UPPSA Heads to Parklet – University of Illinois at Chicago

Posted November 19, 2012

On October 19, 2012, members of UPPSA (UIC’s Urban Planning and Policy Student Association) visited a parklet located in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood before one of our monthly dining events.

The parklet is one of three People Spots created by the city for summer 2012. It consists of native plantings, colorful benches, and a miniature hill, and occupies two previously metered street-side parking spots.

Our motivation to gather at the People Spot before dinner was a continuation of our commitment to innovative uses for urban space. Similar in mission to Internationl PARK(ing) Day where temporary parks are created in parking spaces around the globe (read about UPPSA’s participation in this annual event here), the parklet causes passersby to reflect on how open space is allocated in urban areas and to think critically about the urban form.

Students interacted with the space in a variety of ways. Some were curious about the materials, others marveled at how well it fit into the streetscape, and everyone discussed the benefits of having a public space on the street that is not restricted to customers of local establishments.

With just a short visit, we satisfied our goal of encouraging the students to consider creative alternatives to the spaces to which we’ve grown accustomed.

Labels: Illinois, Park(ing) Day, Region IV,

1st Annual SE Student Conference

Posted October 22, 2012

The first Southeast Student Planning Conference was organized by the GA Tech and the APA Georgia Chapter and held in conjunction with the chapter’s meetings, September 26-28.

Twenty-two students presented their papers on topics including: Human Factors in Transportation Planning, Creating and Tracking Urban and Rural Jobs in the New Economy, Technology in Urban Planning, Public Participation that Works, Remaking Places and Developing Destinations, International Perspectives, and The Heartbeat of Healthy Communities.

Sixty-six graduate city and regional planning students from 10 universities attended the conference in Columbus, Georgia.

To read more about this event and how you can plan a similar event, visit www.planning.gatech.edu/news/first-ever-southeast-student-planning-conference-co-organized-georgia-tech.

Labels: conference, Georgia, Region II,

PARK(ing) Day 2012 — University of Illinois at Chicago

Posted October 20, 2012

Members of the Urban Planning and Policy Student Association (UPPSA) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) built a temporary park to draw attention to the need for more green space as part of International PARK(ing) Day on September 21, 2012.

The event, which fell during the fourth week of classes, provided a perfect opportunity for both new and continuing urban planning students to begin a dialogue around open space planning and its necessity in urban environments like Chicago.

Visitors and passersby were drawn to the park, situated in the middle of a centrally located UIC campus parking lot, to join in the discussion. UPPSA volunteers provided refreshments, beanbag toss, and foosball games and much-needed umbrellas, and spent part of their time using sidewalk chalk to advertise the event around campus. The student volunteers were particularly dedicated, though they did finally concede to the afternoon rain showers.

Labels: Illinois, Park(ing) Day, Region IV,

What If? Park(ing) Day 2012 — Florida Atlantic University

Posted October 16, 2012

Sand bags, dozens of colorful umbrellas, repurposed pallets, tic-tac-toe, and Tuscany.

On any other day it would be a daunting task to find much of a relationship among these, but Friday, September 21, 2012, brought them all together in grand style in honor of Park(ing) Day.

Started seven years ago in San Francisco by Rebar, Park(ing) Day has quickly become an international event inspiring local residents and organizations to come together and make creative urban statements about public space in 9’ x 20’ installations. This is precisely what occurred in along SW 6th Avenue in downtown Fort Lauderdale on September 21, when volunteers from several organizations came out to rethink the possibilities for plain, old metered parking spots.

Among the organizations and firms providing volunteers were Broward APA; Kittleson and Associates; Keith and Schnars; Cordova, Rodriguez and Associates; and FAU’s Schools of Architecture and Urban & Regional Planning.

Space that would have been occupied by three cars was transformed into a Tuscan-inspired cafe, an interactive game space, a forward-thinking transit stop and an urban garden installation.

Passersby were invited to sit, play and imagine what a less car-dominated street could look and feel like. Some visitors commented on how nice it would be to regularly sit out under large cafe umbrellas, amid flowering plants while others daydreamed about the possibility of a fully networked transit system.

While the temporary installations lasted only a few hours, organizers and volunteers are certain that the demonstration left a lasting impression in the minds of numerous individuals visiting this busy district, which is ultimately the very purpose of Park(ing) Day.

See local coverage at www.examiner.com/article/park-ing-day-fort-lauderdale-2012-imagining-forward.

Images: Top—Theme of the day drawn on the sidewalk; Middle—What if a transit station offered loads of information, connectivity and interesting design?; Bottom—What if you could have lunch outdoors while enjoying the great weather? Photos courtesy UrbanMatters CoLAB.

