Urban Planning Newsletter
January 25, 2019
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Contributions or ideas for the next newsletter can be submitted to Tim O'Grady. Newsletters will be sent on a bi-weekly basis. For jobs, internships, and fellowships, please see the new career portal.
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Lecture in Planning Series
Verene Kuen of 1030 Innovation presented a lecture titled, “The Human Factor.” Kuen is not a planner, but she focuses on bettering the urban experience for citizens. In her lecture, she shared the importance of design thinking, a methodology that designs solutions around the users’ needs and motivations.
Design thinking involves a four-part process: empathizing, interpreting, ideating, and iterating. There are several tools that can be employed to execute design thinking. One such tool is the documentation of a user journey known as lifelogging. For Kuen, the goal of design thinking is to create solutions by stepping into other people’s shoes.
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Career Events
On November 15, six M.S. UP students participated in a roundtable about their recent and current internship experiences. They spoke to their peers about the internship search and what worked for them, application and interview tips, highlights and challenges, balancing school and work, and how the internship influenced their future career plans. The international students on the panel also addressed the cultural differences they faced when starting an internship in the U.S., and how they handled them. Attending students were able to engage with the panel in a Q&A session afterward.
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First Latin GSAPP Roundtable
On November 13th, the Latin GSAPP Student Association held its first official event. GSAPP students were invited to showcase their academic and professional work on Latin America as well as build an agenda for the organization.
Students presented a variety of topics, which ranged from the innovation of biomaterials and local techniques in Chilean vernacular architecture, to migration and urban inclusion, multiculturalism, hurricanes influence and local architecture in the Dominican Republic. Other topics presented also include urban strategies for upgrading and/or resettling in Sao Paulo and Santiago, and economic feasibility to support the implementation of resiliency in Latin American cities.
The presenters were Carolina Almeida and Ricardo Lledó (M.S. AAD ’19), Gabriel Vergara (M.S. AUD ’19), Ignacio Gonzalez (M.S. AAD ’19), Nelson de Jesús (M.Arch ’21), José Serrano y Germán Morales (M.S. RED.’19), Stephanie Yee-Kay Chan (M.S. UP ’18), Pauline Claramunt (M.S. UP ‘19) and Guilherme Rocha Formicki (M.S. UP ’19).
At the end of the roundtable, the participants discussed the points of convergence and perspectives coming from the various GSAPP programs. This discussion led to several topics that will be addressed in a panel session next spring.
The Latin GSAPP Student Association is an organization that aims at putting together current students, alumni, and faculty from Latin America or who are interested in the area. This group’s biggest goal is to share the broad and diverse cultural expressions that represent the region. Latin GSAPP is open to members of all GSAPP programs.
The members who organized the roundtable were Laura Postarini, Tyrene Calvesbert, Pauline Claramunt and Guilherme Rocha Formicki from the UP program, Carolina Almeida and Ricardo Lledó from the AAD program, and Germán Morales from the RED program. In case you want to participate actively in the organization or reach out to Latin GSAPP for any other purpose, please contact us or send a message to latin.gsapp@gmail.com.
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APA-NYM Conference
Maxwell Sokol (M.S. UP ‘12) presents Kovid Saxena (M.S. UP '04) the Floyd Lapp Award for service to the APA NYM Chapter
Lorraine Liao (M.S. UP ‘19) who volunteered for the event wrote the following testimonial:
This year’s APA NY Metro Chapter conference was held at Columbia University and students gained insight into the professional practice of planning. The conference had blocks of breakout sessions where topics such as Community-Driven Hazard Mitigation, Public-Private Partnership in Commercial Corridors, Micro-transit, and many more were discussed. At the end of the day, attendees and speakers were invited to network over drinks at the WSP office in One Penn Plaza which was a great way to connect with professionals and leaders of the planning field.
