Thursday 11/19: Mixer with MBA, Real Estate and Public Administration

This Thursday (November 19th) at 8:45PM, come schmooze and chat with your friends and colleagues from the MBA, Real Estate and Public Administration programs over drinks at Jaks Tap (901 W. Jackson).

TOD and Meeting Friday, November 19th

On Friday November 19th, UPPSA will be holding its next General Assembly meeting and TOD. The meeting will begin at 6pm in the CUPPAH basement lounge followed by a taste of Polish cuisine at very affordable yet highly rated Czerwone Jabluskzo/Red Apple at 3121 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Please plan on joining us at both events!

Images of Northeastern Illinois Photo Contest

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has launched their 2009 Images of Northeastern Illinois Photo Contest, which will continue throughout the month of November. MUPPs are encouraged to submit photos for consideration, and two winners will be selected in each of the following categories:

• Diversity (people, places, art, culture, food)
• Community Vitality (walkable, vibrant places; retail; neighborhood pride)
• Natural Environment (lakes, rivers, preserves, parks, sky, wildlife)
• Architecture/Urban Design (plazas, buildings, neighborhoods, boulevards)
• Transportation (pedestrians, bikes, cars, boats, trains, planes, etc.)

Prizes currently include:

• 1 Bootcamp from Richard Stromberg's Chicago Photography Classes
• $30 off coupons to Richard Stromberg's Chicago Photography Classes
• Copies of "Sidewalks: Portraits of Chicago" from the Illinois Humanities Council
• Certificates for a Fresh Picks Double Box of seasonal vegetables from Irv & Shelly's Local Organic Delivery
• Tickets to Chicago Architecture Foundation's Walking Tours
• and MORE!

Not to mention, it will be another item to add to your resume and/or portfolio. Visit CMAP's website for additional information here.

[Photo Courtesy of CMAP]

MPC Placemaking Roundtable, October 28th

*What Makes Your Place Great? Roundtable*

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Noon – 1:30 p.m. **

Metropolitan Planning Council Conference Center

140 S. Dearborn St., Suite 1400, Chicago, Ill. 60603



Cost for MPC donors: $15.00
Cost for non-donors: $30.00

(The above prices apply to students as well.)

Sept.22 -Chicagoland Car-Free Day

Here is an excuse to explore other ways of getting around.

On Tuesday Sept. 22, Active Trans will partner with RTA, Pace, Metra, CTA and communities around the region for Chicagoland Car-free Day. The event is part of World Car-free Day, the one moment when people around the world pledge to go sans auto.

The day will only work if we get everyone involved. The more people we get to pledge to go car-free, the more fun the day will be! Plus, when you take the pledge on our website, you get a coupon for $1 off a large drink at Caribou Coffee on Sept. 22 (We’re not that crazy to ask you to go caffeine-free). Find a Caribou Coffee location near you.

http://www.activetrans.org/carfree

Chicago Tops USGBC's List of U.S. Cities with Most Green Buildings

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Windy City has won top honors in a recent ranking of U.S. cities with the most LEED Certified buildings. According to the Tribune, "88 projects in Chicago have earned [LEED] certification. Portland, Ore., was next, with 73 LEED buildings, and Seattle was third, with 63. New York was seventh with 46, and Los Angeles ninth with 40."

Read more...

Image source: Chicago Tribune

Bicycling for College Students

The following is selected text from MUPP student Steve Vance's article titled "Bicycling for College Students"

Introduction

If you haven’t yet chosen to bike to campus, don’t read this – I’ve got another article in the works for you. Essentially, I gained my advice and education from information I found in multiple documents published by the Chicago Bicycle Program. But you can read my post in less than 10 minutes. I give my friends the same spiel, and now I’ve finally published it for everyone’s benefit.

My credentials: I’ve been commuting safely and effectively to the University of Illinois at Chicago campus for four years, attending undergraduate and graduate class. I’ve been bicycling all around Chicago (I can prove it with these maps) for the same period.

I divide my advice into three sections: Safety, Getting There, and The Right Equipment. You should have a copy of the Chicago Bike Map at your side (download as PDF; tambien disponible en espanol; request one to be mailed) . . . . [click here to read more]

Public Meeting Regarding Albany Whipple Park

Public Meeting Regarding Albany Whipple Park

This may be considered the first step towards the realization of the Bloomingdale Trail!


The Chicago Park District is holding a meeting for the public to learn more about the development of the Albany Whipple Park.

