Events & Resources
Events for Urban Affairs and City Planning
Innovation Seminars: Presentations
On February 27th, 2013, Boston University Metropolitan College was proud to host the Innovation Semiars presented by the German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. based in New York (GACCNY). Feel free to view the presentation slides from each of the three speakers on the links below and we hope you join us at future events!
Andreas Wagner, Professor at
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
Slides: Energy Efficiency on an Urban Scale
Jörg Gäbler, Managing Director at
Wagner & Co Solar Technology
Slides: Community Solar as an Integrated Building System
Rober Matthew Noblett, Partner at
Behnisch Architekten
Slides: Sustainable Urban Design and Planning Projects
MEGAPROJECTS : The Edge Series
In Fall 2012, the Graduate Programs in City Planning and Urban Affairs presented to graduate students, faculty and the broader BU community a set of lectures and panels on the social, economic and environmental relevance of megaprojects. Particular attention was given to the intersection of large-scale infrastructural development with issues of governance, land use regulation, social equity, and finance. Click here for more details on the event flier.
The 2012 Boston Urban Symposium: Planning for Opportunity: Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation & "Sustainable Metroscape"
The 2012 Boston Symposium focuses on the intersection of community development, sustainable urban agriculture, urban entrepreneurship, land use, civic engagement, and fundraising. As an outgrowth of a larger B.U. Sustainable Neighborhood Laboratory initiative to strengthen university relationships with community organizations and neighborhoods, Symposium students will act as consultants to the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC), a highly regarded, established and effective community development corporation within the City of Boston. Click here for the course syllabus
The 2011 Boston Urban Symposium Disasters: Cities and Planning in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina and Haiti
The theme of the 2011 Symposium was "Disasters: Cities and Planning in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina and Haiti", an in-depth and pro-active exploration into the issues, challenges and opportunities generated by extreme natural occurrences and the social relationships that generate human vulnerability.
This capstone course featured five weekly panels of experts chosen by students based on their semester-long research topic. The research projects and weekly topics ranged from information technology and disaster response to housing and the management of displaced populations. Click here for the course syllabus
The Five Panels of Experts that constituted the core of the 2011 Symposium included:
First Panel: Are Universities Prepared?
- June Kevorkian, Director of Program and Administration at the Boston Consortium for Higher Education
- Steve Morash, Director of Emergency Response Planning, Boston University
- Donald Zizzi, Adjunct Professor of Regional and Urban Economics, Boston University and Senior Research Associate, University of Massachusetts at Lowell
Second Panel: Getting Out Before the Big One Hits: An Assessment of Communication Within the Evacuation Route Planning Process
- Jane Teehan, Response & Recovery & Intergovernmental Relations - FEMA Region 1 (New England)
Third Panel: Shaping the Disaster Agenda: The Role of the Media in Post Disaster Response and Recovery
- Ivy Frances, Chief, Floodplain Management and Insurance Branch, FEMA Region 1
- Lauren Pawlik, Flood Insurance Specialist, FEMA Region 1
- Elizabeth Mehren, Professor in Journalism, BU College of Communication , co-organizer of 14 April 2011 Conference,When Disaster Strikes:Reporting and Responding
- Ashley Torrence, Scholar in Residence, Communications Studies, Emerson College
Fourth Panel: Breaking the [Crisis] Code: Communication Technology as a First Responder
- Murray Turoff, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Joe Heck, Communications Lead at the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay
- Adam White, co-founder and Development Director of Groupshot: Technology for Informality
- John Crowley, Research Coordinator at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
Fifth Panel: Access to Recovery: Planning for Internally Displaced Persons in the U.S.A
- Claire B. Rubin, President of Claire B. Rubin & Associates, a disaster research and consulting firm
- Luis Matnog Associate Director of Planning and Preparedness for the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts
- Larissa Brown, PhD. Director of Community Planning at Goody Clancy, the firm leading the New Orleans Master Plan and Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance consultant team
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Final Student Presentations
For more details on the 2011 Symposium Click here
Events Outside BU
Meet Massachusetts Winter 2012: A Networking Event for Planning and Design Professionals
Wednesday March 7th 5:30--7:30
At Ned Devines Restaurant Historic Faneuil Hall, 1 Faneuil Hall Market Place Boston, MA 02109
Designing Healthy Communities: Zoning Reform to Inspire Healthy Living
Monday, March 12th at 1:00 PM
State House Room 437
The Act FRESH campaign, together with Partners HealthCare and the Massachusetts Public Health Association, will be hosting an event at the state house on March 12th at 1pm to highlight the important relationship between public health and land use. Local zoning codes are the DNA of communities. That is why zoning reform legislation is a primary public health concern in Massachusetts, where the vast majority of these codes have not been updated in generations. Click here for more details
MAPC Panel Discussion on Transportation and the Economy
Join MAPC on March 13 for a discussion on the crucial role that transportation plays in the economic development of Greater Boston. Click here for more details
Upcoming Boston 101 Events
Each semester the Rappaport Institute sponsors an informal series of discussions about the people, institutions, and customs that make Greater Boston what it is. The series brings in notable figures from a variety of fields. These events are open to everyone, including scholars, students, policymakers, and citizen groups. For information on upcoming events Click here
Boston Network for International Development
Upcoming Events: For details please visit BNID's Events page
BU MCP/MUA working with Haiti
for details, click on the following links:
BU Today: "Students Help Produce Maps of Devastated Areas for Relief and Rebuilding"
BU Today: "Haiti Leaders, BU Team Share Long-Term Goals"
WBUR: "BU Team In Haiti Works To Transform As They Rebuild"
BU Today: "Ground Up, Rethinking Haiti"
Pardee Center: "Experts Discuss Future Challenges in Dealing with Disasters"
Boston Globe: "Fatal Magnetism of the City"
