David Prytherch and Scott Johnston co-teach IES 474 “Sustainability in Practice” and involved students in preparing plans for pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle traffic in Richmond’s Depot District. Read more about it http://www.pal-item.com/article/20130430/NEWS01/304300023/City-officials-pleased-students-ideas?nclick_check=1
Ken Jennings comes to Miami University
April 16, 2013 By
Ken Jennings, Geography’s 2013 McConnell Lecturer, will be giving two talks on Monday, April 22, 2013. His first talk will be at 3:00 pm in 115 Shideler Hall titled ”Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks”. He will present “The Rewards of Geographic Curiosity” after a mock Jeopardy round with an undergraduate and graduate student at 7:30 pm in Hall Auditorium. His visit is also supported by the Campus Activities Council and VIP Board, the Graduate School, the Honors Program, and International Studies. If you are interested in playing against Ken Jennings, tryouts will be held at lunchtime on Friday, April 19th in Haines Food Court for undergraduates. Graduate students tryouts will take place at 4:00 on Friday, April 19 in 112 Shideler.Grad Student Receives Award at AAG annual meeting
April 16, 2013 By
M.A candidate, Peter Kamau’s poster presentation on ‘Anthropogenic fires, forest resources and local livelihoods in Chyulu Hills Kenya’ came third in a poster competition dubbed ‘Young Leaders Mapping Sustainable Development Challenges: My Community, Our Earth Beyond Rio +20’. 
Urban Planning Students present work at Dayton’s Urban Nights: Greening Dayton’s Vacant Lots
June 12, 2012 By
This past spring twenty-five undergraduates and graduate students in the Advanced Urban and Regional Planning course (GEO 459/559) worked in teams aimed at reimagining Dayton’s vacant lots and presented their work to the larger community on May 11 during Dayton’s annual Urban Nights.
Dayton, with its diverse, engaged community, provided an ideal setting to consider planning issues from the point of view of planners faced with a shrinking city. ‘Greening’ vacant lots became a project theme as students detailed possible alternatives, including community gardens and parks, boardwalks in a proposed wetland, neighborhood basketball court, mobile outdoor movies, and solar panels in a brownfield. Through these projects, they tangled with the challenges faced by urban planners and the residents of these neighborhoods.
Examples of proposed solutions included: wetlands restoration on a EPA Superfund Site, development of a community basketball court with tree buffer between properties, and lot revitalization with green uses in mind. Below are links to a few examples of posters:
Who takes this class? While many students enrolled in this class are Urban & Regional Planning majors, this spring we also had students majoring in American Studies, Finance, Political Science, English, Economics, Spanish and two graduate students in Environmental Science. It is a terrific opportunity to work on the ground and learn from practitioners in the field.
Many thanks to practitioners who helped guide us. Tony Kroeger, Planner in the Department of Planning and Community Development for the City of Dayton and Miami alumnae, was our planning mentor who met with our students in Oxford and answered questions by email. We were also fortunate to have Professor Mary Rogero (Department of Architecture), Liz Nahrup, and Ashley Shavers help the teams evaluate possible reuses of the vacant lots. Additionally, we are grateful to Randy Harmon, owner of a local demolition business; Luci Beachdell, Five River Metro Parks; Suzanne Mills-Wazniak, OSU Extension; and the residents of Dayton’s neighborhoods who patiently answered questions and offered advice. Also, thanks to Mary Rogero for providing space for our exhibit during Urban Nights. Thanks!
Questions? Please contact the instructor – Jacqueline Housel at houselja@muohio.edu
Professor Rogero and Scott Belsky, Urban & Regional Planning Major, considering alternatives
Tony Kroeger answering questions about Dayton's Gold & Green Strategy
