Dr. Laxmi Ramasubramanian has published her second book!  Essential Methods for Planning Practitioners: Skills and Techniques for Data Analysis, Visualization, and Communication, with co-author Jochen Albrecht. It is published by Springer. The foreword is written by Professor Mike Batty, urban theorist and Chair, at the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College, London.

Kerry McLean, MUP alum, has been selected as one of the 2017 LISC Michael Rubinger Community Fellows. Read More

UPP adjunct faculty members Philip Plotch and Jen Nelles' article "Mitigating Gridlock: Lessons on Regional Governance from the Organization that Keeps New York Moving,"  is published in Articulo – Journal of Urban Research. To read article click here.

UPP alumnus Prudence Katze (MUP 2015) invites the Hunter community to the premiere of her documentary film, The Iron Triangle. The film is about the bustling industrial community of Willets Point, Queens, where a group of small, immigrant-run businesses banded together to fight a development plan that would bulldoze their slice of the American Dream. Through the testimony of city officials, real estate developers, urban theorists, and the workers of Willets Point, The Iron Triangle offers a deep exploration of the controversial changes facing New York City. Their story launches an investigation into New York City’s history as the front line of deindustrialization, urban renewal, and gentrification.

The film will be screened at the DOC NYC Film Fest on Sat. 11/11 at 4:30 pm and Thur. 11/16 at 12:30 pm.

Prudence has offered to try to get free tickets for current students who would like to attend. If interested, contact her at contact@prudencekatze.net.

For more information on the film visit http://theirontrianglemovie.com/

New UPP Prof. Lily Baum Pollans' academic article, "PAYT Helps Drive Residential Food Scraps Collection " published this summer is featured in October 2017 issue of BioCycle Magazine, a magazine devoted to composting, renewable energy, and sustainability.

Rebecca Chau, former Hunter MUP student, was awarded the Runner-Up prize in the nationwide ACSP-GPEIG competition for the best international case study completed by a student in the last two years.  Her paper, Social Urbanism: Transformational Policy in Medellin, Colombia, was completed in Professor Gutfreund's course on Cities in Developing Countries.  It will be published on the ACSP-GPEIG website.  Congratulations, Rebecca!

Prof. Matthew Gordon Lasner appeared on The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC-FM on October 5 to talk about the history of co-ops and condos as part of a series the show is doing in advance of the November mayoral election entitled "The People’s Guide to Power: Real Estate Edition.” Listen to the segment at https://www.wnyc.org/story/new-yorks-first-co-op/.

UPP Chair Joseph Viteritti was a guest on the premiere of Brian Talks New York, hosted by Brian Lehrer, which was aired for the first time on CUNY TV on October 4th.

Faculty member Laura Wolf-Powers has two articles out this fall. One, "Food Deserts and Real Estate-Led Social Policy," argues that the popularity of the "food desert" meme has have led policymakers astray in their responses to food insecurity. It was published in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. The other, co-authored with colleagues at University of Illinois and Portland State University, examines the entrepreneurs at the center of the urban "maker" phenomenon and reflects on implications for local manufacturing and economic development policy. It appears in the fall issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association.

UPP Chair Joseph Viteritti is the author of an essay on Bill de Blasio, Economic Justice, and the Democratic Party in The Nation (September 11, 2017).

Prof. Shipp's book review of  "The Folklore of the Freeway: Race and Revolt in the Modernist City" by Eric Avila (2014).

Prof. Jill Simone Gross has been asked to serve as Program Co-Chair for the Urban Politics Section (http://www.apsanet.org/section13) of the American Political Science Association, for their 2018 conference scheduled for August 30 - September 2, 2018 Boston, MA

UPP Chair Joseph Viteritti’s new book The Pragmatist: Bill de Blasio’s Quest to Save the Soul of New York(Oxford) was reviewed by Sam Roberts in the New York Times on August 27th. Professor Viteritti has also posted podcast interviews on Am New York, City and State, and Gotham Gazette, and an online interview with Politico magazine. An excerpt of the book was published on City & State on  September 5 and will be reissued on September 12.​

The Westchester Municipal Planning Federation (WMPF) offers a $2000 scholarship to a student who is currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate planning program (or a closely-related program such as architecture, landscape architecture, public administration, public policy or geography) and who plans to continue his/her studies in the following school year. The 2017 Westchester Municipal Planning Federation scholarship was awarded to Gregory Cutler. Greg received his bachelor’s degree in Geography from Binghamton University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Urban Planning at Hunter College.

Prof. Ryan Yeung is quoted in "2017's Best Places to Flip Houses"  Wallethub.com, Aug. 1

Prof. Sigmund Shipp was interviewed about the city council proposal to enforce timely inspections of noise violations in Hell's Square (on the lower east side) and other NYC locations. The interview aired on Fox 5 News Wednesday, August 2nd. For further reading, click here.

