Fall 2024 Urban Planning Semester in Review
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From the Program Director
As we wrap up an eventful year, I have some positive news to share with you. Starting in the current 2024-25 academic year, two new required courses – replacing two previous ones – further highlight the MSUP program’s long-standing focus on social justice as an important value in the planning process across different spatial scales of urban change, and our increasing strength in critical applications of urban technologies and their intersections with planning institutions. The two new courses are Urban Political Economy; Urban Technologies, Innovations, and Planning Institutions. In addition, to retain the function of the concentrations but also to stay responsive to emerging issues of the time, we are now using a more agile structure in the form of curriculum clusters. Each cluster is a group of related electives, similar to concentration courses; presenting a set of clusters to students each semester during registration periods continues to help students in making course selections.
Beyond the curriculum, it’s exciting to launch an exchange program with the Bartlett School of Planning (BSP) at University College London, as well as a new dual-degree program between MSUP and MSCDP (Computational Design Practices), GSAPP’s newest master’s program. Each Spring, up to four (4) first-year students in the MSUP program can participate in the exchange program to study for one term at BSP, a comprehensive and globally oriented school. Academically, such students consider what the MSUP program requires and what’s available at BSP. In particular, they will gain the same kind of competency in key knowledge areas and tools covered in required MSUP courses. Reciprocally, select second-year students from BSP’s MPlan program will be studying here in the MSUP program during the Spring semester.
Best wishes for a restful holiday season,
Weiping
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Program Updates
A big welcome goes to our new adjuncts who joined us this Fall: Regina Myer, Chief Executive Officer of Downtown Brooklyn Partnership; Michael Perles, Senior Project Manager at Public Housing Network; and Emily Tolbert, Planner at BFJ. In Spring 2025, more colleagues will be joining us as adjunct faculty: David Gilford, Head of Policy and Strategic Partnerships, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners; Amelia Guise, City Storage Systems Real Estate Development; and Clarence Radin, Principal, Hudson Point Partners.
For the Spring, we will have several new and reimagined courses:
Built Environment Disruption: Partnerships and Urban Technology, Kate Wittels and David Gilford
How can city builders leverage the benefits and minimize the negative externalities of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to build more attractive, equitable, and dynamic places? And how can tech companies best engage city leaders, developers, and the public as they seek to shape the urban built environment? Catering to both aspiring policymakers and budding entrepreneurs, this course provides a high-intensity introduction to the challenges and opportunities of technological innovation in cities. Over the course of the semester, students will engage with academic perspectives on the social, economic, historical, and political dimensions of “smart cities” and “urban tech,” as well as lectures from industry leaders and practitioners on how technology is shaping the way we live, work, consume, and play in cities. The class is organized into three parts. First, the course will establish key themes and concepts, including the role of innovation in local economic development, the diverse nature of partnerships between cities and tech companies, and the range of actors involved in fostering innovation ecosystems. Second, the course will explore how tech companies are disrupting the specific asset classes – from the home to the workplace – that comprise urban real estate markets. In closing, the course will zoom out to explore how urban systems – from city streets to broadband infrastructure – are being reshaped by new technologies and the evolving demands of 21st century city dwellers. Throughout, we will interrogate the implications for diversity, equity, and democracy in the city, as well as how rapid changes such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread adoption of AI are accelerating or disrupting relevant economic and demographic trends.
Real Estate Finance and Development, Amelia Guise and Clarence Radin
This course explores the process of transforming concepts into tangible real estate developments. It delves into how to assemble and coordinate the key resources—people, materials, finances, and regulatory frameworks—necessary for successful real estate projects. The curriculum is structured around the stages of development, starting with market analysis and identifying gaps, needs, or opportunities within a city. The course also covers financial feasibility, including an in-depth analysis of the financial mechanisms involved in development—from understanding the capital stack to structures such as REITs. A significant focus will be placed on how to interpret and create financial reports for real estate projects. While the coursework is largely centered on New York, case studies will be incorporated to highlight the challenges and opportunities in real estate development in different geographies.
