Events
Be in the know about the latest events, announcements, and job opportunities by subscribing to our weekly e-newsletter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 2024 Webinar
Wednesday, August 14
Shifting the Paradigm: Measuring What Matters in Urban Design
Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Zoom
Cost: Free (registration is required)
Traditional economic models often prioritize growth for the sake of growth and overlook the comprehensive costs of urban projects, especially social and environmental impacts. Instead, this research argues that the intangible yet essential aspects of human thriving, such as quality of life and well-being, should be equally considered if not prioritized. This presentation addresses the urgent need to shift the paradigm in urban design and planning to incorporate a wider range of what truly matters utilizing two St. Louis-based projects as case studies.
Designers have a profound responsibility to create resilient, long-term solutions that improve quality of life both within and beyond current generations. To achieve this, new metrics for value creation in urban development must be adopted. Traditional measures like GDP and employment capture some aspects of well-being but often miss social and environmental outcomes and equitable access to opportunities. Developing new frameworks allows for a better reflection of true progress by accounting for environmental health, social cohesion, and community well-being. Drawing on principles from fields like ecological economics, social sustainability, and systems thinking, we emphasize the interconnectedness of sustainability, equity, and inclusion. This approach underscores the necessity of measuring both qualitative and quantitative aspects, both measurable and seemingly immeasurable aspects of life, hopefully ensuring that social gains and community resilience are prioritized alongside economic development.
This event is eligible for 1 CM credit.
Panelists:
Dr. Bomin Kim, AIA, CPHC, Lecturer
College of Architecture / Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
Bomin Kimis an urban designer and lecturer specializing in social sustainability, urban informatics, and geospatial data science. Her research focuses on advancing systems methods to understand how urban environments influence social cohesion, interactions, and urban resilience in older adults. By using interdisciplinary approaches, she aims to advance sustainable urbanism and amplify the health and needs of under-represented communities through informed practice and policy.
Dr. Linda C. Samuels, RA, PhD, Professor
Chair of Urban Design
College of Architecture / Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
Linda C. Samuels, RA, PhD, is a professor of urban design at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, where she teaches architecture and urban design studios and seminars on infrastructural urbanism, urban history and theory, and alternative sustainability metrics. She serves as the chair of urban design, and in the 2023-24 academic year, the interim director of the College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design.
Samuels is the founder and director of Infra_OPTS, an independent consulting firm working in St. Louis and Los Angeles focused on the design, mapping, and metrics of public infrastructure to create more equitable cities. She is currently developing an infrastructure equity scorecard pilot project with the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering and Mayor’s Office. Samuels was co-principal investigator on a grant from The Divided City initiative, funded by the Mellon Foundation, entitled “Mobility For All By All”, which aims to increase the social and environmental benefits of the multibillion-dollar proposed St. Louis MetroLink expansion for residents living along the alignment. Emphasizing innovative challenges and real-world collaboration in her teaching, recent studio partners have included the Land Art Generator Initiative at Fly Ranch, Virgin Hyperloop One (Los Angeles/Las Vegas), Food Forward (Los Angeles), and local partners Bi-State Development Research Institute (St. Louis) and Dutchtown South Community Corporation (St. Louis). See Samuels' full bio here.
Register for August 14 Webinar
Planner Coffee Chat
Coffee Chat / Book Club ("Change" by Damon Centola).
Date: Friday, September 27
Time: 8:00 am - 9:00 am
Location: Richmond Heights Panera (6734 Clayton Rd)
Cost: Free!
A free, informal opportunity to mingle with fellow planners and share ideas. The coffee chats are hosted every other month on Friday mornings at the Bread Company in Richmond Heights (6734 Clayton Road). At the March and September coffee chats, we also host a book club discussion about a planning-related book.
For the September 27 coffee chat, we'll be discussing Change: How to Make Big Things Happen by Damon Centola.
September 2024 Luncheon
September 2024 Luncheon
Blueprint for Arterials: Progressing Towards Safer Roads in the St. Louis Region (APA + APWA)
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Orlando’s Maryland Heights (2050 Dorsett Village, Maryland Heights, MO 63043)
Cost: $25 (registration coming soon!)
The Blueprint for Arterials is a valuable new resource for state, regional, and local agencies in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The Blueprint equips agencies with an integrated planning and design framework for developing projects at the conceptual stage. The Blueprint achieves a new level in partnership and cooperation between area agencies towards a shared regional vision of safety for vulnerable road users, flexible design but consistent process, multimodal & place-based, community engagement, and intergovernmental collaboration.
Registration coming soon!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------