Ryan Rzepecki, MUP Alumnus and SoBi CEO, featured in Electric, station-less bike share program starts to roll out,  MissionLocal.org, By Laura Wenus, June 27, 2017.

Prof. Joseph P. Viteritti, UPP Chair, was quoted in the New York Times in an Q and A on mayoral control of the schools.

"Does it Matter Who Runs New York City's Schools?" By Kate Taylor, June 23, 2017

May 22, 2017

Dear Students, Alums, Faculty, and Friends:

It is with great sadness that I write to you on the passing of Professor Stanley Moses, who died on Friday, May 19^th, after suffering from a head injury that he incurred from a fall that took place on May 14^th.

Stanley delighted in the time he spent with students. He used to tell me that it kept him going; and it did so for a long time, if not long enough for those who had the pleasure of knowing him. He had taught graduates and undergraduates in our department since 1971, and served as chair from 1998 to 2008. Most recently, he had taken on particular responsibility for two courses: “The Structure of the Urban Region” and “Plans, Policies and Politics,” though he taught a diverse menu of offerings over the years. Stanley also had a record of public service at both the federal and state levels of government that allowed him to bring his practical insights into the classroom.

Stanley was a proud product of CUNY, a graduate of City College who had gone on to earn a doctorate from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 1971. He was widely read, and had an intellectual curiosity that seemed to have no bounds.

His own scholarship focused on two issues that continued to occupy his attention throughout his long career: equality of educational opportunity and full employment. On the former, he was the author of The Elusive Quest: The Struggle for Equality of Educational Opportunity (1992), a book on school finance reform that he wrote with his Hunter colleague, Edwin Margolis, with a forward by the late New York Governor Mario Cuomo.

His interest in full employment was piqued by his Syracuse University mentor, Bertram Gross, a devoted advocate for the issue who eventually joined our department faculty as a Distinguished Professor. Stanley later edited a festschrift in honor of his former teacher that was published in 1995 under the title, Enduring Visions: The Legacy of Bertram Gross.

Stanley’s real passion was to engage people; his most valuable legacy is the example he set for us all by the way he indulged that passion. He had a tireless devotion to students: always the first to sign up for their events, always present to pose a thoughtful question when they presented, ever ready to celebrate their accomplishments, ever ready to offer a helping hand and assure them he cared. There was a genuine kindness about Stanley that you had to notice if you knew him. He regularly dropped by to ask how you were doing; he would take long trips to visit former colleagues when they were ill; he would go out of his way to support his junior colleagues; and he would never hesitate to tell his senior colleagues to lighten up when they took themselves too seriously.

Stanley’s absence will be felt by all.

A memorial service is being planned.

With sincere regrets,

Joseph Viteritti

Thomas Hunter Professor of Public Policy

Chair, Urban Policy and Planning Department

Prof. Jill Gross posts a piece, Accomplishing Agonism in Urban Governance, in the Urban Affairs Forum presented by Urban Affairs Review,  March 10, 2017. 2017.

March 19, 2017

Dear Members and Friends of the Urban Policy and Planning Community:

I write with deep sorrow to inform you of the passing of Professor Peter Kwong, who died of cardiac arrest on Friday, March 17th.

Professor Kwong had been a member of the Hunter faculty since 1993, where he was a Distinguished Professor in the Urban Policy and Planning Department and a Professor of Asian-American studies. He was also a member of the doctoral faculty  in Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center. In our department, he regularly taught a workshop for incoming students in the graduate program in Urban Policy and Leadership, and courses on immigration and the gentrification of Chinatown. Over his career, he taught as a Visiting Professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, the City University of Hong Kong, and the People’s University of China, as well as Princeton, Oberlin, Yale, Columbia, Berkeley, and UCLA.

Peter Kwong was born in China in 1941. He came to this country to attend Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where he received a B.A. in math and physics. He subsequently earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering at Columbia University before enrolling at Columbia to get a certificate in East Asian Studies and a Ph.D. in political science.

Peter had a passionate commitment to issues of social justice and a long record of activism concerning conditions in the Asian-American community. His career spanned the fields of scholarship, journalism and film-making, all directed to improve the lives of people who were marginalized by discrimination or social deprivation. A recent article in New York Magazine referred to him as the “Dean of Chinatown Studies.”

