NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
04.06.2013 | Hunter MUP student to study pedestrian safety on Upper West Side
Jeffry Peel, a graduate student in Urban Planning at Hunter UAP, is spearheading a new study that will examine pedestrian safety in a fast-growing section of the Upper West Side. Jeff is a community board fellow, funded through a grant from the Fund for the City of New York, for Community Board 7 in Manhattan. The study will weigh data as well as public input on how to make the neighborhood friendlier to pedestrians, focusing on the area between 94th and 100th streets from Riverside Drive to Central Park West. Planning student Paul Lozito is also featured in photos accompanying the article. Read more about it here.
03.18.2013 | Hunter UAP alumna publishes article in The Cyprus Review
Thomael M. Joannidis, MSUA ’06, recently published an article, Identity in Conflict: An Exploration of Gender across Ethnicity in Cyprus, in The Cyprus Review. As detailed in the abstract, the protracted ethnic conflict in Cyprus has meant that life on the island is typically framed in terms of ethnicity, putting the main communities – Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot – before all other communities and identities, including gender. As society focuses on the conflict, social and human rights issues, such as the discrimination and abuses experienced by women are often viewed as being unique to their economic standing and not reflecting Cypriot society or gender and social dynamics. Through an analysis of interviews and observations, this article contributes to current scholarship by using a holistic approach and providing an opportunity to redefine notions of community in Cyprus.
Thomael graduated from Hunter with her MS in Urban Affairs in 2006. In 2009, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to research gender and ethnic identity in post-conflict Cyprus. She currently works at New York’s Office of Management and Budget analyzing the fiscal and policy impacts of city, state, and federal legislation on the City of New York.
03.11.2013 | Prof. Matt Lasner’s recent book featured in Los Angeles Times
A recent article in the LA Times, “Chronicling how U.S. condo ownership went through the roof,” praises UAP Professor Matthew Lasner’s book on multifamily housing, which describes how a complicated stew of social, economic and political factors led to the embrace of condominiums in the U.S.
03.04.2013 | Prof. Laxmi Ramasubramanian, AICP, appointed as committee member within the Transportation Research Board
UAP Professor Laxmi Ramasubramanian has been appointed as a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Visualization in Transportation. The TRB is a division of the National Research Council (NRC). The scope of the committee is to foster and disseminate collaborative exchange and research that enhances and promotes the usable knowledge and application of visualization methods and technologies for their potential in addressing critical transportation issues of today, as well as promoting innovative approaches to meet society’s transportation needs of the future.
03.02.2013 | Two UAP professors weigh in on Mayor Bloomberg’s urban planning record
Joe Viteritti, Thomas Hunter Professor of Public Policy and Chair of the Urban Affairs and Planning Department, and Mitch Korbey, adjunct instructor, are both quoted in Governing‘s recent article, Will the Next NYC Mayor Continue Bloomberg’s Urban Planning Legacy?
03.01.2013 | Hunter UAP student is finalist in Association of American Geographers “Mashup” competition
Aaron Fraint, a graduate student in Hunter’s Urban Planning program, has been selected as one of five finalists in the Association of American Geographers “Mashup” competition being put together in conjunction with San Diego State University. Aaron has been invited to the AAG annual meeting to present his project, “Subways in your Walkshed,” a GIS-based tool for New Yorkers to explore the subway options within their walkshed. After a period of public voting (as well as AAG panelist votes) they will announce a winner. More information regarding the public voting process coming soon! Meanwhile, check out Aaron’s competition entry and interactive map.
02.27.2013 | Hunter UAP alum Adolfo Carrion, Jr. enters NYC mayoral race
Adolfo Carrion, Jr., MUP ’89, has formally announced his candidacy for NYC’s upcoming mayoral race. Carrion previously served as the first director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs in the Obama administration, and as Bronx Borough President.
