Thursday, January 29, 2009

Chicago Tonight talks with author of new book, "Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide"

"Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide" via Chicago Tonight

Chicago Tonight takes a historical ride through local neighborhoods with Chicago expert, Ann Durkin Keating as she talks about some of the areas featured in her newest book "Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide."

For those in UPP505/506, they talk briefly about the history of Blue Island.

Watch the clip at WTTW Chicago Tonight


For more on Ann Durkin Keating's book check out the University of Chicago Press

Urban Renewal Redux in Bronzeville

As the city of Chicago continues its quest to land the 2016 Olympics, many who’ve worked hard to rejuvenate the Bronzeville community into a hub of African-American history and commerce now fear the city’s Olympics plans will push them out. And some say it’s an ugly déjà vu.

To read more:
http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=31434


Sidenote: UPPSA's next TOD (Feb. 20th) will be in Bronzevilee.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Planning Rwanda


Just before nine one morning in May, I arrived at the Alpha Palace Hotel, not far from the center of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. A team of American architects waited nervously outside, dressed in blue suits and holding battered travel tubes of drawings. In them was the conceptual master plan for the future of Kigali: a sweeping vision to turn today’s red-dirt ad-hoc city into a verdant capital with tree-lined boulevards, mixed-use neighborhoods, a new university, parks, and a network of wetlands to mitigate storm-water runoff. OZ Architecture, from Denver, along with EDAW, a landscape-architecture and urban-planning firm, had been quietly working on the scheme for three years. This morning, 13 years after Rwanda’s genocide, they would present it to an audience of local planning officials, foreign consultants, and politicians. I had come to watch, to see what American-style urban planning looked like in Rwanda, and what it could possibly do to help transform a place of poverty and struggle into one of prosperity and peace.

Read more:
http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20071121/planning-rwanda

Source: metropolismag.com

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

What will happen to the globe when oil production, human population and the food supply all reach their peak?

Author Richard Heinberg <http://www.richardheinberg.com/> forecasts whatwill happen to the globe when oil production, human population and the foodsupply all reach their peak.
Hint: It's not pretty.




Friday, January 23, 2009

The Long View -- By embracing the city’s industrial past

METROPOLISMAG.COM - November 2008



"As a 20-year-old intern in the London office of Richard Rogers, James Corner could barely contain his frustration. It was the early 1980s, and they were working on the first pieces of the transformation of the London docklands from derelict industrial port to stylish commercial district. But at that scale, on so complex a site, Corner saw only limitations. “All the architects knew how to do was put awnings on existing buildings,” he recalls. “All the landscape architects knew how to do was put trees everywhere. And all the traffic engineer knew how to do was to optimize getting cars in and out of the development.” Over pints at the pub, Rogers and his partners “would complain that they didn’t have the conceptual or imaginative tools or techniques to do the whole thing synthetically.” Corner, who grew up outside of Manchester, left soon afterward to study at the University of Pennsylvania—where he is now head of the landscape-architecture ­department—but he never let go of the lesson: “There is a desperate need for a different kind of professional who isn’t so Balkan­ized, who is capable of seeing a bigger picture and choreographing a bigger team.”


To Read More:

Friday, January 16, 2009

UIC SPH Global Health Interest Group

If you are interested in Public Health issues and would like to get involved with an on campus organization. Check out the UIC School of Public Health's Global Health online interest group. Participate in the conversation surrounding global health issues and get involved.

Click the link for more

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

UPPSA News: Transit Oriented Dining, Dues, and Leadership Opportunities

MUPPS,

Hello everyone, hope you all had a great holiday! Whether you are a
returning member or it is your first semester, now is the time to get
involved with UPPSA. See below on how to participate.

Here is how you can get involved:

1) Fill out an UPPSA Registration Form and pay your dues(CHECKS/MONEY ORDERS ONLY) by FEB 1.

Registration is good for 1 year. Drop off your registration form and your dues (CHECKS/MONEY ORDERS ONLY) at the reception desk (on the 2nd floor, you will see the sign). The deadline for submitting your registration forms and dues is FEB 1.