Urban Political Economy, Tom Slater
This course scans and explores some salient features of social division, inequality, and troubling transformation in a range of metropolitan contexts. Each session will be anchored by major readings, supported by an assortment of books and articles that are discussed and dissected with a view towards identifying the strengths and weaknesses of contending perspectives on urban inequality. As we proceed, we probe the parameters, weigh the concepts, and scope the concerns of contemporary urban studies, asking 1) what is distinctive about it as a form of inquiry and consciousness, 2) what it contributes to our understanding of deeply unequal urban conditions, and 3) what planners might do to contribute to the collective goal of achieving social justice in urban contexts.
Urban Technologies, Innovations, and Planning Institutions, Anthony Vanky
Planning interventions evolve, and technological change increasingly intersects with that evolution. This course examines how existing planning laws and institutional interactions are (in)adequate in light of technological change. It also considers how emerging urban technologies may disrupt traditional planning. We will identify the opportunities, challenges, and discontents related to novel practices and shifting institutional relationships. Framing the course discussions is an examination of the interactions between three primary groups—the government (public sector, policymakers, and politicians), capital (private sector), and citizens—and related institutions. For instance, the emergence of new actors through the use of digital technology has changed how the provisioning of urban infrastructure is realized. Together, we will consider how planners, developers, landowners, advocates, residents, and other actors negotiate competing claims and, ultimately, realize their vision of “better” urban environments. We will especially focus on how “innovation” has emerged through these negotiations in various planning contexts and examine whether and how digital technology has (or has not) changed the planning process. Readings about the law and the interactions between these various institutions provide the foundation for class discussions, as well as precedents and case studies from New York City, North America, and internationally.
We anticipate an exciting lineup of studio projects in the Spring and we are thrilled about having travel studios again:
Section 001: Home in Manahatta: Planning to Affirm the Continued Lenape Presence in Lenapehoking, Anthony Borelli and Sybil Wa
Section 002: Revitalizing Ciutat Vella, Barcelona for a Just and Green Urban Future, Ebru Gencer and Javier Lopez
Section 003: Planning for Change in Renca, Santiago de Chile, Jose Luis Vallejo & Ryan Devlin
Section 004: Addressing Affordable Housing Challenges in Washington Heights, Ali Estefam & Michael Perles
Section 005: Joint RED/UP, Performance Zoning in Central Harlem: A Physical Analog to a Democratic Process, Adam Lubinsky & Calvin Brown
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Faculty Updates
Tom Slater delivering the keynote lecture at The Future of Housing conference in Porto, Portugal
Adam Freed, Lecturer, was a featured speaker at several events. He was a keynote speaker on climate adaptation at CornellTech’s Urban Technology Summit, a panelist at the World Monument Fund’s 2024 Summit on adaptation efforts in global cities, and moderated a Climate Week roundtable with Ministers, Mayors, and financial institutions on climate change’s impacts on municipal and sovereign debt with the New York Climate Exchange. He also moderated a panel on innovative approaches to affordable housing at CityLab in Mexico City, organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute. In addition, Professor Freed was a guest on the Climate Proof podcast, which focuses on global resilience and adaptation, and supported the development of the City of Phoenix’s recently released Shade Phoenix Plan to increase shade cover across the city.
Ebru Gencer joined the Faculty Advisory Committee of the Columbia Global Centers in Istanbul and received the first Columbia Global Resilience Fund Seed Award with her project proposal to Build Back Better from earthquakes in Hatay, Türkiye. In December, Ebru Gencer will be a speaker at the 6th International Resilience Congress organized by the Union of Turkish Municipalities.