The meeting will be held at Simons Park field house, 1640 N. Drake, at 6pm on Tuesday, September 1, 2009. 

The Trust for Public Land and Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail would greatly appreciate your presence and input at this important meeting. 

Please join us and bring your questions, concerns and ideas! 

Please Contact The Trust for Public Land with any questions.
Andrew Vesselinovitch
120 S. LaSalle Street, 2000
Chicago, Illinois 60603
Direct line: 312-750-9821

Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail  - http://www.bloomingdaletrail.org/

Welcome New MUPPs!

Fellow MUPPs,

Please join me in welcoming the new cohort of MUPP students as they begin the next exciting phase of their lives! I had the pleasure of meeting our new colleagues on Thursday, and I can say with absolute certainty that our CUPPA Community is now brighter, more spirited, and stronger with their presence. We're glad you're here!

To our new colleagues: you are now part of an awesome community of engaged scholars and intelligent professionals, and you have joined the largest, strongest Planning network in the country. Please take full advantage of the resources and opportunities that are being made available to you.

To aid in your last-minute preparations for classes next week, I offer a brief to-do list:

• Double-check your schedule in the self-service application and make sure your finances are in order
• Log in to Blackboard, make sure the courses you've registered for show up under "My Courses"
• Browse around each course's Blackboard site and check for a syllabus - particularly check whether or not there is a reading assignment due before the first class
• If you have not already, get any textbooks that are assigned to your classes either at the UIC Bookstore or online at a site like BigWords.com
• While you're at it, get a good planner/organizer or invest in a good calendar app for your phone ...trust me on this one
• Fill out your UPPSA Membership Form (email the UPPSA Board if you need one) and either turn it in along with a check or money order made out to 'UPPSA' for (a measly) $15 to Ann Barnds (CUPPA room 225) OR bring it to the first UPPSA General Assembly meeting on August 28 (6pm, basement lounge)
• Join UPPSA on Facebook and LinkedIn, and befriend all of your UPPSA Board members! (see names below)
• Visit the NEW UPPSA website, designed by Mike Sobczak, UPPSA Treasurer, at www.uppsa.org (please note that this is a work in progress and we would like to hear any comments you have about it), as well as the UPPSA Blog

Phew! After you've completed these activities, you'll be as ready as you'll ever be.

Please also keep your eyes peeled for your UPPSA Board members:

Jennessa Berg: Secretary
Katie Bowman: Vice-President
Valbona Kokoshi: APA Representative
Jason Saavedra: President
Annie Shim: Chief Activities Officer
Mike Sobczak: Treasurer
Andy Waggoner: Professional Development Officer

Look for them in class and don't be shy - just introduce yourself! Soon we will have photos and bios up on the website so you can get to know us better.

On a final note, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of my fellow Board members, but particularly Annie Shim, for the hard work put in toward making the First Annual CUPPA Block Party an absolute, irrefutable success! The event was not only a lot of fun, but also exemplified our level of commitment to you as our colleague and as part of our greater Community. This year, UPPSA's official motto is "Make It Happen!" I hope you'll consider joining us in our efforts to Make It Happen for you and your Community.

Regards,

Jason Saavedra
Candidate, Master of Urban Planning and Policy
President, Urban Planning and Policy Student Association
University of Illinois at Chicago

CMAP has issued a press release to update us on the progress of their Invent the Future Workshops (one of which will be hosted soon here at UIC!). With one month left of "inventing the future," CMAP has offered some preliminary statistics showing the up-to-date results of public input gathered from web tools, workshops, kiosks and booths at community festivals about preferred future scenarios. A snapshot of those results follows:

• Fifty-eight percent of participants advocate moderately dense development. Another 24 percent prefer high density, with 18 percent calling for low density or continuation of current growth patterns.
• Sixty-nine percent say they'd prefer development in a combination of existing communities and larger metropolitan areas. Another 25 percent chose to emphasize only metropolitan development, and six percent said they prefer unfocused growth.
• Seventy percent of participants want the region to maximize policies to protect the environment and natural resources. Twenty-three percent want such programs to be increased somewhat. Just five percent said current levels should be maintained, and two percent want a reduction.
• Eighty-two percent of participants would like to see maximum investment in transit. Twenty-five percent want maximum investment in roads, and 54 percent want to maximize transportation options, including biking and walking.

Click here to get the full scoop. UPPSA is working with CMAP staff to schedule a workshop that will be hosted at UIC - stay tuned for more info!