Labels: Florida, Park(ing) Day, Region III,

University of Idaho

Posted October 16, 2012

Students for Place-based Planning and Urban Design (SPPUD)

SPPUD, a new organization in 2009, spent our first year organizing and building a platform from which to operate. In May we hosted a “Jane’s Walk” event for the residents of the City of Moscow, Idaho. We had a great turn out and plan to make this our spring semester’s community education event. This month we are hosting a similar event for the new university president. This event will provide an opportunity for the new president to establish an intimate sense of place with our city and to build relationships with the city’s leadership. We are excited to have this opportunity because we get to introduce the president to our city along with all of our new planning students.

SPPUD is going rafting in mid-September as a way to introduce our new planners to our bioregion and to explore the importance of amenities to rural communities in Idaho.

This October is the APA Idaho Chapter’s first conference. Some of our students will be presenting service learning projects from our work with the city of Cascade, Idaho. We will also have students helping out at the conference in exchange for free registration.

SPPUD will also be co-sponsoring a viewing of “Broken Limb” at the Moscow Food Co-op’s Good Food Film Series. We are taking this opportunity to introduce ourselves to the community and student planning organization focusing on sustainable rural/regional development.

We are currently recording podcasts relevant to our particular type of planning. Some of those will be available in the coming weeks. We are exploring content development and creating a list of available content experts in different aspects of planning. We’re very excited to be integrating media technology into our resource library.

Labels: community service, conference, Idaho, Region V,

2012 Park(ing) Day — University of Iowa

Posted September 28, 2012

The University of Iowa Urban and Regional Planning Student Association (URPSA) introduced Park(ing) Day to the campus in Iowa City this year.

September 21, 2012, marked that annual global event. Each year participants in Park(ing) Day are encouraged to turn everyday parking spots into public parklets or other urban uses. The event highlights sustainable land use, transportation, and community development, demonstrating how land used by parking spaces can be better used.

The event began in 2005 in San Francisco. In 2011, 162 cities took part in Park(ing) Day, representing 35 countries.

On the Iowa campus this year, four metered parking spots were occupied in front of the Memorial Union from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Each parking spot had a student organization represent alternative uses. URPSA provided a bike parking facility, the University of Iowa Student Garden held a mini farmers market, Eco-Hawks threw a eco-friendly tailgate, and the Iowa City Public Art Department provided a public bench for seating.

Although the University of Iowa campus does not have the high density of major cities, students hope to raise awareness on the effects of parking spaces. Transforming normal parking spots for a day is one way.

Students recognize that the demand for urban land will continue to rise. By promoting better uses for parking spaces, students hope to get people thinking about alternatives to driving.

Images: Top—URPSA public bike facility and public seating bench; Bottom—Eco-Hawks eco-friendly tailgate. Photos by Kaley Bangston.

Labels: Iowa, Park(ing) Day, Region IV,

University of Kansas

Posted August 30, 2012

KU planning students took the Amtrak from Lawrence to Chicago — bound for a planner’s tour of the Windy City. The students met with many of Chicago’s regional planning agencies, including the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), and Chicago Housing Authority (CHA).

CHA led students on a tour of the new rowhouse-style housing that are being built as part of the agency’s Promise for Transformation, and saw the last infamous Cabrini-Green high-rise project building, days before it was set to be demolished. KU students toured the Pullman Historic District, the first planned industrial community, and saw innovation in sustainable urban agriculture at work at The Plant, an adaptively reused, former meatpacking plant in Chicago’s historic Union Stockyards that is being transformed into a vertical farm.

Students also met with the American Planning Association’s Chicago office and talked to staff about student activities, involvement, and professional development.”

Other things we did in 2010:

• The Kansas Association of Planning Students (KAPS) raised $200 from planning students, faculty, and staff for the Haskell Rascals program, buying Christmas presents for two children of Haskell University students.
• Ten KU planning students traveled to the National APA Conference in Boston, attending conference sessions on innovative developments in planning practice, toured the Boston cityscape and historic sites, and ate “chowdah.”
• The KU School of Architecture, Design, and Planning and Kansas Chapter of the American Planning Association helped provide funding for the trip.
• KAPS is also active in the Kansas Chapter and Kansas City Section of the APA, attending and volunteering at the Kansas Conference and participating in Kansas City section activities and professional development events.

At Kincade’s after the KU-Michigan game. The group consisted of Kristen Cowan, Joel Wood, Xue Chen, Matt Baker, Sam Davis, Carolina Rodriguez, Ariel Heckler, and John Gary.

For more information about these events contact Whitney Morgan at doc_da_atlien@yahoo.com

Labels: conference, Kansas, networking, Region V, social, volunteer,