#BUCPUA Professor reveals how to land the best job ever
On September 29, more than 250 policymakers and job seekers gathered at the 8th Annual Massachusetts Green Careers Conference, held at the DCU Center in Worcester. BU City Planning and Urban Affairs (BUCPUA) Adjunct Faculty Professor Eugene Benson, JD addressed the entire crowd and also led a smaller breakout session. Benson compelled the audience to pursue the best job ever – municipal conservation agent.
Passionate degree candidates in the #BUCPUA Program assess the social contexts and economic structures that influence the management of fragile open spaces, such as wetlands. The #BUCPUA Program provides students with high-demand tools and pertinent skills to excel as environmental planners. Relevant course offerings include UA 521 Environmental Law, UA 617 Applied Sustainability, UA 654 Geographic Information Systems for Planners, and UA 629 Urbanization and the Environment. Students can complement their Master of City Planning or Master of Urban Affairs degree with a Certificate of Applied Sustainability.
Aside from teaching law to #BUCPUA students, Benson is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Conversation Commissions (MACC). MACC’s tenants include advocacy, education, and conservation, and the state leader in providing education and training to more than 2,500 conservation commissioners. Benson urged participants to fully grasp the wetlands crisis in the United States, as half the country’s wetlands have disappeared since settlement by Europeans. This loss of wetlands has exacerbated flood conditions, particularly in states like Iowa, which has lost 80 percent of its wetlands. Wetlands perform invaluable functions by buffering floodwaters, capturing carbon, and providing habitats that sustain biodiversity.
As municipal conservation agents, citizens have a direct stake over the protection and management of these vital, yet vulnerable, areas that envelop land, water, and biological resources. Conservation agents are full-time positions that support and guide all-volunteer municipal conservation commissions. On average, volunteer conservation commissions experience a 10 percent annual turnover, which underscores the value of a municipal conservation agent who can create a stable foundation for long-term planning and land management.
At the state level, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Massachusetts Regional Planning Agencies also offer full-time positions that directly influence the protection of open spaces. Qualifications required for state or municipal conservation agent positions include a thorough understanding of environmental law and superb communication skills that conform when influencing different stakeholder groups. Organization skills, creativity, and flexibility also help conservation agents preserve open spaces against myriad external factors, including impacts of climate change and ongoing economic development.
Aside from teaching law in the #BUCPUA Program, Professor Benson also instructs courses at the BU School of Public Health.
BU’s TDM leader shares program and marketing techniques with #BUCPUA students
On June 23, Stacey King, a transportation demand manager at Boston University, visited BU City Planning and Urban Affairs (BUCPUA) students in Doug Johnson’s UA 510 Course, Transit-Oriented Development in the 21st Century. King presented the fundamentals of building and implementing transportation demand management (TDM) programs, including behavior change strategies, incentives, and marketing.
“Hearing from Stacey King was a great way to learn more about how we can apply the lessons we learn in the classroom into real-world practice. I think it’s very important to learn how to negotiate with organizations and institutions that have influence over their employee or members’ mobility behavior. Stacey really outlined for us how we can move forward in nudging people’s transportation choices by disseminating the right information and making it easier to shift from a car to public transit or to biking,” shared Patricia Cahill (MET’18), a candidate in the master of city planning program.
King underscored how TDM aims to help people save time and money when commuting, especially through creative multi-mode transit plans and subsidy opportunities. However, these goals cannot be reached without an aggressive community-based social marketing strategy. King used the transtheoretical model to demonstrate the psychological stages of behavior change. For example, identifying a driver’s stage within this model not only shapes King’s encouragement tactics, but it also helps lower barriers for other transit modes, such as biking, public transit, or rideshare.
“It’s critical that we link commutes to personal happiness. Societal benefits increase when more people have efficient access to jobs and connections to the greater community. Ideal TDM delivers a reduced need to build and maintain infrastructure while simultaneously improving air quality,” King explained.
