eager to teach me as well as learn from me. The projects I worked on and the ones that I visited were rich experiences, allowing me to get a sense of planning and design in a completely foreign environment. The integrated office structure of CAUPD allows them to work with and across many different fields and while this unique setup allows them to be efficient and quick, this efficiency is also their greatest weakness. The rapidity of the process has led to rampant development, often without precaution or heed to the future. China can teach us many things – both positive and negative – and I am sure I will continue to be influenced by this experience for the rest of my life. But as my coworker suggested, I am not sure I will ever quite get used to the “massive and rapid development” I saw this summer.
Elizabeth is currently enrolled in the Georgia Tect dual degree program, pursuing Masters degrees in both Architecture and City & Regional Planning with a focus in Urban Design. She is from Atlanta, GA and recieved a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Georgia Tech.
]]>By Emily J. Brown
The Social Justice Committee (SJC) is a group within the Student Planning Association of the School of City and Regional Planning. According to the mission statement, “The Social Justice Committee addresses issues of inequality in metro Atlanta through action and advocacy in planning. We provide planning-specific skills to community-led initiatives in areas that lack resources, power or voice. We seek to develop mutually beneficial partnerships with communities and raise social justice awareness at Georgia Tech.”
City planning is often a service restricted to groups that have the resources to pay for it. The Social Justice Committee attempts to provide access to city planning services for disenfranchised communities in order to improve their equality of opportunity and facilitate mutual empowerment. We define social justice as a rejection of discrimination and unequal access to opportunity based on race, class, gender, sexuality or culture. We partner with community-led initiatives and work with local leaders in the tradition of advocacy planning. We also provide educational events to the Georgia Tech community about issues related to planning and social justice.
The Social Justice Committee aims to create opportunities for students to apply their education to short-term planning projects. Many professions have an aspect of “giving back” built into their professional codes of conduct. Lawyers perform pro-bono work, and doctors may travel with “Doctors Without Borders.” Similarly, under the AICP Code of Ethics, planners are urged to contribute time and efforts to groups lacking in adequate planning resources and to voluntary professional activities. When asked, students pursuing a degree in City and Regional Planning often cite their desire to “make the world a better place.” Learning about theories and strategies in the classroom certainly does prepare students to make a difference in their future careers, but rarely do they have meaningful experiences in communities where planning can have an immediate effect. Participating in the The Social Justice Committee provides hands-on experience and helps students see how their city planning education is uniquely valuable to communities that have experienced disinvestment. One hope of the SJC is that through participating in these student-initiated projects, future planners will be inspired to continue volunteer-based planning projects in their professional careers.
Student alumnus Jesse Clark founded the Social Justice Committee in 2009. In its inaugural year, the SJC completed several projects. In the first project, the committee worked with the Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association to plan a community garden. The SJC’s next project was a presentation to Resources for Residents and Communities of a site development and street design plan for properties they owned in Reynoldstown. The 2009 Committee also held the GT Jam for Haiti, a concert to raise funds for victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
In 2010, planning Zach Adriaenssens took over leadership of the committee and the group’s scope began to grow. In October, the SJC held “Battleplans,” a four day film festival and speaker series focusing on the intersection of planning and community organizing. Georgia Tech involved the group with a study of lighting in the adjacent neighborhood of Home Park in an effort to cut down on crime in the area. A bus tour entitled “Spectacle is Not Development” provided perspective into the disadvantages of uncontrolled development, especially the effects in disinvested neighborhoods. As a result of this tour, the SJC approached the Peoplestown Revitalization Corporation to discuss a project focused on an open landfill that was being actively mined for scrap metal. This project continues to develop. The SJC also advocated for the rights of citizens who would be impacted by the development of a new Falcons stadium by attending meetings and increasing awareness.
This year, the SJC has several new projects in progress. Additionally, some projects continue from last year; the Peoplestown committee is currently addressing issues of brownfield classification and how to create an economic development initiative. Plans are also in the works for another “Battleplans” event in the Spring semester that will focus on energy and natural resource extraction.
Our new projects cover a large spectrum of planning interests. Dan Cotter, a first year planning student, is taking the lead on a housing inventory and economic development plan for the Grove Park Community Land Trust (GPCLT). Through this effort, the SJC will work with community members to inventory approximately 3,000 houses. This data will serve anti-displacements efforts by the GPCLT, which is a major concern with the impending arrival of the Beltline Quarry Park.
Margaret Lilly, also a first year student, is heading up a sub-committee to create a site-specific plan for an eight block portion of the English Avenue neighborhood. This project is particularly relevant because alumnus, Stephen Causby, who lives in the neighborhood and worked on a 2008 studio in the area, initiated it. The team will review this studio’s work, as well as other plans for the area, and create a site-specific plan for the neighborhood. The plan will focus on neighborhood safety, vacant and run down properties, and evaluate how to best use the resource of their community garden.