2) Sign up to take on a leadership role at the next UPPSA general assembly meeting (Jan 23 6-7).

In order to participate in these leadership opportunities you must be a registered UPPSA member. These events will allow you to take on a leadership role, interact with professionals in the planning field, and provide a boost to your resume. Some examples of leadership opportunities include (but are not limited to):

a) organize CMAP Community Conversations around the 2040 Regional Plan,
b) coordinate student participation with the Alumni Association regarding
Charrette scheduled in the Spring,
c) coordinate volunteers to participate in CMAP's FLIP (Future Leaders in
Planning) program (see attached),
d) coordinate with APA and UPP administrators to organize a mentorship mixer,
e) coordinate with APA and other professionals to organize a dinner and
panel presentation ($1000.00 budget),
f) organize a spring break trip and activities to Milwaukee,
g) design and create a marketing pamphlet for UPPSA,
h) coordinate and advocate for student participation with CMAP's Community
Design Workshops (see attachment)

3) Important dates:

a) Friday Jan 16, 6-9 - TOD (Transit Oriented Dinning) - Friday Jan 16 from 6-9 - Come meet, eat, and drink at the closest place for a beer and a burger to Cuppa Hall, Jak's Tap!

Jaks Tap is Chicago’s premier multi-tap restaurant and bar featuring forty (40) draught beers, great food, award winning ribs and friendly neighborhood atmosphere.

Located at 901 W. Jackson Blvd

b) Friday Jan 23, 6-7 - General Assembly Meeting. Location is the lounge in the basement of CUPPA. Pizza and beverages provided.

Hope to see you all at the next UPPSA event!

Best,

UPPSA Board

News: Burnham's gift; today's Chicago was born of the century-old plan that still has the magic to stir men's blood







Burnham's gift; today's Chicago was born of the century-old plan that still has the magic to stir men's blood


Source: Chicago Tribune

Stand in Grant Park near the Art Institute of Chicago and look up to the top of the Michigan Avenue building capped with a huge sign saying "Santa Fe." Just to the right of the "e" in Fe is a squat, unremarkable white structure that, in a way, is Chicago's most important building.

Click to read more...

News: Planning for Chicago's future requires Burnham-style vision--and a big pair of green-tinted glasses

Planning for Chicago's future requires Burnham-style vision--and a big pair of green-tinted glasses




Source: Chicago Tribune

This could be a smashing year for Chicago, but not only for the reasons -- including Barack Obama's inauguration -- that probably come to mind. Specifically, 2009 could make a historic mark because it will give the residents of Chicago and its vast metropolitan area a chance to start a civic conversation about how we live, how we grow and whether the mass suburban sprawl of the last few decades still makes sense in the era of declining fossil fuel supplies and global warming. There's a marvelous excuse to have this conversation. The region will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of one of the greatest city plans in history.

Click to read more

Monday, January 5, 2009

Transit-Oriented Development & the Region's Economy: Crisis and Opportunity






Transit-Oriented Development & the Region's Economy:
Crisis and Opportunity

Please join us!
Monday, January 12, 2009
9:00am to 2:00pm
ComEd Commercial Center
1919 Swift Dr.
Oak Brook, IL 60523



CMAP in partnership with IDC, RTA, APA, and ILCMA invite you to a seminar designed
to offer practical advice to planners, economic developers, and municipal managers
on transit-oriented development, with insights on the current state of our region's
economy.

The panel of experts will offer best practices on assessing and executing successful
transit-oriented developments. Another panel of economists will discuss obstacles
and opportunities for economic development in today's financial climate. The event,
co-hosted by Commonwealth Edison, will offer municipal managers, economic and
community development practitioners the opportunity for a lively discussion and
networking.

REGISTRATION
$50 includes lunch ($65 after January 7)
To register fill out the attached registration form, print it, and then fax to IDC
at (217) 241-4683 or phone at (217) 528-5230 x4 with any questions.