Ideas and submissions for this newsletter can be sent to Tara Heidger.

The Urban Planning department is creating a final semester newsletter which will be sent to students, faculty, staff and alumni. We are currently looking for submissions from current students and faculty. Submissions can be just a short paragraph about your experiences in the program, UP topics of interest, current research or anything you think would be of interest to the larger Columbia GSAPP UP community. Submission or questions can be directed here.

Pecha Kucha Night and Holiday Party!

This year, urban planning program council would like to invite you all to our annual Pecha Kucha night and holiday party on December 9th from 6:00-8:30pm at 200S Fayerweather. For those of you who aren’t familiar, a Pecha Kucha is a presentation form where each presenter has 20 images and 20 seconds per image for presenting. We look forward to showcasing our adjunct faculty and visiting professors’ phenomenal research and personal work to the UP community. Here’s a sneak peak into a few of our presenters…

Kian Tajbaksh
Nick Klein
Alejandro de Castro Mazarro

Hope to see you all there!

Where are you from?
Bahrain

What did you study for your undergraduate degree?
Urban Studies

Why did you choose Columbia?
I really like that there’s enough flexibility to incorporate whatever students are most interested within planning while in the program. Also being in New York City for two years is a huge plus.

Concentration?
My concentration is transportation, because it’s a really exciting field especially when thinking about how people are going to move around in the future and new innovations such as driverless vehicles or the hyperloop project.

What is your favorite part of living in NYC
It’s never the same day twice, and I love how a person can walk around everywhere.

Why is something you miss most about home?
Grandmother’s cooking

What is one of your pet peeves?
Talking while chewing

What is your favorite class so far and why? Introduction to Transportation - because professor Floyd Lapp is just as passionate about transportation issues as me, and its so interesting to learn from a practitioner who worked for so long in the transportation field.

What do you miss most about your country since moving to the US?
The warm weather during winter.

Where are you from?
Santiago, Chile

What did you study for your undergraduate degree?
Architecture

Why did you choose Columbia?
Besides being in NY and its excellent faculty, the possibility of combining the specific skills obtained through UP concentrations with a multidisciplinary approach, easily accessible in other schools within Columbia.

What is your concentration and Why?
Community and Economic development. It’s a fascinating field where socio-economic, government, and environmental policies interact to shape our build environment.

What is your favorite part about living in NYC?
The city itself is a museum of housing policies historically employed in US. Also the amazing access to first-level cultural events like the ones you find at Lincoln Center, MoMA, PS1, etc.

Why is something you miss most about home?
The food.

What is your biggest pet peeves?
Unpunctuality

Favorite class so far and why?
A combination of Moshe Adler’s and Lance Freeman’s classes. Both together provide a comprehensive understanding of how economic and social theories shape our cities.

What do you miss most about your country since moving to the US?
Its geography, mountains, and lakes.

Michelle Wilde Anderson’s lecture “When Government Dies” focused on a concern which now looms over much of this country: Can you (re-)build America’s post-industrial areas without government? Her talk, as well as the extended Q&A session that followed, explored themes ranging from blue collar re-investment to the post-automation economy, with a continuous focus on alleviating poverty and the role of local and state government investment in people and communities as well as built spaces. The build environment alone cannot save the world, according to Anderson. The effects of climate change on the shifting role of so-called “commuter” cities was also a major concern, and Anderson stressed the position that America’s urban cultural centers - and the states which support them - cannot survive unless second- and third-tier cities and communities thrive as well. Importantly, the role of wealthy urban areas, and state government actors to re-invest in the human capital in these smaller cities must be seriously examined and supported to ensure that these communities are not left behind as we move deeper into the 21st century. In Anderson’s own words, “Basic services should not be limited to a local government’s ability to pay for them.”

Submitted by: James Piacentini, First Year UP Student

Scholarships and Fellowships

• Taiwan - KU Leuven Scholarship Programme: Deadline Jan-15
  
• Chicago Mayor’s Office Fellowship Program: Deadline Dec-9
  
• Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship: Deadline Dec-30
  
• 2017 Hart Howerton Travel Fellowship Program available to first year students: Deadline Jan-27
  
• APA Scholarships

Internships

• BuroHappold Spring Internship
  
• Delos Research Internship
  
• Association of Neighborhood and Housing Development- multiple vacancies
• ULI Community Outreach Internship

Jobs

• Consultant -Urban Planning and Sustainable Economics with Hatch
  
• Temporary City Planning Technician- Waterfront and Open Space, NYC Planning Department
  
• NYC Transportation Planner with Sam Schwartz Engineers
• Director of Urban Design, Philadelphia, PA
• Market Analyst/Urban Planner, Boston, VA

Sunday, November 20th, 2pm
Manhattan’s Cutting Room (44 East 32nd Street)
BLDZR: The Gospel According to Robert Moses Holiday Matinee Performance More Info

Monday, November 21st, 12-2pm
200 S Fayerweather Hall
Studio Pitches for first year students

Thursday, December 1st
ATTN: Second Year UP Students- do not forget to apply for May 2017 graduation! More Info

Thursday, December 8, 2016, 8:30-10:30am
Columbia Project T-15, Open Symposium of Lower Manhattan, Lessons on Urban Rebuilding Post 9/11 More Info

Saturday, December 10th, 9:30am-6:30pm
Tower, Slab, Superblock: Social Housing Legacies and Futures - Presented by the Architectural League of New York More Info

Call for Submissions
Planning Forum, the Scholarly Journal of Community and Regional Planning at the University of Texas at Austin is inviting students in the planning community to submit their work. Deadline January 9, 2017