Student Planning and Design Competition
2024 Student Planning and Design Competition
Minneapolis, MN | April 15, 2024 | 8:30–9:45 a.m. CT | Room 101 HIJ
Co-sponsored by the American Planning Association (APA) Urban Design and Preservation Division, Divisions Council, and Student Representatives Council, APA presents the Annual Student Planning and Design Competition, which will culminate in a final competition event and winner selection at the 2024 National Planning Conference (NPC24) in Minneapolis, MN.
This opportunity for student planning and design in real-life spaces continues APA's ongoing effort to provide leadership in developing vital communities. Through excellence in planning, promoting education, and citizen empowerment, APA hopes to provide emerging professionals with the tools and support necessary to meet the challenges of growth and change.
All finalist team members are granted free registration to NPC24
- $6,000 awarded to the first-place team
- $4,500 awarded to the runner-up team
- $1,500 awarded to the third-place finalist team
If you have any questions, please reach out to students@planning.org.
Resources
2024 Student Planning and Design Competition Prompt
2024 Student Planning and Design Competition Questions
2024 Student Planning and Design Competition Finalist Teams
Honorable Mentions
2024 Student Planning and Design Competition Final Jurors
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Final juror
Mileyka Burgos-Flores
Mileyka Burgos-Flores is a Dominican-American activist and founding executive director of The Allapattah Collaborative, CDC, a local nonprofit organization aimed at revitalizing the commercial corridor of Little Santo Domingo while preserving and expanding the area's cultural authenticity. In addition to mitigating the pressures of climate gentrification, her leadership focuses on (1) implementing placemaking techniques to foster identity, (2) fostering strategies that support, train, and empower small businesses to thrive, and (3) advocating for policies/procedures that support equitable, comprehensive, and sustainable community development. -
Final juror
Kris Krider, AICP
Kris Krider, AICP joined the Arlington County, Virginia Planning Division in 2013 as the County Architect and Supervisor for the Urban Design Section. Kris has a Master of Architecture from the University of California at Berkley and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of North Carolina Charlotte. He has also completed postgraduate work in economic development at the UNC’s School of Government and spent a year studying urban design in Copenhagen, Denmark. -
Final juror
Sean M. Maguire, AICP
Sean M. Maguire, AICP CEcD is an experienced economic development and planning professional with over 20 years of experience driving growth and innovation. As a dual-certified planner and economic developer, Sean brings a diverse skillset spanning real estate, workforce development, community engagement, and data analysis. -
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Final juror
Meg McMahan, AICP
Meg McMahan, AICP, is the Director of Planning for the City of Minneapolis, MN, where she works to leverage development and rethink regulatory systems to drive equitable outcomes. She has spent her career in municipal planning and community development, focusing on innovative, community-centered, and justice-driven solutions. -
Final juror
Alysia D. Osborne, AICP
Alysia Davis Osborne has more than two decades of diverse experience in both the public and private sectors, establishing herself as a seasoned professional in urban planning and community development. Currently holding the position of Division Manager/Assistant Director within the City of Charlotte's Planning, Design, and Development Department, Alysia plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of the city.
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Project Site Location
New Nicollet Redevelopment
The 2024 Student Planning and Design Competition project site location is the New Nicollet Redevelopment, the former Kmart site in South Minneapolis, MN. This project site covers 10 acres of land between the Midtown Greenway, Lake St, 1st Ave, and Blaisdell Ave. The site has served the daily needs of residents for decades.
2024 Student Planning and Design Competition: Cover Contest
cover contest winner
Thank you to the winner of the 2024 Student Planning and Design Competition: Cover Contest, Lillian Liu, an urban and regional planning student at Cornell University, for designing the front page of the prompt.
