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I wanted to highlight the work of our Graduate Planning Studio from this past spring. Take a look at the three professional projects they produced!

Over the weekend, I learned of the sudden and untimely passing of Jeff Featherstone. To say that I am still shocked is an understatement. Jeff was the first chair of our department, and was the person who first hired me as an adjunct at Temple. I am proud to call him both colleague and friend. His leadership, knowledge, and infectious laugh will be missed.

When I was hired full-time back in 2012, it was Jeff who helped me teach my first studio course, resulting in the award-winning Aging with our Communities master plan for Montgomery County, PA. He showed me how to nudge graduate students, who were just on the verge of entering professional practice, in a direct but kind way, towards excellence. And so as I’ve pulled together the work from this year’s course, I’ve been thinking about him, and the example he gave all of us.

May his memory be for a blessing.

 

Yesterday, the Temple University Board of Trustees voted to approve name changes to our department, and to our Master’s Degree. We are now the Department of Planning and Community Development, with a MS in City and Regional Planning.

While this might seem like a minor change, it reflects the exciting changes our department and program have made over the past few years. Over half the world’s population lives in cities right now, with that expected to reach two-thirds by 2050. Learning how to create and foster sustainable communities has always been our program’s focus; now we are making it clear that most of that work will be in cities over the coming decades.

Our department’s name change also highlights our commitment to equitable development, here in Philadelphia, across the Commonwealth, and in cities throughout the world. Our practice-focused BS in Community Development trains future professionals, and I am proud of the work our students are already doing. We know that this field will continue to grow, and Temple graduates will lead the way.

Last evening, the Southeast Section of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association presented the 2015 Student Scholarship Award for a Group Paper to our 2015 Studio. According to the official notification,  “The report is very thorough and professionally packaged. The Review Committee was quite impressed.”

Another Temple Planning student, Jason Hachadorian, was awarded the 2015 Student Scholarship Award for an Individual Paper at the event as well. He was recognized for his strategic plan for the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, which was written for my Community-based Organizations class in Fall 2014.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

At their annual Garden Party on June 16th, 2015, the Southwest CDC gave their “Community Partner Award” to the students in the 2015 Graduate Planning Studio. This was in recognition of their work on the “Addressing Brownfields” report prepared for SWCDC.

The 2014 Graduate Planning Studio was awarded “Best Student Paper” for its Point Breeze Action Plan, prepared for the Point Breeze CDC in May 2014, by the Southeast Section of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association.

This morning I received notification from the PA Chapter of the APA that the studio project, “Aging with Our Communities,” has been selected as the winner of the 2013 PA Chapter Award in the category of Student Project. They wrote, “The PA Chapter Awards Committee believes this work exemplifies the best and brightest in Pennsylvania Planning in 2013.” The award ceremony takes place during the annual PA APA conference in Harrisburg, during the luncheon on Tuesday October 22.

I’m very proud of our student’s work, which can be seen here. Please join me in congratulating them.