02.25.2013 | UAP Professor Peter Kwong quoted in several articles on Chinese-American politics and culture
Distinguished Professor Peter Kwong, who has written several books on Chinese Americans, was recently quoted in The New York Times and other publications on topics ranging from: the cultural implications of the “Miss Chinatown” pageant in 1960′s Philadelphia; complications surrounding John Liu’s mayoral hopes; alleged mortgage fraud by a bank primarily serving NYC’s Chinese immigrants; and the growing numbers of Chinese immigrants in East Harlem.
01.08.2013 | John Chin, UAP Professor and Director of Urban Planning program, interviewed on WFUV about health issues in NYC’s immigrant communities
George Bodarky of WFUV interviewed Hunter UAP Professor John Chin about his research on HIV/AIDS in Asian communities, particularly in NYC. WFUV’s Issues Tank Project explores health issues in NYC’s immigrant communities.The number of reported AIDS cases has declined among the white population in recent years, but research shows that it’s increased for Asian-Americans. You can listen to the clip here.
12.28.2012 | UAP Professor Matt Lasner’s new book on multifamily housing featured in several publications
Matt Lasner’s first book, High Life: Condo Living in the Suburban Century, has been featured recently in Atlantic Cities, Metropolis, and the Chicago Tribune.
12.21.2012 | WNYC series quotes Owen Gutfruend, UAP Professor and Director of Urban Affairs program, on public housing and growth of suburbia
Hunter UAP professor Owen Gutfreund is quoted in a four-part series on public housing, Housing Generations: Life in the Projects featured on WNYC. Check out his contributions to Part 2: A Shift to Violence and Part 4: An Uncertain Future.
11.07.2012 | UAP Professor Peter Kwong writes about China’s political landscape in The Nation
In the November 19th issue of The Nation, UAP Professor Peter Kwong writes about China’s shaky leadership transition, which is taking place amid deep intraparty divisions and growing public anger over corruption. Click here for the full article.
09.13.2012 | UAP Professor William Milczarski invited to present his research on pedestrian activity at CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention invited Associate Professor William Milczarski to present his research regarding population shifts and the implications for walking in the United States. Milczarski, along with Peter Tuckel, a sociology professor at Hunter College, spoke to the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity about changes in American attitudes and behaviors regarding walking. Read more at America Walks.
08.21.2012 | Two recent articles on education policy by UAP Chair Joseph P. Viteritti
UAP Chair Joseph P. Viteritti is recently the author of two articles assessing education policies nationally and locally. The first, appearing in the Notre Dame Law Review, evaluates President Obama’s “Race to the Top” initiative; the second, a book review essay published in the Journal of School Choice examines the record of former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein. Viteritti supports higher education standards, school choice, mayoral control, and polices that redirect resources to poorer children; but he cautions against the use of student test scores to evaluate teachers, questions the practice of turning schools over to non-educators, and insists that education governance must reflect democratic values like participation, representation, and responsiveness.
08.20.2012 | UAP Adjunct Professor Jen Nelles wins J.E. Hodgetts Award
Jen Nelles, an adjunct professor who specializes in metropolitan governance and regional economic development, is a co-recipient of the 2011 J.E. Hodgetts Award for best English article published in the Canadian Public Administration journal. The article, “Strengthening the Ties that Bind: An Analysis of Aboriginal-Municipal Inter-Governmental Agreements in British Columbia,” is a significant contribution to understanding the evolution of aboriginal-settler relations and multilevel governance in Canada. View the abstract or read the official press release.
08.17.2012 | New book from UAP Professor Tom Angotti – The New Century of the Metropolis: Urban Enclaves and Orientalism
Tom Angotti’s The New Century of the Metropolis: Urban Enclaves and Orientalism (Routledge) argues that only when the city is understood as a necessary and beneficial accompaniment to social progress can a progressive, humane approach to urban planning be developed. Using the concept of ‘urban orientalism’ as a theoretical underpinning of modern urban planning grounded in global inequalities, Angotti confronts this traditional model with new, progressive approaches to community and metropolis.
