Faculty Research

Associate Professor Jota Samper Receives Award for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship

Allyson Maturey — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 16:12:49 +0000

Associate Professor Jota Samper Receives Award for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Allyson Maturey Wed, 10/23/2024 - 10:12

Associate Professor Jota Samper is the 2024 recipient of the Excellence in Faculty Community Engagement Award from the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC). This national award is one of the most prestigious of its kind.

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Coloring impact, disrupting mining industry influence on Canadian education curricula

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 21:32:10 +0000

Coloring impact, disrupting mining industry influence on Canadian education curricula Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/06/2024 - 14:32

Sierra Brown

“Anywhere there's a mine, there’s probably a good chance that it’s owned by a Canadian company,” Zannah Matson, assistant professor of landscape architecture at ENVD, explained. Canada is home to 75% of the world’s mining companies. From art and science museums to the skyline of Toronto (largely consisting of banks that specifically fund mining operations), cultural institutions are steeped in the history of mining.

So steeped in fact, that mining has dug its way into elementary school curriculum. Mining Matters, a charitable organization and educational wing of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), provides teachers with trainings and resources centered around mining education. Activities are designed to provide students with “mineral literacy” around mining science and inform youth about career opportunities in mining industries, often through interactive activities and resources like coloring books.

Through these programs, the darker side of mining (including human rights violations and ecological degradation) is primarily glossed over. “It’s really insidious, they talk about how minerals are made and how great mining is all wrapped in one,” Matson noted. “What would happen if we made a coloring book that tells a more complete history?”

Matson is a member of Beyond Extraction (BE), a Canadian-based collective of researchers, writers, artists and activists who critically investigate and resist acts of extraction such as industrial mining practices. Each year during PDAC’s global mining convention in Toronto, BE develops educational countermeasures to expose the harm done by mineral extraction. This year, one of their projects is centered around a coloring book.

According to BE’s website, “What it Takes: an all-ages colouring book” is designed to disrupt the grip that Canada’s mining industry has on culture and education. Flipping through the book, readers will find topics ranging from the history of prospecting and excavation in Canada to discussions of unfair labor practices and environmental pollution. Line-drawn graphics reveal scenes of Indigenous communities and land defenders protesting extractive projects. On page four, young artists can doodle what they imagine a landscape would look like without the mining operations. On page fifteen, they can color in “contaminant triangles” that have leached into rivers, and on page seven they can connect the dots to reveal a gold ring and learn about the 20 tons of waste rock needed to create it.

Through an accessible and engaging format, the book’s creators are especially hoping to counter the narratives that, in recent years, have attempted to equate mining with environmental sustainability and green technology.

“That's the big conversation right now with the switch to a green energy future,” Matson explained. “Lithium still comes out of the ground. It's like, okay, that's not oil so it's not specifically causing climate change, but it's causing all these other issues.”

These issues include fueling socio-political conflicts both abroad and at home. Matson says that her work both with BE and personally is hoping to address these kinds of systemic issues through thinking more holistically about ecological justice, the impacts of infrastructure on communities and by trying to understand the relationship between architecture, planning and extraction.

“It’s the whole logic of ‘just keep digging stuff out of the ground.’ It's the mentality in general.” Matson acknowledged. An educational coloring book that tells a more complete story of Canada’s sticky relationship with extraction might just be the best way to begin shifting this mentality. Plus, who doesn’t like to color?

Beyond Extraction has made the coloring book free and accessible online so that teachers, students, or anyone with access to crayons and markers can print it out and engage with it. Visit this link to view and download a digital spread of “What it Takes: an all ages colouring book."

Canada is notorious for its scenic old-growth forests, mouthwatering maple syrup, fervent enthusiasm for ice hockey and notably amiable people. But Canada also boasts a lesser-known aspect that is just as deeply ingrained in its culture and history: its expansive and extractive mining industry. “What it Takes: an all-ages colouring book” is designed to disrupt the grip that Canada’s mining industry has on culture and education.

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City planners are questioning the point of parking garages

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 19:33:06 +0000

City planners are questioning the point of parking garages Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 02/20/2023 - 12:33

Kevin J. Krizek , John Hersey

Two assumptions undergird urban parking policy: Without convenient parking, car owners would be reluctant to patronize businesses; and absent a dedicated parking spot for their vehicle, they’d be less likely to rent and buy homes. Because parcels of urban land are usually small and pricey, developers will build multistory garages. And so today, a glut of these bulky concrete boxes clutter America’s densely populated cities.