Joel Anders, a City Planning/Civil Engineering joint degree student, is the sub-committee chairperson for a project to research grants and analyze data at Sopo Bicycle Cooperative, a non-profit that provides bicycles and bicycle repair to the community. The group has held events to provide bicycles to refugee communities and half way homes, but has not conducted any analysis of these efforts. They are hoping to use this information to apply for funding for a full-time staff person.
The SJC is also aligned with the Atlanta Planner’s Network chapter. The Planner’s Network is an association of progressive planners whose members are professionals, activists, academics, and students involved in physical, social, economic, and environmental planning. They serve as a voice for social, economic, and environmental justice through planning.
The SJC creates opportunities for students to gain experience in the field of planning, while working to create fairer access to resources in the city of Atlanta through providing planning services and advocacy. We hope to become a resource to communities in need, and to inspire a sense of social responsibility in the next generation of planners. The SJC empowers communities by providing a needed resource and empowers students by showing that planning can be effective and transformative.
Emily Brown is a second year MCRP student. She came to Georgia Tech with a BA in English from Allegheny College. She is specializing in economic development and currently works in Snellville, GA.
]]>A major focus of this studio was an approach to redevelopment of Fort McPherson from the perspective of the neighboring communities and how future development can complement surrounding community characteristics rather than considering redevelopment of the base in isolation, as most plans have.
The studio report states: "Responding to growing community concern, Georgia StandUp, a community based think tank and action organization, spearheaded the move to create a community-driven plan to build community benefits into any base redevelopment strategy. Convening diverse representatives and elected officials from all the affected communities, Georgia StandUp, supported by Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning studios, have conducted a thorough analysis of the problems and opportunities, resulting in this action plan."
The studio course from spring 2010 was led by faculty adviser Professor Michael Dobbins. Regarding the project, Professor Dobbins shares, "our students are very pleased with the recognition from the GPA. It confirms the principle that in planning work, as much attention should be given to the impacts of a project on surrounding neighborhood as on the project itself, with the goal of assuring that community benefits outweigh community costs. Further, affirming the support we received from the Ford Foundation, it shows that working on behalf of communities that lack ready access to technical support from our profession is a worthy and respected endeavor.”
The students that developed the plan include Rati Akash, Zachary Adriaenssens, Kia Ball, Leslie Caceda, Carlos Campo, Chris Faulkner, Carolyn Knabel, Jenna E. Lee, Moki Macías, Drew Murray, Susan Prater, Neela Ram, Ruma Ram, Andrea Rattray, and Stephanie Wansley.
Other award-winning student work is available on the Student Research page.
]]>Congratulations to the many awards and recognitions many of our faculty have received in the past several months, to name a few:
Professor of the Practice Mike Dobbins led an award winning studio project with Georgia Stand-Up. The major focus of the studio was an approach to redevelopment of Fort McPherson from the perspective of the neighboring communities and how future development can complement surrounding community characteristics rather than considering redevelopment of the base in isolation, as most plans have. More about this issue is available in Professor Dobbins' op-ed in the AJC.
Congratulations to Dr. Dan Immergluck who was promoted to full professor. This well-earned decision reflects a distinguished record of teaching, scholarship and service that includes six years at Georgia Tech, three books, 27 refereed journal articles and the inaugural Student Planning Association's Quality Teaching Award. Attend his professorial lecture where he discusses the question “What’s next? Prognosis and Prospects for Housing and Urban Form after the Crisis.”
Dr. Subhrajit Guhathakurta was appointed to the faculty as Professor and Director of the Center for Geographic Information Systems. Beginning in January, 2012 he will serve as the editor for the Journal of Planning and Education and Research. Also, read an interview featured in the Student Planning Association Newsletter.
Dr. Nancey Green Leigh was recently featured in an “up close” interview with the AJC discussing the regional economy and the need for education and a diversified economy. Dr. Leigh leads the School of City and Regional Planning’s Doctoral Program and has authored three books and over 50 academic articles.
Dr. Brian Stone was recently nominated for an ENI award. This is a prestigious international environmental protection prize awarded by the Italian energy company, ENI. This nomination recognizes Professor Stone’s research on the pace of climate change in cities. Specifically, he discovered that most large cities are warming at more than twice the rate of the planet as a whole. He also recently received an NIH grant with Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor, Ted Russell, working on heat island issues and involving $884,000 in funding.
]]>The Governing Board is ACSP’s leadership body, responsible to set policy and manage the affairs of the association. Regional Representatives are responsible for bringing issues unique to their respective regions to the attention of the Governing Board.