Throughout her career, King has implemented and managed several TDM programs. As the former CommuteWorks Coordinator at the Medical Academic Scientific Community Organization (MASCO), King steered programs such as the Longwood Area Cycling Summit and CommuteSwap. Here at Boston University, King has been instrumental in developing incentives and subsidies for both employees and students. Commute Better Together and the Hubway Bicycle Share Corporate Membership programs are designed to reward and reinforce sustainable behavior.
“At Boston University, it’s important to break down silos so that different departments can work together to enhance the feasibility of sustainable transportation. For instance, partnerships with BU FitRec, sustainability@BU, and BU Human Resource Health and Wellness can accelerate the integration of TDM programs for employees and students,” shared King.
King received her graduate certificate in environmental management from the University of Maryland University College. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Management from Southern Cross University.
- Courtney Thraen (MET'17)
Data analyst from Boston Cyclists Union offers strategy to better assess transit equity
On June 21, Raphael Dumas, a Mapping and Data Analyst at the Boston Cyclists Union, visited BU City Planning and Urban Affairs (BUCPUA) students in Doug Johnson’s UA 510 Course, Transit-Oriented Development in the 21st Century. Dumas provided research insights from his master’s thesis on analyzing transit equity using automatically collected data.
“We hear a lot of complaints about the MBTA system in how it functions, its reliability, and its constant issues with consistent service. However, what we don't hear as much about is the spatial mismatch created by areas that are not well serviced by the MBTA, leaving several neighborhoods around Boston with an immense challenge of getting access to employment opportunities. In his thesis, Raphael was able to investigate these issues more closely and walk us through a rational approach to understanding how and why they happen, and how we as planners should be addressing policy and research implications for the future of these areas so that they can receive better access to transit and job opportunities,” shared Jeannine Stover (MET’16), a master of city planning candidate.
Throughout his lecture, Dumas chronicled legal mechanisms aimed to reinforce transportation equity, such as the Urban Mass Transportation Assistance Act of 1970 and the Federal Transit Act of 1998 (Title III of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21)). In 1994, President Clinton signed executive order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations”.
Support from these legal acts, however, did not diminish the prevalence of automobile-dependent, low-income areas, where sorely needed public transit is not accessible. As land values around transit-oriented areas increase, more residents are displaced or willingly move due to increased cost burdens. Additionally, each time public transit fares are increased, the Federal Transportation Administration must determine if there are disparate impacts upon race and disproportionate burdens upon income.
“Each passenger should be the unit of analysis that is measured to determine if public transit is actually achieving its equity and efficiency objectives,” shared Dumas. Using blocks or neighborhoods as the unit of measurement for equity analysis assumes the neighborhood or block populations are homogeneous, which is not often the case in Boston.
Dumas asserted that automatically collected data from Charlie Cards, including ID numbers, time stamps, and fare box IDs, can help researchers understand passengers’ journey preferences and modes. By applying if-then heuristics, researchers can infer journey patterns, such as overall travel times, number of travel segments, and identify peak density times at well-frequented MBTA stations.
Dumas also stressed maintaining free transfers, especially as policymakers consider implementing transfer fees. Furthermore, he proffered that creating a light rail line along the MBTA Fairmont Commuter Rail branch could help alleviate spatial mismatch for nearby low-income residents. In 1987, the Elevated Orange Line was removed, but a better or equal public transit solution has yet to be fully realized for many of these residents.
In 2015, Dumas received his Master in City Planning and Master of Science in Transportation from the Massachusetts Institute for Technology. Dumas also holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from McGill University. He previously served as a graduate teaching assistant at MIT and research assistant for the MIT Transit Research Group and Laboratório de Transporte de Cargo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Courtney Thraen (MET'17)
#BUCPUA students hit the streets, analyze MBTA station areas
On June 14, #BUCPUA students spent a gorgeous evening strolling around the Andrew Square and Davis Square MBTA stations. Through qualitative observations, students compared how well these contrasting areas deliver ideal outcomes of a transit-oriented development.