Important Dates
| September 1, 2023 | Project Site Location Announcement Submissions for Student Planning and Design Competition: Cover Contest Opens |
| September 22, 2023 | Submissions for Student Planning and Design Competition: Cover Contest Closes |
| October 2, 2023 |
Prompt Released Student Planning and Design Competition: Cover Contest Winner Announced |
| November 17, 2023 | Registration Ends Q&A Portal Closed |
| November 20, 2023 | Responses to Questions Posted Online |
| January 8, 2024 | Submissions Begin |
| February 9, 2024 | Deadline for Submissions |
| March 8, 2024 | Initial Jury Deliberation |
| March 11, 2024 | Finalists Notified |
| April 15, 2024 | Final Presentations to NPC Jury in Minneapolis 8:30- 9:45 a.m. CT | Room 101 HIJ |
Previous Winners
2023
Arizona State University | Sun Devil Development Team
Arizona State University's, Sun Devil Development Team, ranked first-place winners of APA's 2023 Student Design Competition at the National Planning Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bringing home a cash prize of $2,500.
Repairing Logan's Urban Fabric: The Stitch Project
Vision Statement
"The Logan Triangle will be mended back into the urban fabric of the Logan Neighborhood having become a healthy, safe, affordable, desirable, and sustainable community by 2033. This will be accomplished by The Stitch Project, a design that will transform the Triangle from a detached piece of Philadelphia's urban fabric, back into a vital part of the Logan community. The Project will accomplish this through four categories of complementary activities: connecting people with places, blending old and new, enhancing quality of life, and reviving to thrive."
>Bryan Leyba (MUEP & MSUS), Kelsey Ouellette (MSUS), Sara Pimentel (MUEP), Deema Abdul Rahman (MUEP), Leen Elharake (MUEP) (pictured left to right)
2021
First Place
Reimagine, Macon Georgia
Team Reimagine — University of Georgia
Team Reimagine pursues to help regenerate a city that has struggled with many challenges regarding civic engagement, socioeconomic mixing/racial injustice, connectivity between communities, and environmental sustainability. The purpose of honing deep on site context and analysis was to find the true character of the spaces and the people of Macon. Our proposed ideas and designs strove to not only tackle the existing challenges but to also help create a healthy and safe environment for all residents in the community through public access, parks and recreation, and revitalizing the downtown.
Team Members: Adolfo Martinez, Karlie Roper, Margaret Apperson, Duncan Watts, Jeremy Smith, Anneka Pace
Team Reimagine — University of Georgia
2020
First Place
Team RES
Columbia University
"Team RES (resilient, responsive, restorative) seeks to promote healthy communities, support workforce development and community entrepreneurship, increase high-quality housing options, and incorporate strategies that optimize environmental assets and awareness. Through our proposal, we seek to address some of the community's concerns targeting flood mitigation, environmental remediation, gentrification, housing affordability, and the high crime rate. We explore the myriad of solutions around planning for communities that are equitable, resilient, and for residents who need ready access to housing that's affordable."
Second Place
University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign
Third Place
Harvard University
2019
Team Fruitpad
Cornell University
2019 Student Design Competition winners, Team Fruitpad from Cornell University.
2018
NOLA Shares
Cornell University
Team Leader — Anna Callahan; Team Members — Thomas Pera, Hannah Plummer, Kari Spiegelhalter
NOLA Shares features a web and app-based platform that aims to increase and facilitate shared skills, resources and knowledge across the Iberville community in downtown New Orleans. In addition to cloud-based infrastructure, the team proposed physical kiosks installed throughout the neighborhood to guarantee access for all residents.
2017
L.E.A.P. to a Smart Future
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Team Leader — Xiaochen Chen; Team Members — Yuanyi Xiao, Donggyu Lee
The 2017 Student Design Competition invited interdisciplinary student teams to apply place-based Smart City technologies to a specific New York City site. The winning team, L.E.A.P. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, creatively identified a four-part vision — L.E.A.P. to a Smart Future — detailing how Smart City technologies could be used to improve Livability, Empowerment, Accessibility, and Play on site.
Finalists
Four additional teams were selected as finalists and presented their ideas at the National Planning Conference in New York City.
Smart CATS
Kansas State University
Adaptive Strategies
New York University
UCLA MURPs
University of California, Los Angeles
The All-Nighters
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign