Chair's Message - May 2009
July 28, 2009
The Department continues its growth and expansion. We welcomed our new Assistant Professor, Andres Blanco, to join us at the start of 2009. Andres is completing his doctorate in City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. He specializes in economic aspects of planning such as urban economics, public finance, economic development, and public policy evaluation. We will also add another faculty member in sustainability planning and design to our department as part of the college-wide Sustainability program.
The Department is very fortunate to have a dedicated and active Advisory Council that offers us guidance and advice on curriculum development, professional and alumni relationships, and fundraising. The Advisory Council has developed its own bylaws and its committees are actively working to engage with the department. On April 15th, 2009 our second annual “Planning Day” was successfully held at the Reitz Union on the University of Florida campus. The theme of this year’s Planning Day Symposium was “Sustainable Development: Is Going Green Worth the Green?” A group of prominent panelists presented arguments on three important issues about green development: (1) how to define and measure sustainable development, (2) how to regulate it, and (3) how much are we willing to pay? As part of the Planning Day activities and following tradition, the Department hosted its annual awards dinner that evening to recognize students, alumni and friends. Members of the Advisory Council and other sponsors have graciously provided funding to support the Planning Day. The detailed list is shown under the section of Planning Day Sponsors.
Currently, the faculty is involved in unprecedented productive research and scholarly work in addition to their dedication to coursework, as reflected in the Faculty Publications and Research Grant section of this Newsletter. In particular, Drs. Ilir Bejleri and Ruth Steiner, the GeoPlan Center, and the Center for Health and the Built Environment, are collaborating with the Maternal Child Health Education and Research Data Center (MCHERDC) in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Florida on a $150,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for developing a comprehensive analysis and plan for a Childhood Obesity Prevention Geographic Information System. They are also preparing a proposal for a second phase project of greater magnitude.
Dr. Dawn Jourdan published four articles (one forthcoming) in academic journals and two book chapters as the first or co-author. Dr. Kristin Larsen has won the UF Faculty Enhancement Opportunity (FEO) award to support her research on community architect Clarence Stein, has published two articles in peer reviewed journals, had a proceeding published as part of an international conference, and secured a sabbatical for the upcoming academic year to complete her biography of Clarence Stein. Prof. Andres Blanco was awarded his first research grant after having been in our department for less than six months! The grant titled “The Economic Cost of Traffic Congestion in Florida” is funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. These research activities offer our graduate students ample opportunities to get involved in our research activities as reflected in the articles by Eric Seymour and Allison Fischman in this Newsletter. In addition, the Department started a “Planning Research Seminar” in Spring 2009 to inform, facilitate and promote planning-related research among faculty, students, planners and other researchers. The research seminar was very well attended.
Responding to an invitation from the Japanese National Building Research Institute, Dr. Richard Schneider presented an address on crime prevention planning to the City Planning Institute of Japan in Osaka on April 22, 2009. He also served as a keynote speaker for the First International Conference on Child Friendly Cities on April 24, 2009. The presentation was sponsored by UNESCO, UNICEF, and the Association for Children’s Environments (ACE) and the conference was hosted by Chiba and Meiji Universities in Chiba City, Japan. Over 200 participants attended from throughout the Asian-Pacific region and Europe.
Dr. Ruth Steiner received the College’s 2009 Faculty Service Award for her excellent service to the Department and the College of Design, Construction and Planning. Mr. Scott Lagueux, our proud alumnus, received an Outstanding Alumni Award from the College and the Department in 2009 for his significant achievement and exemplary leadership. Dr. Kristin Larsen was awarded the 2008 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award by the students in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
Dr. Joseli Macedo chaired the University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies’ 58th Annual Conference from January 28 to 30, 2009. This year’s conference was co-sponsored by the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning and was the first to have an urban theme: “The Urban Divide in Latin America: Challenges and Strategies for Social Inclusion.” This multidisciplinary conference gathered scholars and professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life in urban Latin America. It provided participants an opportunity to share their research and experiences and to engage in dialogue to generate ideas and identify solutions to advance social inclusion in Latin American cities. Approximately 150 individuals from Latin America and the US attended. Conference presentations covered such topics as spatial and social equity, governance and political representation, gender, poverty, urban design, public space, housing and informal settlements, land use policy and legislation, urban crime and violence, sustainability and the environment, among others. Three keynote speakers of international renown participated: Alan Gilbert, Professor of Geography at University College London; Jaime Lerner, former Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil; and Saskia Sassen, the Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University.
Dr. Richard Schneider and URP doctoral student Iris Patten completed a Strategic Community Planning Assessment for the Alachua county Head Start Program in April. Periodic Community Assessments are federally mandated requirements for Head Start programs nationally. Locally, Head Start serves over 600 3-5 year old children, and provides a range of school readiness educational programs. A major intent of the Assessment was to help program administrators plan programs based on changing population needs and locate facilities throughout the service area to address those needs. Currently, Alachua County Head Start has 11 facilities in Alachua County, mostly co-located with elementary schools.
The Student Planning Association has kept our students engaged and entertained by organizing a series of student activities under the leadership of Chad Riding. The students obviously had fun in camping in Cedar Key as reflected in Genesis Harrod’s hilarious descriptions below. Both of our mentoring programs (student mentoring and professional mentoring) seem to be working well and we plan to enhance them further.
The University of Florida is having serious budget issues as our budget has been continuously cut. But, our College and the Department are trying our best to not allow budget cuts to negatively impact our mission and student’s education experience in our department.
We would very much like you, our valuable Alumni, to be engaged with our program. Please join the “Gator Planners” group on LinkedIn (the professional social networking site) and the “UF Department of Urban & Regional Planning Alumni and Friends” group on Facebook (the social networking site). The groups are a way for you to stay connected with friends and colleagues, and keep up to date with happenings in the Department. We look forward to your involvement in any capacity in our program.
Zhong-Ren Peng
Chair and Professor