Kurt M. Steinhouse, Adjunct Assistant Professor, was recently named a Crain’s New York Business 40 Under 40 honoree for 2024. He also authored a new chapter, “Land Use in New York City,” for the legal treatise New York Zoning Law & Practice, which is recognized as the most widely cited authority by courts and practitioners in the field of land use law, and he served as a panelist for the continuing education program Practical Guide to Zoning and Land Use Law in New York.
In September, Tom Slater was named in the World’s Top 2% Scientist Rankings. These rankings, produced by scientists at Stanford University in collaboration with publisher Elsevier BV and SciTech Strategies Inc., are based on Scopus data. The rankings identify the most cited and influential researchers worldwide across various scientific disciplines, including the social sciences, in which Professor Slater specializes. The 2024 Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientist Rankings employ metrics such as the h-index, adjustments for co-authorship, and a composite citation score (c-score) to evaluate a scholar’s influence beyond their publication count. The complete list is available through the Elsevier Data Repository. In addition, on October 30th, Professor Slater delivered the keynote lecture at The Future of Housing conference in Porto, Portugal. This event, commemorating the 20th anniversary of Domus Social—the municipal company overseeing Porto’s public housing—brought together leading national and international speakers, housing professionals, students, residents, and others invested in the future of housing policy. Later that week, his research was prominently featured in Público, one of Portugal’s leading national newspapers.
Traveling in Asia during the summer, Weiping Wu was a keynote speaker at the International Symposium on New Directions of Urban-Rural Development in China organized by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in June and spent a day advising urban planning faculty and students at Tongji University’s School of Architecture about scholarship and publishing for scholars based in the Global South. In July, as part of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute 2024 Alumni Series in Asia, she visited Ho Chi Minh City and lectured on Infrastructure and the Role of Private Sector. Her article Infrastructure Investment and Finance in the Global South: Private Participation and Its Determinants has been published in Public Finance & Management journal (23, 3: 99–112). In late December, she will deliver a keynote speech at the 2024 Beijing Forum on Modernizing for People-Centered Urban Governance and serve as a discussant in the Workshop on Comparative Urban Governance and Policy at Tsinghua University.
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Student Organizations
This October, Urban China Network (UCN) collaborated with WanderLens Lab to organize the Urban China Network 2024 Workshop, “Reimagining Global Chinatowns in Megacities: A Multidisciplinary Workshop on Innovative Local Storytelling.” The workshop included a gamified walking tour in Manhattan’s Chinatown on October 20 and a panel discussion at Columbia GSAPP on October 25. The workshop explored multimedia technologies and narratives in Chinatown, examining global connections through narrative ethnography. The walking tour featured visits to Kimlau War Memorial, Columbus Park, and Mott Street, followed by discussions with local community members. The panel had two sessions: Session A (community engagement) with Dr. Bayer Lee, Commissioner Wellington Z. Chen, Mr. Bennie Yee, and Prof. Richard Pieper, and Session B (multimedia narratives) with Mr. Bud Glick, Ms. Yuet-fung Ho, Ms. Barrie Adleberg, Ms. Claire Jervert, and Ms. Sarita Sun. Coordinators included Daoxin Chen, Joanna Chen, Mengyao Chen, Fei Deng, Hongqian Li, Weijie Sun, Miaojing (Mina) Wei, and Zihao Zhang. This event was supported by the UP program, UCN, WanderLens Lab, and Urban China Magazine.
Urban Planning Program Council welcomed Ayanna Sharma, Christian Harvey, Sarah Kameli, Lucas Seibold, Steven Shi, and Wayne Chen who were selected as the First-Year Program Council Representatives. They joined Riley Chan, Steven Duncan, and Jane Cole who continued to serve as Second-Year Program Council Representatives. Together, they attended monthly faculty meetings to provide student input and perspective. At the beginning of the semester, the Program Council hosted the Welcome Picnic in Central Park — a chance for incoming students to meet with second-years as classes got underway, as well as the annual UP Thanksgiving lunch in November.