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Competitions and Papers
Urban Land Institute Hines Student Competition, Application Deadline: December 10th
Since 2002, the ULI Hines Student Competition has challenged students to collaborate across disciplines and imagine a better built environment. Groups of five students form teams to devise a development program for a real site in a North American city, providing designs, market-based financial data, and related narratives. his is an excellent opportunity for students to engage in solving a real-world planning challenge, and the winning team will receive $50,000. Students interested in entering the competition can talk to Weiping about using the Advanced Research course to earn credit next semester. More info
Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition, Registration Deadline: December 10th
IAH is a graduate student competition that is run by HUD. It brings together students from different disciplines including architecture, planning, policy, real estate, business and others to collaboratively provide a real-world solution. The finalists receive a cash prize of $20,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place, and $5,000 for each third and fourth place teams. More info
Student Research Conference on Asia and the Environment, Paper Application Deadline: February 1st, 2019
Vassar College is pleased to announce our first Student Research Conferences on Asia and the Environment. Graduate students engaged in research related to Asia and the environment are invited to submit posters and papers for presentation at this conference. More info
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First-Year Student Spotlight
Caroline Thompson
Where are you from?
Stoneham, Massachusetts
What and where did you study for your undergraduate?
Geography (Urban Studies) at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
Why did you choose to study at Columbia University?
I chose Columbia because I was really interested in living in and experiencing a new city, and New York offers the crazy, complex planning and planning histories that made it clear that Columbia would be the best place to jump in and learn from my surroundings.
What is your interest within the urban planning field?
I am interested in participatory planning and how the introduction of different technologies to cities has changed participation and participation methods (and who is affected by this). I am particularly interested in participation in smart cities and new master-planned cities.
If you could pick up a new skill in an instant what would it be?
I would love to be multilingual, so having the ability to learn new languages quickly (and easily) is something I’m so jealous of!
Been anywhere recently for the first time?
I went to Chicago for the first time this summer and loved it!
What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?
I love the National Parks, and it’s really hard to choose between all of the ones I have visited, so I’ll go with my most recently visited one - Crater Lake, Oregon.
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Second-Year Student Spotlight
Sophie Zhou
Where are you from?
Shanghai, China
What and where did you study for your undergraduate?
Urban Planning and Finance at East China Normal University
Why did you choose to study at Columbia University?
Because I think Columbia University students are all smart! And I want to be one of them. Also, I love the city because it has many opportunities.
What has been your favorite urban planning class so far and why?
I love Planning Studio because it is exciting and challenging, especially the traveling studio. There were some frustrating moments, but we learned how to solve problems with real-life applications. In brief, we learn practical things.
What is your interest within the urban planning field?
Urban Analytics. I am quite interested in using different tools, such as coding and GIS, to serve the purpose of urban planning.
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Other News
Alternate Visions: Bold Proposals for Housing New Yorkers, December 6th, Museum of the City of New York
New York City is in the midst of an affordability crisis which poses an existential threat to the city’s characteristic vitality and diversity. Even during a time of rapid development in the affordable housing sector, many New Yorkers are being priced out the city and many more are struggling to pay the rent. Are existing plans to address the issue adequate, or is it time to consider more radical approaches? What are some big ideas for making New York housing more affordable?
Hear five distinct proposals – as diverse as the city itself – from thought-leaders and activists trying to reframe our current approach to housing. A discussion moderated by The Atlantic’s CityLab journalist Kriston Capps will follow. This program is co-presented by CityLab. Use code HOUSING1 for discounted tickets. More info
Urban Design Symposium: Regional Extractions And Dependencies In The Hudson Valley, December 8th, Wood Auditorium
Co-hosted by the Fall Urban Design Studio, the Hudson Valley Initiative at Columbia GSAPP, the APA Urban Design Committee, and the AIANY Urban Design Committee.
From drinking water, to fresh agricultural produce, to stone, cement, and other construction materials, the Hudson Valley provides much of the resources feeding the dense metropolitan areas of New York City and Albany. The valley is also a popular destination for city-dwellers, with myriad weekend activities, hiking trails, and art venues and increasingly a refuge for artists and other professionals priced out of New York City. This entangled relationship establishes a mutual, if sometimes uneven dependency consisting of a range of activities, where resources and goods are extracted and utilized as part of the ever-present circulation of physical and non-physical capital. More info
APA-NYM Holiday Party, December 12th, The Beer Authority, New York City
Join us for networking and fun! Price to include buffet, passed appetizers and drinks. $25.00 Student Tickets. More info
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