News

Fall 2023: Designing and Operating a Bus System for the Future Event

Co-hosted by Boston University’s Initiative on Cities and BU CPUA program

Date & Location: Thursday, December 7, 2023

Speakers:

  • Andrew McFarland, MBTA Project Manager, Transit Priority
  • Olivia Mobayed, MBTA Project Manager, Bus Transformation

 

Fall 2023 Careers in Transportation Event

Co-hosted by Boston University’s Initiative on Cities and BU CPUA program

Date & Location: Thursday, November 16, 2023

Speakers and moderator:

  • State level: MassDOT: Patricia Cahill, Office of Transportation Planning Transit Division
  • Transit agency: MBTA: Lynsey Heffernan, Assistant General Manager for Policy and Strategic Planning
  • City level: City of Boston: Vineet Gupta, Director of Policy and Planning
  • Metropolitan/Regional level: Tegin Teich, Executive Director, Central Transportation Planning Staff (Boston MPO)
  • Consulting: HNTB: Andrew Brennan, Vice President, Sustainability and Resiliency
  • Moderator: Rob DiAdamo, BU School of Law Lecturer and Senior Director, Advisory Services

Livable Streets in Oslo, Norway Event

The City of Oslo is a world leader in developing and implementing sustainability and livability measures through the promotion of sustainable transport, the development of green spaces, and shifts in its energy use. For this event, co-sponsored by CPUA and BU’s Initiative on Cities, hear from Victoria Farr, a BU graduate who works as a mobility planner at the Agency for Urban Environment in Oslo on her efforts to make the city a more sustainable place to live, work and play. Victoria will give a brief presentation of Oslo initiatives and then will engage in a robust question and answer period with members of the BU community.

 

UA 805 Capstone Course/Malden’s Maplewood Square Project

Our Capstone course students took on an experiential project with the city of Malden, Massachusetts in the Spring of 2023. Watch the video to see how they researched the project, met with community members and put the various elements together to make recommendations to the city on how to improve Maplewood Square for the city of Malden as well as its visitors and residents.

CPUA Instructor Appointed to MA Governor’s Administration Role

Sarah Stanton, a CPUA instructor for our UA 509 Public Finance and Urban Infrastructure course, was recently appointed to the role of Undersecretary of Economic Strategies for the state of Massachusetts! Read the details on the MET College website and the MA Governor’s website.

2023 City Planning and Urban Affairs Graduates

Congratulations to our 2023 graduates! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. We are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished!

January 2023

Mary Bertrand, MUA

Corey Coleman, MUA

Chelsea Farinacci, MCP

Peixuan Guo, MCP

Xiaohui Li, MCP

Yerlan Ordabek, MCP

Xuanchang Zhang, MCP

May 2023

Harry Falconer, MCP

Cathy Fletcher, MCP

Jinwon Jeon, MUA

Tyler Joachim, MUA

Zachary Jones, MCP

Lauren Keisling, MUA

April Lee, MUA

Brandon Lehman, MCP

Daniel Milbrandt, MCP

Colleen Mullaney, MUA

Jay Patel, MCP

Raven Richelieu, MUA

Esther Yoon, MUA

Junshan Zhao, MCP

August 2023

Mesale Gessesse, MUA

Mollie Hutchings, MCP

Jacob Lacey, MCP

Alejandro Lopez, MUA

Caleb Plummer, MCP

Samuel Rosenberg, MCP

Lina Tramelli, MCP

Amanda Wolfe, MCP

Taylor Zorski, MCP


Boston University’s MET College Sponsors Annual Planning Lecture Series

The Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association (MassAPA) in concert with Tufts University and other local universities hosted the inaugural Massachusetts Distinguished Planner Annual Lecture on March 29, 2023. This event will be a regular event to offer a unique educational experience to planning students in the Commonwealth. Boston University’s MET College was a sponsor for this event.

After a long career, most planners have a lot to say to the next generation and this lecture series was launched to provide a forum for one planner in the state per year to reflect on their practice and speak about their experience in the profession. All Massachusetts planners and planning students were invited to attend the lecture. This year’s speaker, Peter C. Lowitt, FAICP, gave remarks that offered words-of-wisdom for emerging practitioners and reflections that even the most accomplished among us will be able to appreciate.

Annual Lecture Series flyer


CPUA Co-Sponsoring Event with BU’s Initiative on Cities

Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities as they host Rodrigo Lopes de Barros, BU Assistant Professor of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies, who will discuss his new book Distortion and Subversion: Punk Rock Music and the Protests for Free Public Transportation in Brazil (1996-2011).

The book details how the Brazilian punk and hardcore music scene joined forces with political militants to foster a new social movement that demanded the universal right to free public transportation. These groups collaborated in numerous venues and media: music shows, protests, festivals, conferences, radio stations, posters, albums, slogans, and digital and printed publications. Throughout this time, the single demand for free public transportation reconceptualized notions of urban space in Brazil and led masses of people across the country to protest.

Co-sponsored by the BU Department of Romance Studies, Department of Political Science, City Planning & Urban Affairs Program, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for the Humanities, and Center for Innovation in Social Science.

Registration: https://www.bu.edu/ioc/2022/10/17/punk-rock-music-and-the-protests-for-free-public-transportation-in-brazil-1996-2011/


2022 City Planning and Urban Affairs Graduates

Congratulations to our 2022 graduates! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. We are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished!

January 2022

James C. Davis, MUA

Albert Englehart, MUA

Jason Nelson, MCP

Zhe Sun, MCP

Shenghui Zhong, MCP

 

May 2022

Josefa Arriagada Saieh, MCP

Stacy Carter, MUA

Emmalin Coates, MUA

Julia Garvey, MUA

Matthew Giordano, MCP

Pablo Jiminez, MUA

Emily Johnston, MCP

Najee Nunnally, MCP

Nicole Sancilio, MUA

Erin Stevens, MCP

Holly Winkelhake, MUA

Michelle Yee, MUA

 

August 2022

Luz Arregoces, MCP

Gineth Pineda, MCP

Jingyi Shi, MCP

Michael Sinclair, MCP

Ashiyana Swar, MUA

 


2022 MET College/CPUA Excellence in Graduate Studies Awards

Master of Urban Affairs- Nicole Sancilio

In the Master of Urban Affairs program, Nicole discovered a passion for disability justice and building universal design principles into urban planning, as well as an affinity for public art. She has also tied her current work in education to her studies of planning, realizing the value of youth representation in the planning process. In addition, her work on the voluntary student-led Urban Planning Association’s board demonstrates her commitment to this field and the communities of people she works within.

After graduating, Nicole hopes to work for a community development agency and advocate for youth and disability inclusion.

 

Master of City Planning- Josefa Arriagada Saieh

Josefa’s academic performance has showcased her interest in problem-solving within the urban design field with the goal of improving the lives of people. Examples she has focused on are better travel times and increased efficiency in day-to-day tasks. She was a Teaching Assistant in the UA654 course (GIS and Spatial Analysis course) during the Spring 2022 semester.

Josefa has also served on the student-led Urban Planning Association’s board and has been an integral part of that organization’s work. Eventually, Josefa would like to pursue getting a Ph.D. so that she can teach future students in the city planning field.

 


Spring 2022 Capstone Class (UA 805)

Capstone Course Project Video

15 minute neighborhood pilot plan