Architecture & Urban Planning

An effort to improve access to parks in Harris County Precinct 1 will begin by asking residents what kind of green spaces they want and need. "This project is going to yield many benefits for our residents, particularly our most vulnerable and under-served populations," said Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said during the Monday kickoff of the Park-Smart Precinct One project, an effort to eliminate some of the park deserts in that portion of Harris County. ...

The School of Architecture continues to build its Race and Gender in the Built Environment Initiative with new faculty appointments. Edna Ledesma will join the school as a fellow for the 2017-18 academic year, and Miriam Solis will begin her appointment as an assistant professor in Fall 2018 after completing a Switzer Environmental Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley.

In the heart of car-dominated Los Angeles, a group of students set out on a journey to discover what it takes to create bike-friendly cities. The result is an inspiring call to action for people everywhere.

“There will be more butts on bikes — and that’s a good thing.” That’s probably the most memorable line from the speaker’s podium during last week’s Ford GoBike launch in downtown Oakland, marking the first-ever arrival of bike sharing in the East Bay. But some supporters of the system say they’re thinking not just about how many butts, but whose butts, will be on the 1,500 or so shared bicycles expected to be rolling in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville by Labor Day.

Mary Brown, a preservation planner who excelled at distilling the qualities of everything from Golden Gate Park to Sam Jordan’s Bar, died of lung cancer in San Francisco on Dec. 10. She was 46. In her seven years with San Francisco’s Planning Department, Ms. Brown was the author of unusually readable surveys of such topics as commercial storefronts and modern architecture. She also built the cases to designate landmarks of cultural as well as architectural importance, such as Sam Jordan’s, a gathering place for generations of African Americans on Third Street in the Bayview.

Abstract

Shrayas Jatkar currently works for the Coalition for Clean Air in Sacramento where he advocates for various statewide policies that support environmental and climate justice. He was one of the main advocates for Assembly Bill 1550 (AB 1550), which was signed into law in 2016.

Morgan Grove is a social scientist and Team Leader for the USDA Forest Service's Baltimore Field Station. His work focuses on the long-term dynamics of environmental justice in Baltimore, measuring park access and enviornmental justice in the city. His team looks at amenities like parks and tree cover, and disamenities such as polluting industries and flood zones.

Dr. Nathan McClintock is an Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. He is a geographer whose primary focus is on urban agriculture policy and practice, and how they articulate with political economy, race, class, and gender.