Doug Johnson’s UA 510 course, Special Topics: Transit-Oriented Development in the 21st Century, provides students the tools to complete a transit station area analysis. Each student has chosen an MBTA light-rail station to evaluate, considering how the specific design elements support location efficiency and placemaking, especially for multi-mode transit. In two weeks, students will present findings and recommendations to transform an MBTA station area into an ideal transit-oriented development.
“I think it is important to take students outside of the classroom. Seeing what we have learned in action in the real world creates a much better understanding of the topics we are studying in our textbooks and in the classroom. The site visit that we took for UA 510 to Andrew Square and Davis Square really showed me the "before and after" of the transit-oriented development projects that we are studying in class,” shared Nicole Rothenburg (GRS’17).
At Andrew Square, students noted the area’s character, including the troublesome design of nearby intersections, uneven sidewalks that are not ADA-compliant, and the contrasting mix of residential, commercial, and industrial spaces. While at Davis Square, students admired the plethora of restaurants and pleasant atmosphere that accommodates walking and biking. Even so, students noticed a few poorly designed intersections and absence of some needed crosswalks. After the tour, students reflected on the transit patterns of walkers, bikers, buses, and motorists, and how people actually use the areas surrounding these transit stations. Considerations also included the ongoing need for mixed-use spaces and the implications from demanding the highest and best use of these dense, urban parcels.
- Courtney Thraen (MET'17)
Innovator and activist motivates #BUCPUA students to cultivate spatial justice
On June 13, Kenneth Bailey, co-founder and principal sector strategy for the Design Studio for Social Intervention, visited Ayako Maruyama’s UA 580 course, The Boston Experience: The Role of Architecture in Creating a Sense of Place. Bailey emphasized the merits of spatial justice upon the students, charging them to help reclaim everyone’s right to be, thrive, express, and connect.
“I really have a new perspective on how to look at physical characteristics and the use of space as it relates to social justice and equality. Kenneth’s discussion added another school of thought. I think as a planner we need to consider the impact of the use of space. Whose rights are being affected, and are there any injustices that may hinder other people’s rights?” questioned Vincent Lai (MET’18).
“As I travel through Boston, I think about the rights Kenneth talked about, and I look at how the use of space is being utilized. It’s definitely a lot to think about,” shared Lai.
Bailey has spent his career as an activist, consultant, and trainer, cultivating better community and organizational development in a variety of venues and municipalities. He has campaigned for better tenants’ rights and decent housing with the St. Louis Housing Authority and also worked for COOL, a national campus-based student organization. In Boston, he has worked for the Ten Point Coalition, Interaction Institute for Social Change, and Third Sector New England, along with serving on the Board for Resource Generation.
MArch Researcher shares lessons from Tunisia, examines the physicality of citizenship
On June 8, Austin Blanks, a MArch researcher and architect at Boyes-Watson Architects, visited Ayako Maruyama’s UA 580 course, The Boston Experience: The Role of Architecture in Creating a Sense of Place. Blanks shared how his experiences in Tunisia illuminated the different ways people use public spaces to reinforce their political domain, ideologies, and sense of place.
"I am grateful for Austin Blanks, a practicing architect, who brought an immense wealth of knowledge and fresh perspective to our topic of the week, the Role of Economics and Politics in the Built Environment. His lecture punctuated our course at a time after we walked through Boston's rich Chinatown neighborhood that is undergoing character changes in land use, and preceded our session on Spatial Justice. His lecture was rich with research insights and his original film photo documentation, sharing with us a rich visual narrative that refreshingly pulled us out of the United States for a moment. We were able to learn through his analysis of the Medina of Tunis and its relation to the rest of the city form. Students were able to experience an international example that is complicated by modern values structures within more matured urban infrastructure," said faculty member, Ayako Maruyama (MET '13).
After winning a Graduate Studies Travel Grant from the Rhode Island School of Design, Blanks traveled to Tunis, Tunisia to research the impacts of the Jasmine Revolution, which was the first revolt of the Arab Spring. Impacts from the Jasmine Revolution were witnessed through social interaction in public spaces, and Blanks began studying the implications of this upon design and planning.