He was the author of five books and hundreds of articles. Among his books were Chinese America: The Untold Story of America’s Oldest New Community, which he co-authored with his wife, Dusanka Miscevic, a historian and frequent collaborator; Forbidden Workers: Illegal Chinese Immigrants and American Labor; and The New Chinatown. Kwong challenged the notion that Asians are a model minority, revealing in his research widespread class divisions, poverty, exploitation, drug abuse, and organized crime -- all of which were exacerbated by decades of discrimination by a majority white society. At the time of his death, Peter and his wife were completing a history of Chinese immigration in the western United States, and he was beginning to work on an autobiography.

Peter’s journalism appeared in such outlets as The Nation, Village Voice, International Herald Tribune, and Philadelphia Inquirer. He was frequently interviewed by the New York Times and other major news outlets. His essay on multi-cultural race riots in Los Angeles, published in the Village Voice in 1992, merited the Sidney Hillman Foundation Prize, the George Polk Award, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. His 1990 article in the Village Voice on Chinese drug cartels, co-authored with Dusanka Miscevic, was also nominated for a Pulitzer.

As with his scholarship and journalism, Peter’s filmmaking always delivered a strong social message. His 1980 PBS film, Third Avenue: Only the Strong Survive, documented steep class divisions along Manhattan’s East Side, and won him an Emmy Award. His HBO documentary, China Unnatural Disaster, co-produced with Jon Alpert, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010. The heart-wrenching film highlighted corruption, incompetence and neglect by the Chinese government that became apparent as a result of the catastrophic earthquake of 2008 in Sichuan Provence that killed 70,000 people, including 10,000 children. The Chinese police detained Peter and Jon Alpert during the course of the filming.

Peter Kwong enjoyed an international reputation as an activist, scholar, journalist, and film-maker. He was a personal friend of the Dalai Lama, who, because of Peter’s good graces, has visited Hunter College on two occasions. Peter and his wife “Douska” reciprocated in 2011 by accepting an invitation from the spiritual leader to visit his residence in India.

Our community will dearly miss Peter’s irreplaceable presence. A memorial service celebrating his extraordinary life and achievements will be held at Hunter College later this spring. Details will be posted on both the college and department websites when final arrangements are made.

With Sincere Regrets,

Joseph P. Viteritti

Thomas Hunter Professor of Public Policy

Chair, Urban Policy and Planning Department

UPP Chair Joseph P. Viteritti was quoted in The New York Times article, “Questioning Whether de Blasio Will Learn From a Teachable Moment”, March 17, 2017. To read, click here.

UPP Prof. Ryan Yeung discusses Milwaukee School Board's recent district-wide school uniform requirement on The Joy Cardin Radio Show,

"The Effects Of School Uniforms", March 3, 2017.  To listen to the audio, click here.

Professor Gross was busily over her winter break. She participated in a PodCast with two urban governance scholars: Susan Clarke, Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado Boulder (http://www.colorado.edu/polisci/people/faculty-emeritus/susan-clarke) and Allison Bramwell, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (https://psc.uncg.edu/people/bramwell/). In Part 1 the conversation explores the question of whether "Collaborative Governance" is the next phase for urban research? In Part 2 they ask: "What do we gain or overlook in a "collaborative governance" approach?

Both PodCasts can be found at the Urban Affairs Forum Presented by Urban Affairs Review web site https://urbanaffairsreview.com

The program prepares academically promising undergraduate students who have an interest in attending graduate school. Eligible students who are accepted to the program attend a six-week summer program and an array of workshops, seminars, and lectures throughout the academic year which will enhance students' technical, writing, and research skills. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) preparation workshops are also offered at various points throughout the academic year to enhance students' opportunity to help them gain acceptance to graduate schools of their choice.

Prof. Gross  had a short piece published in the Roosevelt House Public Policy Forum titled "Facing the Realities of Geo-Political Division in the Age of Trump: The Metropolitan Future and the Need for Collaborative Models of Governance" which can be accessed at

http://www.roosevelthouse.hunter.cuny.edu/?forum-post=facing-realities-geo-political-division-age-trump-metropolitan-future-need-collaborative-models-governance

Prof. Owen Gutfreund was quoted in New York Newsday and amNew York about the Governor's proposal to overhaul JFK Airport, January 4,  2017.

UPP Chair Joseph Viteritti appeared on Brian Lehrer's POTUS 2016 on December 7 to discuss Trump's cabinet appointments in HUD and education. To watch the episode "A Look into Trump's Cabinet" click here.

MUP student Maggie Calmes and Gotham Gazette Reporter, Samar Khurshid's 'Fair Share' story published in two parts in the Gotham Gazette.

Part 1, The City May Soon Have More Formal 'Fair Share'Discussion (November 18, 2016) and Part 2, 'Fair Share' Design Flaws, Flashpoints & Possible Updates  (November 21, 2016).

