The City of Eugene and the University of Oregon welcome the 2014 Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) conference to Eugene this evening, Wednesday, May 21. A&AA Dean Frances Bronet will give opening remarks at 6 p.m. at the Ford Alumni Center. Nearly 600 attendees have registered from as far away as the Netherlands and Japan to learn about building and strengthening neighborhood organizations.
Associate Professor Nico Larco has coauthored Site Design for Multifamily Housing: Creating Livable, Connected Neighborhoods, published in April by Island Press.
Aimed at architects, planners, and developers, the book provides design and code guidance for walkability and connectivity in multifamily site design. Larco’s coauthors are UO graduates Kristin Kelsey, ‘MArch ’12, MIArch, ‘12, and Amanda Stocker West, MPA ‘09.
Bill Eggert wasn’t even halfway through his two-term capstone course in public administration when he realized the literal payoff of the curriculum’s intense schedule: Midway through spring term, he was offered a job with the California State Auditor’s office.
The six-foot model of Medford with moveable wood blocks depicting buildings might evoke memories of kindergarten. But Gerardo Sandoval and James Rojas use the model as a tool for conducting public outreach because it allows residents to interact with their city in a personal way, which helps planners gain insight to changes people want in their neighborhoods.
LiveMove, the University of Oregon transportation and livability student group composed of many Planning, Public Policy, and Management students, will receive a statewide award for “Student Achievement in Planning” from the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association for its proposed redevelopment of 13th Avenue in Eugene.
An article in Public Administration Review (PAR) by Associate Professor Renee Irvin has been selected as among PAR’s 75 most influential stories since the journal’s inception in 1940. With more than 3,500 articles having appeared in PAR, being selected as one of the 75 most influential is a stellar accomplishment. Irvin is a professor in the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management.
Experimentation in teaching is not new in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. From the noncompetitive, nongraded studio courses in architecture initiated at the school’s founding to experiments with new media and motion graphics leading to national leadership in digital arts, to pioneering public policy efforts such as Oregon’s land use law, A&AA is a rich environment for trying out new ideas. Enterprising faculty members and students who shared a spirit of collaboration and experimentation and who were not adverse to risk-taking founded the school in 1914.
Students in the “American Philanthropy” freshman seminar have selected KindTree Productions, a Eugene-based nonprofit organization, to receive a $5,000 grant from Wells Fargo.
Students learn to practice the fundamentals of charitable giving by partaking in the annual course, which is offered through the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management. Groups form to consider local nonprofits that either applied for the grant or were nominated by students. Students visit the nominees to gather information and craft an argument that their organization is most deserving.
Several research projects under way by University of Oregon faculty members have been slated for funding by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities.
These include public transit research programs created by UO faculty members in the Department of Architecture, the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, and the Community Service Center.
Four faculty members and students from A&AA have collaborated on a book about transforming streets that were originally designed more to accommodate motor vehicles rather than pedestrians and bicyclists.
Rethinking Streets: An Evidence-Based Guide to 25 Complete Street Transformations, documents twenty-five case studies from around the country that helped facilitate more walking, biking, and transit use while enhancing commercial activity, with minimal to no negative impact on automobile access. The book was released December 2013.