“Austin delivered a lecture describing how territory was claimed in Tunis after the Jasmine Revolution. He considers that symbols and states are methods to dominate space. He said that not only features, but also activities in certain areas, could claim territory. This idea suggests that changing the way people use space could be a another means to dominate space,” said Yunwen Ou (MET’17), a master of city planning candidate.
Blanks discussed several topics stemming from his direct observations in Tunis, including how emergent structures in the public sphere were used to show territorial domain after the Jasmine Revolution. Not only did Blanks unpack the geometry of protest happening here, but he also questioned where and how the right to physical expression was upheld. For Blanks, the aftermath of the Jasmine Revolution forced him to re-evaluate how public spaces were being used by citizens to reflect their ideologies and territorial domain.
“It is very interesting to know about the role of political buildings in Tunis and how architecture elements, such as different types of paver and the Dual Wall, have helped contribute to a sense of place,” said Min Pu (MET’17), a master of city planning candidate.
Blanks holds of Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas Austin. He earned a master of architecture from both The Rhode Island School of Design and Boston Architectural College. Although Blanks is based out of Providence, he travels globally to study architecture in urban settings.
Transit expert underscores last-mile transit connections with #BUCPUA students
On June 7, Ari Ofsevit, the former Program and Communications Coordinator for the Charles River Transportation Management Association, visited BU City Planning and Urban Affairs (BUCPUA) students in Doug Johnson’s UA 510 Course, Transit-Oriented Development in the 21st Century. Ofsevit provided an intriguing glimpse into the challenges and trends affecting transportation demand management in the Greater Boston Area.
“The most interesting thing Ari touched upon was the importance for the City of Boston to encourage transit system ridership through push and pull factors. Decreased driving can be accomplished through push factors such as limiting the number of parking spaces and increasing parking costs, while pull factors toward public transit include improving the convenience and reliability of our public transit choices,” shared undergraduate student Julia Shaw (CAS’18).
During Ofsevit’s lecture, he prodded students’ knowledge of local, regional, and global transportation trends and solutions.Through illustrative maps and info graphics, Ofsevit compared public transit strategies in cities such as Calgary, Vancouver, Waltham, Dedham, Lexington, and Boston.
Previously, Ofsevit helped manage the Charles River TMA shuttle, EZRide. EZRide was launched in 2002 to pull demand off core transit hubs in Kendall Square, East Cambridge, MIT, and Cambridgeport. EZRide provides one-seat rides between worksites and North Station, Lechmere, and Kendall Square MBTA stations. EZRide, which is free to member affiliates and all members of the MIT community, continues to fulfill crucial last-mile connections for commuters and residents of the Greater Boston Area.
“To justify spending money on big changes, it is essential to first show that little changes can work,” explained Ofsevit. “Transit experts should first identify and then leverage instances of excess capacity among different modes of public transit.”
Following Ofsevit’s lecture, Julia Shaw shared, “Boston really needs to take responsibility for improving the City’s transit instead of simply creating further policies and barriers that limit and restrict its transportation options.”
Ofsevit received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Urban Studies from Macalester College. His numerous accolades include winning the MassDOT Late Night Data Challenge, Hubway Data Challenge for Best Data Visualization, and StreetTalk: Quantitative Measurement of Infrastructure Changes to Longfellow Bridge, among others. Ofsevit can be followed on his blog, The Amateur Planner, and on Twitter @ofsevit.
- Courtney Thraen (MET'17)
#BUCPUA students engage public leaders on BU Bridge replacement
On June 2, students in Urban Affairs course 510, Special Topics: Transit-Oriented Development in the 21st Century, attended the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) meeting on the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge (BU Bridge) Replacement project. Adjunct faculty member Doug Johnson (MET'15), a community organizer for the Boston Cyclists Union, encouraged his students to observe the traffic design elements and participate in the community discussion.