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ENVD Teaching Assistant Professor instructs most popular Planetizen course of 2022

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 17:49:51 +0000

ENVD Teaching Assistant Professor instructs most popular Planetizen course of 2022 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/17/2023 - 10:49

Environmental Design Teaching Assistant Professor John Hersey recently presented two lectures for Planetizen Courses, an online planning-education resource with classes approved to maintain the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) professional credential. Students, practitioners and community members interested in better understanding the influences that shape their places may subscribe to Planetizen Courses for access to classes in land-use regulation, multimodal transportation, planning law and policy, housing, and myriad other subjects and learn graphic-design software like the Adobe Creative Suite and Trimble SketchUp.

Specializing in transit-oriented development (TOD) since his undergraduate studies, Hersey was well prepared to present an introduction to the sustainable growth model as well as a deeper dive into TOD’s interaction with affordable housing. The latter course, Equitable Transit-Oriented Development, was among Planetizen Courses’ most popular classes of 2022. Hersey is grateful for the opportunity to reach so many subscribers through Planetizen Courses and feels encouraged by the substantial interest in a subject that promises to deliver economic resilience, community benefit, and greenhouse gas reduction.

Teaching sustainable planning and urban design studios at Environmental Design (ENVD), Hersey encourages students to recognize and leverage a site’s transit, biking, and walking assets to promote healthy, vibrant, and inclusive neighborhoods. In particular, he enjoys helping students wrestle with related subjects like zoning, gentrification, and parking to appreciate the value of transit-oriented development as a sustainable-growth strategy. Outside of ENVD, he has participated with members of the CU and �鶹ӰԺ communities in the Climate Across the Curriculum faculty training and recently promoted and attended the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit.

Hersey looks forward to students practicing lessons of transit-oriented development to inform sustainable development for generations to come.

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ENVD Professor Participates in Jefferson Science Fellowship Program during 2021-2022

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 19:11:17 +0000

ENVD Professor Participates in Jefferson Science Fellowship Program during 2021-2022 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/31/2022 - 13:11

Kevin J. Krizek

“Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.” –Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur’s quote distills a core aim of the U.S. Department of State Jefferson Science Fellowship (JSF), a program Environmental Design Professor Kevin J. Krizek has participated in from 2021 to 2022. The JSF recruits tenured academics to serve as “force multipliers” for science and engineering-oriented thinking–to strengthen perspectives in U.S. diplomacy. Professor Krizek has supported the science of how the next generation of global infrastructure, fueled by rapid technological innovation and clean energy reform, could quickly spread to communities around the world, allowing people to obtain the goods and services needed in a sustainable manner.

While living in Washington, D.C., for the past year, Professor Krizek has served as a senior advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment. This gave him the opportunity to support U.S. diplomacy in international workshops, learn from Washington-based foundations, be exposed to lobbying efforts and engage in political discussions at some of the highest levels of U.S. government.

As an extension of his appointment with the State Department, Professor Krizek will assist in the formulation of the inaugural Office of Subnational Diplomacy, an office created in part to propel the quick change that is possible, which runs through smaller-scale, community-based operations. As cities worldwide increase their capacity to effectively respond to multiple crises occurring in urban environments, the efforts that Professor Krizek is contributing to will strengthen ties between the State Department with mayors, governors and other local officials in the U.S. and around the world.

A central goal of the JSF is to sustain a contained partnership between the State Department and universities. Professor Krizek will bring back knowledge of international diplomacy and global infrastructure initiatives to share with the �鶹ӰԺ and the Program in Environmental Design, through classroom teaching, student advising and speaking engagements.

Professor Krizek will support programming for the inaugural Cities Summit of the Americas, which will be held in Denver in the spring of 2023.

Environmental Design Professor Kevin J. Krizek participated in the U.S. Department of State Jefferson Science Fellowships (JSF) program from 2021 to 2022.

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From schools to streets: How the pandemic is helping us reimagine built environments

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 23:28:24 +0000

From schools to streets: How the pandemic is helping us reimagine built environments Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/18/2021 - 16:28

What opportunities exist to rethink how we live to not only combat COVID-19 but also address climate change, human health and other issues? The Program in Environmental Design is tackling these questions through innovative projects that do everything from improve spaces for outdoor learning to rethinking streetscapes.

