Sustainable Planning & Urban Design

Two majors come together for cross disciplinary collaboration

Allyson Maturey — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 19:28:26 +0000

Two majors come together for cross disciplinary collaboration Allyson Maturey Tue, 10/22/2024 - 13:28

For the first time, students from the Fundamentals of Planning & Urban Design (1140) and Fundamentals of Architecture (1120) studios came together for an interdisciplinary interaction. During this session, 1140 students presented their studio project plans and visions, allowing 1120 students to select a public building to be designed as part of their studio work. This collaboration highlights the unique role that interdisciplinary education plays at ENVD.

Second-year architecture and sustainable design and urban planning students came together for an interdisciplinary interaction.

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For the win: A semester worth celebrating

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 18:23:46 +0000

For the win: A semester worth celebrating Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 12/19/2023 - 11:23

The Program in Environmental Design hosted its Open House exhibition on Dec. 15, 2023. The Open House is a building-wide exhibition of design and research produced by students and faculty during the fall semester. The event was established in 2018 to encourage the connection between students, their peers, alumni and friends, as well as the �鶹ӰԺ community.

Couldn’t make it this year? Watch the video reel above!

At the end of each fall semester, Environmental Design (ENVD) hosts a building-wide exhibition of design and research produced by students and faculty.

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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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A Perspective on Urban Design and Being a Woman in the Design Workplace from Isabella Marcotulli with the Bjarke Ingels Group in New York

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 21:13:47 +0000

A Perspective on Urban Design and Being a Woman in the Design Workplace from Isabella Marcotulli with the Bjarke Ingels Group in New York Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 01/23/2023 - 14:13

Lydia Mercante, a third-year Environmental Design (ENVD) student majoring in sustainable planning and urban design, works in the ENVD’s Professional Development Services Center. She spent the summer of 2022 meeting with various design professionals in New York City to learn more about the industry to share with other students. During her adventure, Mercante met with Isabella Marcotulli, an urban designer at Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) Brooklyn office, for an interview to better understand what it’s like as a woman in urban design

Marcotulli graduated from Rice University in 2017 with a bachelor of architecture (B.Arch.). . She planned on becoming a professional architect and landed her first job with Weiss/Manfredi, a multidisciplinary design firm based in New York City.

Urban design can be seen as a difficult profession to enter since there are so many facets of the profession. According to Marcotulli, urban design is a growing profession that combines city planning, landscape design and architecture. For those interested in entering the urban design field, she suggests that the best place to start is by working in the public sector with a city or county. It is also critical to learn the fundamentals of urban planning before working in urban design. Although this is the preferred route to a career in urban design, Marcotulli took a different pathway.

While working with Weiss/Manfredi, Marcotulli began on the business development side of architecture and later worked in project design. Although this was a positive experience, Marcotulli felt something was missing in her career and eventually realized her passion for urban design. In order to explore urban design, Marcotulli left Weiss/Manfredi after a year to join Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) as a project designer and later transitioned to the role of Urban Designer. Her first project was Google’s new campus in Sunnyvale, California, whereshe helped with landscaping and circulation. After having that experience, Marcotulli realized how much she loved working on master plans and began making her professional transition as an urban designer.

When asked what she wished she could tell her younger self, Marcotulli talked about being a woman in the professional world, which can often make a career in design more challenging.

“Even though it makes things harder,it also makes you feistier and tougher in the long run,” Marcotulli said.

One thing Marcotulli wishes she had found along the way was more female mentorship and successful women role models in the industry. Marcotulli wishes she could tell her younger self to “stay nimble” and try out as many things as possible, to seek connections and not be closed off to technical processes.

Marcotulli describes BIG as young, fresh and open-minded. Regarding how she considers being a woman has affected her career in design, she said, “if you are working hard it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman.”

Marcotulli's work environment has indeed allowed her to thrive as a female designer, but she argues that many other women haven’t had the same experience. She suggests that one of the most important things to do as a woman or even just as a young professional is to seek support from people who value quality work regardless of gender. The best way to navigate any situation, according to Marcotulli, is to develop a network of support among professional colleagues.

Marcotulli’s most memorable professional experiences stand out primarily due to what she learned rather than what she accomplished. One of her most rewarding projects has been the design for the Howard Terminal Masterplan, a new district that surrounds the proposed Houston Astros Stadium. Much of the project focused on community building and working on how the design will improve the neighborhoods and businesses around it. The stadium will incorporate public outdoor space, provide more jobs for the surrounding area and thereby offer economic benefits back into the surrounding community.

Another project Marcotulli is proud of is her research and work on designing in the Metaverse, a virtual reality system that allows users to interact both together and with computer-generated content in a three-dimensional environment. Marcotulli is particularly interested in how working in the metaverse might change the future of design and how her firm will approach designing in the virtual realm.

Marcotulli is an energetic young woman making strides in urban design, which is a unique, relatively new discipline. Her accomplishments so far in her still early career and potential to create innovations in this growing profession are inspiring.

Lydia Mercante, a third-year Environmental Design (ENVD) student majoring in sustainable planning and urban design, spent the summer of 2022 meeting with various design professionals in New York City to learn more about the industry to share with other students.

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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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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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Applications now open for Medellin Global Seminar

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:50:09 +0000

Applications now open for Medellin Global Seminar Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/30/2020 - 12:50

Applications are now open for the Global Seminar: The Medellin Practicum/Studio (Medellin, Colombia). Learn about planning and urban design methodologies in the innovative Colombian city of Medellín. Engage with a marginalized community, working side by side with community members in the production of a plan for neighborhood development. Integrate with locals by living with a host family and participating in a ‘buddy’ program with other university students. Earn 9 credits while taking two exciting courses: a practicum/studio and complimentary seminar

If you missed the info-session you can find a copy of the Zoom recording of the Info session here and on the program brochure page.

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Overcoming Challenges of a Pandemic in the Urban Planning Classroom

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 17:58:57 +0000

Overcoming Challenges of a Pandemic in the Urban Planning Classroom Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/13/2020 - 11:58

With Assistant Professor Jota Samper

[video:https://youtu.be/CCAYgZdP5Bo]

ENVD met with Assistant Professor Jota Samper to get a better understanding of how he’s overcoming challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic in his classroom. We also got a sneak peek into the projects and collaboration his students have been working on with communities in Colombia. Watch the video to learn more.

ENVD met with Assistant Professor Jota Samper to get a better understanding of how he’s overcoming challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic in his classroom.

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