“It’s great to attend public meetings, even if it is on our own evening free time. As future planners, we need to recognize the difference in opinions from various stakeholders. Understanding and learning new concerns will broaden our knowledge and horizon on different aspects of planning. These lessons can be incorporated into our designs and plans for later on,” shared Raymond Teoh (MET’17), a candidate in the Master of City Planning program.
The BU Bridge will be renovated for approximately two weeks each during the summers of 2017 and 2018 using the Accelerated Bridge Construction techniques. Although portions of Commonwealth Avenue will be closed to vehicles during the construction period, bus service, emergency vehicles, bikers, and walkers will continue regular transits along Commonwealth Avenue. Not only will the BU Bridge be replaced, but of equal importance, intersection traffic patterns adjacent to the BU Bridge and Commonwealth Avenue will be redesigned to ideally support safer, more efficient pedestrian, biking, and public transit modes.
As Shawn Bailey (MET '16) explained, "I believe it is important for planning students to attend public meetings because we will gain a better understanding of how they function and will learn about an ongoing project that involves our community. We can ask any questions we may have regarding the project and can address any issues or comments that may arise during the presentation. Public input is a major part of urban planning and the more public meetings we attend, the better we will be as planners when we participate in public meetings for our jobs."
More than 65 people attended the meeting, including representatives from various biking and walking advocacy groups, such as LiveableStreets Alliance and WalkBoston. Questions fielded centered on the new traffic design patterns affecting vehicles, transit buses, pedestrians, bikers, and the MBTA Green Line. Will people have more time to cross Commonwealth Avenue on foot? Will cyclists receive improved lane design and signal priority over cars?
Bailey, who is slated to receive his Master of City Planning degree this August, continued, "Most of the visuals that were in the presentation are not on MassDOTs' website for the project. Being present at the meeting to see the updated designs and clips of the construction phases was definitely beneficial in understanding the construction process of the project. The website also does not discuss how each side of Comm Ave will function while the other side is under construction; attending the meeting cleared up that potential confusion. Finally, knowing where to go during the construction is also a crucial piece of information that commuters will need to know; they had detour maps on the pamphlet and in the presentation as to where cars and trucks will go during the three-to-four week construction process of the 2017 and 2018 summers."
“As a student, sometimes it can be intimidating to ask questions in a room full of seasoned planning professionals. However, I asked the MassDOT representatives about the online availability of the project’s environmental impact statement and traffic management study. The project leaders stated they would contact me individually about these report requests. So, I felt really good about bringing this question to their attention, as others may have been wondering the same thing,” said Courtney Thraen (MET’17), a candidate in the Master of City Planning program.
- Courtney Thraen (MET'17)
#BUCPUA students access leaders at sustainability of the built environment lecture
On June 1, Master of City Planning candidates Luis Quintanilla and Monique Yaptenco attended Paul Hawken’s lecture on sustainability of the built environment. This event was co-hosted by the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) and the American Institute of Architects New England Committee on the Environment. Following the lecture, both Quintanilla and Yaptenco participated in a reception consisting of public and private leaders in the fields of architecture, design, development, planning, and engineering.
“These types of events are definitely a great opportunity to build relationships and strengthen your professional skills as planner, because you can get to know people from different working fields and listen what they are doing in their organizations to improve their communities and cities. We had the opportunity to meet personally with the event's main speaker, Paul Hawken, to exchange very interesting experiences and enriching points of view,” said Quintanilla after the event.
Hawken is a renowned environmentalist, author, and advocate whose conversation addressed how stakeholders such as engineers, builders, developers, and owners can meet the imperatives of the built environment.
“According to Paul Hawken, the impact of a wide span of suggested solutions to turn around climate change is ambiguous and not measured in a quantifiable and precise way. The value added in Hawken's initiative, Project Drawdown, is to do the math and provide a list of 100 realistic solutions that can effectively reduce carbon emissions and actually reverse global warming if implemented promptly and collectively. An important aspect of Project Drawdown's strategy is that its proposed solutions are available and ready to launch today, meaning they do not depend on futuristic technologies,” shared Quintinalla, who was highly engaged throughout the event.