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TEDxCU: How informal settlements (slums) will reshape the world

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 19:58:37 +0000

TEDxCU: How informal settlements (slums) will reshape the world Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/30/2020 - 13:58

[video:https://youtu.be/FGc1vduZ_6E]

Environmental Design Assistant Professor Jota Samper recently gave a talk on TEDxCU. The talk focuses on Professor Samper's collaborations with students and communities alongside his research on informal Settlements. Informal settlements (what some call slums) are the most common form of urbanization on the planet, accounting for one-third of the total urban form. It is expected that by the mid-twenty-first-century, up to three billion people will live in these urban environments. However, we lack a consistent mapping method to pinpoint where that informality is located or how it expands.

Samper explores the implications of that growth in the atlas of informality and how by visualizing informal communities, we can be made aware of innovations by these communities that can save the planet, TED selected this talk to be part of the TEDx library on TED.com.

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ENVD Assistant Professor to co-guest edit MAS Context with University of Miami Assistant Professor

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 15:26:07 +0000

ENVD Assistant Professor to co-guest edit MAS Context with University of Miami Assistant Professor Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/04/2020 - 09:26

In July, Environmental Design Assistant Professor Shawhin Roudbari was invited to co-guest edit issue 33 of MAS Context with Germane Barnes, assistant professor and director of The community, Housing and Identity LAB (CHIL) at the University of Miami. The new issue will explore vigilantism with a range of ideas and topics from experts in education, design and architecture. Readers can expect the new issue to be published in March 2021.

Shawhin Roudbari and Germane Barnes will present their explorations on "architectures of vigilantism" at the 2020 MAS Context Fall Talks, which will be hosted on November 12, 2020 at 6 p.m. CT. Learn more and register.

In 2014, when Roudbari began teaching at CU �鶹ӰԺ, he taught courses in sustainability and social innovation, and in 2016 he became an assistant professor in ENVD.

“Since the beginning, I've always taught a range of studios, mostly lower division, but the classes that have sort of been near and dear to my heart are the ones on ethics and activism, social change and then recently this class on dissent by design, which has been so great,” Roudbari said.

“It’s sort of like the first time that my research, my teachings and my interests have all kind of come together. And I have learned so much from the students.”

ENVD sat down with Roudbari in a Zoom interview to learn more about what to expect in issue 33 of MAS Context, what sparked his research inspiration, and what he hopes the outcome will be.

In your research, you study how designers organize to address social problems. Can you share how you came into this research and what it means to you?

I used to be very apolitical, like, I had a point about not being engaged in politics for the longest time. Around 2008, when I went back to grad school in architecture, there was a lot happening politically on campus. There was a lot of activism, a lot of protests, and teachings where faculty came and spoke, and this was at Berkeley, which has a big tradition of activism. There was this one guy who I thought was really cool at the time who was talking about apathy, cynicism and these different topics as problematic and instrumental, and I thought ‘wow, those are exactly my reasons for not being politically engaged.’

So, I made almost a 180-degree shift and realized that there are a lot of issues I care about. I have a lot of privileges that I need to capitalize on when working on those kinds of problems. So, in general, my research has been about how can people like me, who are design professionals not interested in politics, engage in politics?

In what ways do you apply your research in the classroom and how do you collaborate with your students?

I think I’m really into exploring non-conventional ways of doing that. I obviously bring case studies from my research into class, but I’m really eager to see how the students can push the boundary. For example, this isn’t necessarily related to activism, but there was a teahouse project where we were working on renovations for the �鶹ӰԺ Dushanbe Teahouse, and as a class we wrote a book together called “An Architecture of Dialogue: Learning from the �鶹ӰԺ Dushanbe Teahouse.” It was put together based on our thoughts about issues in architecture theory using the teahouse as an example. This is one instance where I really wanted to involve the students in as authors.

So, there’s the idea of giving students more agency to be involved and being able to think through these issues not just as consumers of knowledge but as producers of knowledge. With the dissent by design studio, I also had a similar idea of doing a book led by students, where they could dig into these really contentious social problems and explore through speculative design. Asking questions like, what are ways we can think about transgender violence, the border wall, and any other experiences students have had in their own lives. I really want this to be a space for them to practice thinking through those types of topics.

The connection I get with my research is that this is my research. It’s working with creative types and designers to think about how we can really engage in these topics and issues.

So, you were invited to co-guest edit issue 33 of MAS Context. What was that experience like?