URBAN Magazine is created, edited, and published by students of GSAPP’s Urban Planning program. This year, they received a record number of over 30 submissions! URBAN’s Vol. 35, to be released later next spring, will feature writing, interviews, photo essays, and other work related to urban planning and city living from our students and peers. This year’s Senior Editors are Jessica Gonzales (Outreach), Jane Cole (Design), and Jaron Kaplan (Content). This year’s Junior Editors are Otis Emslie, Steven Duncan, Olivia McCloy, Benedetta von Palombini, Wayne Chen, Yerandy Pacheco, Anna Carl, Ayomikun Oluyadi, Jane Hutton, Luca Antoni Marcelli, Erma Swartz, and Alyson Zhou. Keep an eye out for updates on the forthcoming issue. To continue the conversation, follow URBAN Magazine on Instagram @columbiaurbanmag and read last semester’s Vol. 34 online.
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Student News
Participants and collaborators in the Amsterdam 2040 Summer Workshop, led by Kate Dunham and Claudia Herasme, June 2024
Duane Ebesu (Ph.D. Candidate) has had two abstracts approved for submission this Fall, the first for the peer-reviewed journal Urban Planning (Cogitatio Press) and the second, for presentation at the International Conference on Urban Affairs (ICUA) in Vancouver, British Columbia. In November, Duane was also advanced to AICP candidacy by the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Yerandy Pacheco (M.S. UP ‘26) was recently selected as a recipient of the American Planning Association’s Foundation Diversity Scholarship. This scholarship is made possible by the APA Foundation and is awarded to students who intend to pursue careers in planning and are enrolled in Planning Accreditation Board-accredited planning programs.
Sherry Aine Te (M.Arch/M.S. UP ‘25) has recently worked at MVRDV, in Rotterdam, as Assistant Designer. During her time in MVRDV, her work primarily focused on urban scale projects, and she has contributed to the production of the publication: WHAT-IF: Nederland 2100. On behalf of MVRDV, Sherry has also attended the review of the summer workshop Amsterdam 2040: 3 case studies from vision to realization, alongside Klaas Hofman, project leader of the Almere Oosterwold masterplan. Sherry is also currently a Graduate Research Assistant at the Natural Materials Lab, continuing her work on 3D-Printed Textiles, and exploring its transposition to the urban terrain.
One of the experiences our students are encouraged to undertake while enrolled is spending time at an internship. See below for examples of where some of this year’s students have been working so far.
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Career Services Updates
Students and alumni at the fall mixer
More than 40 alumni joined our current cohort of first- and second-year students for an informal networking event at Row House in Harlem on November 22, a popular chance to connect with working professionals in the field and catch up with friends. We will be hosting another event in April. Watch out for updates on time and place.
We continued our office tours this semester with visits to NYC Emergency Management, HR&A, and the Department of City Planning. Among the alums who helped coordinate the visits, we would like to thank the following:
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Alumni Updates
Myles Agudelo (M.S. UP ‘21), is Senior Public Health Strategist at Center for Active Design.
Aroosa Ajani (M.S. UP ‘24), is an analyst at HR&A.
Dillon Alwan (M.S. UP ‘23 & MPH ‘23), is now a Manhattan Borough Planner at NYC DCP.
Ana Maria Arpi (M.S. UP ‘24), is Development Project Manager at Vaya Development, where she is part of a team dedicated to creating equitable and sustainable communities across New York City. Her current role allows her to contribute in impactful initiatives, including a PACT project that addresses the challenges of affordable housing and the preservation of existing housing stock in Harlem. La Olazul, a 100% affordable, passive house building currently under development located in the Bronx, reflecting Vaya’s commitment to addressing critical housing challenges and creating inclusive, transformative urban spaces.
Georgia Bullen (M.S. UP ‘11), is Executive Director at Superbloom Design.
Tihana Bulut (M.S. UP ‘20), is Grants Manager at Lime.