"A couple of takeaways from the lecture are that we must use all of our influence as leaders and activists - at the community, city, state, or national level - to deliver the message about achieving sustainability, and that climate change is not happening "to" our generation but "for" our generation. We should not blame each other; this is the reason why we are here, and this is part of our mission now as human beings. We are not here to be weak or hopeful but to be fearless and decisive in order to take action toward enhancing our planet. So let's go!” Quintanilla emphatically proclaimed.
For more information:
Project Drawdown: http://www.drawdown.org/
#BUCPUA Urban Planning Association
- Courtney Thraen (MET'17)
#BUCPUA hosts inspirational speaker on landscape architecture
At #BUCPUA, the month of June kicked off with an inspiring visit from Cheri Ruane, whose passion for landscape architecture was conveyed in her lecture, “Cases and Elements of Landscape Architecture in Practice: From Complete Streets to Historic and Cultural Preservation”. Ruane is President of the Boston Society of Landscape Architects and Vice President of Spurr | Weston & Sampson's design studio.
Adjunct faculty member Ayako Maruyama (MET’13) invited Ruane to the Urban Affairs 580 course, The Boston Experience: Role of Architecture in Creating Sense of Place. Maruyama holds a Master of City Planning degree and is the creativity lab design lead at the Design Studio for Social Intervention in Roxbury.
"Cheri Ruane has been so generous in sharing the complexity of projects she has worked on with honesty, humility and humor! I am grateful to be able to collaborate with her again and bring her brilliance and energy into the room. She comes at time when students of this course are opening their senses to how architectural elements affect their experiences and as they begin deeper analyses of their surrounding built environment," shared Maruyama.
“Whatever we design, we are designing it for people,” said Ruane. This statement resonated with Xueer Liu (MET’17), a student of Maruyama and candidate in the Master of City Planning program.
A graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Ruane has been awarded numerous accolades, including awards from the American Planning Association and Boston Society of Landscape Architects for her work on parks, open space designs, master plans, and a river walk.
“Cheri Ruane shared an honest and passionate perspective of her experience as a landscape architect, letting us in on her "secret" that you don't have to be perfect (and admitting that is fine). The best approach to any design or planning strategy is to be iterative and inclusive of all in order to form a shared vision,” Jeannine Stover (MET’16) shared.
“I think that we as planners or members of our own communities don't have to accept what exists. She very thoughtfully explained that many people feel that they have to accept a space for what it is, simply because that is the way it has always existed. If something doesn't work, change it so that it does, and for the best benefit of everyone.” Stover is a candidate in the Master of City Planning program, and she now contemplates a profession in landscape architecture.
Guest lectures in BU Urban Affairs courses are now open to all friends of the Boston University City Planning and Urban Affairs program; enrollment in the host course is not a requirement for attendance. These lectures are advertised on the #BUCPUA Urban Planning Association Facebook page and Program website. Opportunities to engage with field professionals are highly valuable for either full-time students or mid-career professionals eager to join city planning and landscape architecture professionals in the Greater Boston area.
- Courtney Thraen (MET'17)
BU City Planning and Urban Affairs Program applauds new graduates
On May 14, 2016, Boston University Metropolitan College awarded degrees to 10 students in the BUCPUA program. These new graduates included four Masters of Urban Affairs, five Masters of City Planning, and one Bachelor of Science in Urban Affairs. Lauren Masiar, Master of City Planning, received the 2016 Award for Excellence in Graduate Study.
BUCPUA Degree Recipients
- James Belmore, Master of Urban Affairs
- Megan Doiron, Master of City Planning
- Donald Fonseca, Bachelor of Science in Urban Affairs
- Roland Fonseca, Master of Urban Affairs
- Ariam Ford, Master of City Planning
- Charlotte Hodges, Master of Urban Affairs
- Lauren Masiar, Master of City Planning
- Stephen Monstur, Master of Urban Affairs
- Pinshu Qiu, Master of City Planning
- Changwei Tang, Master of City Planning
- Courtney Thraen (MET'17)