06.27.2012 | UAP Professor Tom Angotti weighs in on MoMA exhibition
“We can’t design our way out of the foreclosure crisis, or suburban sprawl, or global climate change, or the deep class and racial divides that all these at once underscore and perpetuate…” wrote Tom Angotti in The Housing Question, a virtual roundtable published by Places, the online journal of architecture, landscape and urbanism. The roundtable was held in response to the controversial MoMA exhbition, Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream.
06.13.2012 | UAP Student, Lea Jensen, Featured on Inside City Hall
MSUA student, Lea Jensen was featured on Inside City Hall with Errol Lewis. As part of a special cross disciplinary course with Media Studies, Lea was part of a student team that produced a documentary short detailing the journeys of homeless children to and from school. The class was taught by Emmy Award-winning journalist Barbara Nevins Taylor, this semester’s Jack Newfield Visiting Professor of Journalism at Hunter College.
04.17.2012 | UAP Professor Elaine Walsh Receives 2012 OTTY Award
Award winners were honored in a special ceremony to recognize community contributions to the East Side. Prof Walsh co-chairs Community Board 8’s Zoning and Development Committee and runs the East 86th Street Association. She was recognized for her years of dedication and active involvement within the community. The OTTY (Our Town Thanks You) Awards recognize the special contributions of individuals to their East Side community.
03.06.2012 | UAP Professor Joseph P. Viteritti weighs in on mayoral control of schools in Bridgeport, CT.
Viteritti was part of an education fact finding panel with Paul G. Vallas, Bridgeport’s interim superintendent of schools. Bridgeport’s Charter Revision Commission will arrive at a recommendation for voters this November on whether or not to change the current city law which requires that Board of Education members be elected. Read more at ctpost.com.
02.27.2012 | Hunter UAP works with Asphalt Green to study Recess Enhancement Program (REP)
Professor John Chin led a group of students in an assessment of Asphalt Green’s existing recess program which places coaches in city schools at recess to facilitate active play. Students compared “enhanced recess” at 20 schools to traditional recess at 12 schools. Findings of the study suggest that students in schools where REP program were in place were more active and less aggression toward each other than in traditional recess settings. Read more at GothamSchools online.
02.10.2012 | UAP Professor Laxmi Ramsubramanian comments on Cornell-Technion University’s plan for Roosevelt Island in the Urban Design Review
As plans move forward to locate Cornell’s new facility on Roosevelt Island, planners and designers alike speculate on this new vision for Roosevelt Island. Ramasubramanian is quick to reinforce the need for participatory planning that engage residents in the process. Read the full story on Urban Design Review.
01.25.2012 | UAP Student Derek McGee chronicles his journey from Marine – to financier – to OWS protester
In his recent article published in The Nation,
01.18.2012 | Featured in The Nation, Professor and UAP Chair Joseph Viteritti takes a closer how cities today stack up against Mayor Lindsey’s NYC
In Making Cities Matter, recently published in The Nation, UAP Chair Joseph P. Viteritti describes how cities today have much to learn from Mayor John Lindsey’s New York. “While Wall Street hedge-fund managers garner obscene bonuses, one in five New York residents lives in poverty.” The article presents a comparison of the placement of cities on the national agenda today and during Lindsey’s tenure as NYC mayor.
01.12.2012 | Professor Laxmi highlights role of GIS in strengthening partnerships between universities and their surrounding communities
UAP Professor Laxmi Ramasubramanian, President-Elect of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), reports the results of a survey asking how GIS is being used on college campuses in Directions Magazine. According to Professor Ramasubramanian, “GIS has a central role to play in establishing university-community partnerships.” Click here for full article.
01.03.2012 | Professor Angotti explores how planning and research goals can be aligned with the needs of communites they serve
How can the planning and research goals of educators and professionals be integrated with the needs and aspirations of the communities they serve? Find out in UAP Professor Tom Angotti’s latest book, Service Learning in Design and Planning: Educating at the Boundaries, released in December 2011. Join the UAP community on March 26th for a book release event.