ACSP’s President (and past Georgia Tech Professor and Director) Cheryl Contant describes the association as a service that supports “planning education, outreach, and research for all the faculty and students in our member schools. These include our annual conference, workshops for new faculty and doctoral students, task forces and special committees to pursue new and important initiatives.”
Dawkins is Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning and Associate Director of the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, College Park.
]]>In addition to the MCP from Tech, Villaca has a BS in Architecture and a PhD in Urban Geography, both earned at USP. He was a post-doc at the University of California, Berkeley working in Richard Walker’s lab in 1985. Villaca taught at USP from 1974 to 1998, becoming Professor in 1991 and retiring in 1998. During his career he advised 42 doctoral and 36 master’s degree students.
Among his many writings is the book, Espaço Intra Urbano no Brasil (Intra urban space in Brazil), now in its fourth edition.
You may find his web site of interest (especially if you read Portuguese): http://www.flaviovillaca.arq.br/
Villaca may be reached by e-mail at: flavila@uol.com.br.
]]>This interdisciplinary meeting of scholars and activists, now in its third year, is organized by Emory University’s Center for Digital Scholarship, Georgia State University’s Cities Initiative and Department of Geosciences, and Georgia Tech’s schools of Architecture, Building Construction, City and Regional Planning, Civil and Environmental Engineering, History, Technology and Society, and Public Policy. For more information about the Atlanta Studies intiiative, please visit https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/atlantastudies/
To register, please visit http://www.planning.gatech.edu/ATLstudiessymposiumregistration
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To register, please visit http://www.planning.gatech.edu/ATLstudiessymposiumregistration
]]>The Georgia Tech Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD) is one of the six recipients selected. School of City and Regional Planning Professor Catherine Ross will serve as the Principal Investigator. Ross and the CQGRD will collaborate with the Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization to establish a framework for the consideration of health effects in freight planning. The HIA process will focus on infrastructure, commodity, and freight needs, with an emphasis on disproportionate effects on low-income communities and people of color. Their recommendations will be integrated into the Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Freight Transportation Plan.
To encourage future use of the framework in public decision-making about freight, the Center will provide technical assistance to university, government, and nonprofit entities and will pilot the framework in a second HIA on the Cargo Atlanta Citywide Freight Study. Both HIAs will consider the potential health implications of freight planning, including diesel emissions, traffic patterns, and employment, which can affect respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injury rates, and general health.
Source: New Grantees Initiatives To Support Health in Decision-Making
]]>School of City and Regional Planning Professor Catherine Ross will serve as the Principal Investigator. Ross and the CQGRD will collaborate with the Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization to establish a framework for the consideration of health effects in freight planning. The HIA process will focus on infrastructure, commodity, and freight needs, with an emphasis on disproportionate effects on low-income communities and people of color.
]]>Washington, DC— The American Planning Association (APA) today named Midtown Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, as one of five Great Neighborhoods on the organization’s annual Great Places in America list, which marks the kick-off of APA’s National Community Planning Month celebration.
As part of National Community Planning Month, APA’s Great Places in America program recognizes streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces in the United States demonstrating exceptional character, quality, and planning—attributes that enrich communities, facilitate economic growth, and inspire others around the country. The Great Neighborhoods, Great Streets, and Great Public Spaces of 2016 are places that are unique and exemplary in their amenities and infrastructure, cultural identity, and use of sustainable and innovative practices.
“The neighborhoods on this year’s list are a testament to the critical role of planning in creating more dynamic, equitable, economically healthy communities,” said Carol Rhea, FAICP, president of APA. “Through careful thought, foresight, innovation, and cooperation, this year’s designees are building better places to live, work, play, and visit and setting an example for other neighborhoods nationwide. We congratulate them on their efforts and this worthy distinction.”
With its riches-to-rags-to-riches history, lively arts scene, and proactive planning and community building, Midtown Atlanta is the preeminent urban neighborhood in Atlanta. Midtown Atlanta stands out as a dense, mixed-use walkable area in a metro region that has experienced decades of sprawling growth.
“The urban experience in Midtown Atlanta continues to get better because of committed partners with common goals, carrying out a dynamic plan shaped by our community” said Midtown Alliance CEO Kevin Green. “This recognition is truly a shared win for the City of Atlanta, agency partners, the Midtown Improvement District, business leaders, and allied organizations working every day to make our neighborhood great.”
In addition to Midtown Atlanta, APA also recognized the following neighborhoods this year:
Since launching the Great Places in America program in 2007, APA has recognized 260 neighborhoods, streets, and public spaces around the country. Places are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for the future.
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