Teonna Cooksey (M.S. UP & M.Arch ‘24), is Founder and CEO of Mecca, LLC and incoming Treasurer for NOMA National.
Cheryl Lim Cornago (M.S. UP ‘19), is now Assistant Director (Research) at Centre for Liveable Cities.
Jack Darcey (M.S. UP ‘16), is Transportation Planner at NYC DCP.
Yuning Feng (M.S. UP ‘22), is a planner at VHB.
Shannon Hui (M.S. UP ‘24), is Project Associate at New City Parks.
Claudia Kohn (M.S. UP ‘24), is a planner in the Environmental Review Division at NYC DCP.
Emily Kurtz (M.S. UP ‘04), has been named Chief Housing and Development Officer at RiseBoro.
Dhwani Laddha (M.S. UP ‘24) is Spatial Data Analyst at CIESIN, Columbia Climate School.
Gertie Ma (M.S. UP ‘24), is an analyst at HR&A.
Sharon Mathew (M.S. UP ‘24), has started as an analyst at Karp Strategies.
Luke McNamara (M.S. UP ‘24), is now a Transportation Planner at AECOM.
Alisa Nurmansyah (M.S. UP ‘23), is starting as a Transportation Planner at Sam Schwartz.
James Piacentini (M.S. UP & M.Arch ’20), is Senior Map Designer at Mapbox.
Lance Punay (M.S. UP ‘24), has joined Stantec’s New York office full-time as an Urban Planner in the Urban Places Group after interning with them since Summer 2023.
Kellie Radnis (M.S. UP ‘15), is Senior Transportation Planner at Sam Schwartz.
Zeineb Sellami (M.S. UP ‘21), has been made Director at Karp Strategies.
Charlie Stewart (M.S. UP ‘17), is Vice President at CAMBA Housing Ventures, Inc.
Marcell Subert (M.S. UP ‘24), is a planner at HPD.
Mia Winther-Tamaki (M.S. UP ‘23), is Nonprofit Support Programs Coordinator at the Asian American Federation.
Varisa Tanti (M.S. UP ‘23), is Data Analyst at NYC DOT.
George Todorovic (M.S. ‘16), is beginning his 9th year at the Department of City Planning, each of which has been with the Staten Island Borough Office. He started as an Assistant Planner/Designer and is now the Deputy Director. Currently, the office is advancing very exciting work including off-shore wind facilities, TOD developments, and regulations to continue preserving natural features in the “Borough of Parks.”
Matthew Ulterino (M.S. UP ‘97), is Vice President of Climate Finance at WSP.
Felipe Urruti (M.S. UP ‘24), is Project Manager at RiseBoro.
Catharina Utami (M.S. UP ‘24), is Community Outreach Associate working with the AECOM/Hill-JV.
Eric Xia (M.S. UP ‘24), is Assistant Environmental Planner at Circlepoint.
Hanzhang Yang (M.S. UP ‘21), is Project and Platform Developer at the Institute of Strategic Research at Shenzhen Technology University working on providing accurate and timely information in support of the University’s strategic planning of its academic disciplines. While not working directly as a planner/architect, he reports that the MSUP program provided him with the skill sets and mindset for his current position, which requires taking a comprehensive look at government policies affecting local economies.
Our mentorship program has continued to grow over the past several years and this year we have a record thirty-six students and their alumni mentors participating. Many thanks to all.
If you would like to participate, or would like more information, please contact Douglas Woodward at dw38@columbia.edu.
We are also grateful to alums who volunteered to be matched, including Michael Montilla (M.S. UP ‘19), Jonathan Marty (M.S. UP ‘22), Sanjukta Hazarika (M.S. UP ‘21), Gizem Karagoz (M.S. UP & M.Arch ‘22), and Elaine Hsieh (M.S. UP ‘21). We look forward to drawing on their experience for a future cohort.