That has been a really cool and new kind of process for me! In the fall, I collaborated with ENVD grads Ana Colon and Ann Dang on a workshop and presentation over the topic of racism in architecture, and then I presented it at a conference. It was there that I met Germane Barnes, who was also thinking about topics around race. We sort of hit it off on our shared interests and within a few months we scheduled a call to check in and exchange ideas. That call became monthly calls, which turned into weekly calls where we’re really exploring race and architecture, thinking about the idea of spaces and places as being racist.

Our conversations became more and more interesting and we came up with this idea of vigilantism. People like the woman in Central Park calling the police on Mr. Cooper. The police officer who shot George Floyd in Minneapolis. These people are acting like vigilantes–somebody who takes state powers and self-policing into their own hands. They’re not given that power through any kind of process, nobody elected them. We also thought about Batman and how he’s a vigilante, but there’s complexity and a darkness about it.

So we landed on three different aspects of vigilantism, an aggressor, a resistor and a witness. We put together a full proposal with a theme, an abstract and a list of about 12 contributors with very different angles and thoughts around this topic. And that’s how it all kind of transpired. MAS Context is an architectural, interdisciplinary design magazine, and when they replied back to us with not a no, we we’re excited!

Do you both think that you’re going to answer all of the questions listed on MAS Context’s website?

We actually wrote and prompted all of those questions. It was initially for when we reached out to the contributors for the Vigilantism issue. We came up with this one idea around vigilantes, and we like the three different characters, but we wanted to expand it to more than just that one idea, and it worked. We were thinking about it as a spatial thing, another person brought in the idea of it being an aesthetic thing, and another as a material thing and so on.

What does vigilantism mean to you and how will you contribute that to this issue?

I think the sense I had before all of this was that it wasn’t as racialized. It was a bit more neutral, like people patrolling their neighborhood keeping an eye out, looking for bad actors and cleaning up messes. In the past couple of years, as I’ve learned more about race and racism in America, vigilantism has come to connote things like Jim Crow, racism, lynching, the kinds of things that have happened and continue to happen to this country when people–state actors and non-state actors, police and not police–enact violence on racial minortities, and feel justified in doing so because they thought there was some kind of threat or concern.

After the issue makes its way into the world and people read it and take it all in, what do you hope the outcome will be?

I think one thing that really excites both me and Germane, is that this as a publication will be in the world for architecture students to see and use. These are not things that we had access to when we were in school, like new ways of thinking or connecting topics like racism and architecture. So, the idea that this will be in architecture schools and their libraries is pretty exciting.

One more thing I’d like to note, is that I do think these are uncomfortable topics for a lot of people. They can be politically uncomfortable and emotionally uncomfortable, and theoretically they’re not easy. It’s not like we have any frameworks for thinking about racism in architecture. In the back of my mind, with all those levels of discomfort I’m always trying to be aware that this can be alienating to some people. Some people could feel called out. But, I think a silver lining from the current protests is that more people are hearing terms like anti-racism, fragility and vulnerability. My hope is that more people in society will feel more encouraged, or more comfortable, to get into uncomfortable spaces of thinking when it comes to these topics.

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ENVD assistant professor to guest edit issue 33 of MAS Context

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 17:31:14 +0000

ENVD assistant professor to guest edit issue 33 of MAS Context Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/13/2020 - 11:31

Assistant Professor Shawhin Roudbari has been invited to guest-edit the next issue of MAS Context, a Chicago-based print and online publication with a global reach that address issues that affect the urban context.

Roudbari will collaborate with Germane Barnes, assistant professor and director of The Community, Housing & Identity Lab (CHIL) at the University of Miami. MAS Context Issue 33, will explore and focus on vigilantism.

Assistant Professor Shawhin Roudbari will guest-edit the next issue of MAS Context, collaborating with Germane Barnes, assistant professor and director of The Community, Housing & Identity Lab (CHIL).

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Planning and urban design global seminar wins faculty 2019-20 outreach award

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 21:10:44 +0000

Planning and urban design global seminar wins faculty 2019-20 outreach award Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/17/2019 - 15:10

Program in Environmental Design Assistant Professor Jota Samper was recognized for a 2019-20 Faculty Outreach Award for the Medellin Global Seminar: Colombian Displaced Communities: Planning and Urban Design.

The seminar is a 5-week abroad program in Medellin, Colombia. It is a hands-on planning studio that collaborates directly with the community of Manantiales, helping them create a community development plan that they can use to engage in conversation with state officials. Learn more about the seminar and Faculty Outreach Awards.

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