Prof. Peter Kwong talks about the growing impact of art galleries in Chinatown at the town hall meeting,"Chinatown is Not for Sale", October 22, 2016. For more details, read "Artists and Gallerists Grapple with Ways to Slow Gentrification in Manhattan’s Chinatown".

Prof. Peter Kwong quoted in NY Times article, "In a Promise to Lift a Curse, a Scheme to Steal Chinese Immigrants’ Savings", by Liz Robbins, October 20, 2016. Click here for further reading.

Calvin Brown, MUP Alumni and DCP Planner, is featured prominently in "City’s East Harlem Plan Tracks Community Blueprint", Citylimits.org, October 19, 2016.
For further reading, click here.

MUP students in Prof. Pablo Vengoechea's Fall 2016 planning studio class, Downtown Commercial Corridors of Staten Island, are covered in NY1 News, "Graduate Students Seek Input on How to Revitalize North Shore", October 19, 2016. The students held a workshop with members of the community to seek input about their project.

UPP Adjunct Charles Starks gives a talk at Federal Hall on George McAneny, a New York politician and city planner of the early 20th century. Participating in a Q&A with Charles Starks will be the Manhattan Borough Historian, Michael Miscione, and preservationist Anthony C. Wood. For further details, click here.

Prof. Jill Gross' recent publication, "Hybridization and Urban Governance Malleability, Modality, or Mind-Set?." Urban Affairs Review (2016): 1078087416637127. Cracks the top 50 most read articles in the journal for the month of August-- #39 and counting!

Photography by Rashedul Deepon, Master in Urban Planning student, is featured in  The NYC Hustle exhibition Strictly New York 3 August 25-27, 2016. For further reading, click here.

UPP Prof. Pablo Vengoechea's Landmark Colony project is mentioned in The Architects Newspaper, "A torrent of new projects on Staten Island are reshaping the once-forgotten borough", written by Audrey Wachs, June 9, 20016. Prof. Vengoechea's firm,  Vengoechea + Boyland architects (v + b) is transforming six of the site’s 11 buildings into seniors' residences with 350 units. The project is one of many projects that will reshape Staten Island's shoreline and inland areas. For further reading, click here.

Prof. Matthew Lasner argues for more government subsidies for housing in The Nation's article " The Case for Public Housing". For further reading, click here.

MSUPL students Samantha Chiafolo, Dina Amer, Wednesday Moore, and Rashad Dismute were selected as New York State Excelsior Fellows 2016-2017. The fellowship program is an initiative to bring highly talented graduates into government service. Fellows will be working over the next two year on high level policy initiatives at the state level.

Hunter UPP Professor Jill Simone Gross' latest Journal article "Hybridization and Urban Governance: Malleability, Modality, or Mind-Set?" Urban Affairs Review 1078087416637127, first published on April 11, 2016 as doi:10.1177/1078087416637127 just released for viewing Online First at Urban Affairs Review. The article is part of a mini symposium on urban governance with Susan E. Clarke, Allison Bramwell and Jon Pierre.

UPP Prof. Jill Simone Gross's newest article "Migrants and the Right to the City" has just been published in Yasminah Beebeejaun (Ed.) The Participatory City (Berlin: JOVIS Verlag GmbH, 2016). The article explores "ongoing patterns of exclusion, and the inability of cities to engage citizens in efforts to build socially cohesive neighborhoods." She asks, "what if anything a right to the city might offer to planners seeking to counter or challenge the forces of...balkanization in the contemporary city?" She uses the case of Dublin, Ireland to illustrate these dilemmas.

Details of the book can be found at https://www.jovis.de/en/books/details/the-participatory-city.html

Prof. Jill Simone Gross, Director of the M.S. Urban Policy and Leadership program, was elected to serve a second term as Chair of the Urban Affairs Association. The second term runs from spring 2016 to spring 2017.

Professors John Chin, Sigmund Shipp, Jill Simone Gross, current MS Urban Policy and Leadership Student Caitlin Ho, and ABD Marry Rocco (University of Pennsylvania and Hunter, MUP graduate) just returned from a fantastic Urban Affairs Association Conference in San Diego. They all made our Department shine, while bringing a strong lens to issues of social justice!

Prof. John Chin and Caitlin Ho presented their paper: "Gendered Labor Markets within Ethnic Economies: Asian Immigrant Women Working in Sexually Oriented Massage Parlors in New York City," on behalf of John Chin, Hunter College CUNY; Lois M. Takahashi, UCLA; Douglas J. Wiebe, University of Pennsylvania; Caitlin Ho, Hunter College CUNY

Prof. Sigmund Shipp presented a paper Titled: "The Geography of White Poverty", on behalf of Sigmund Shipp, Hunter College; Lynn McCormick, Hunter College; Mary Rocco, University of Pennsylvania.

Mary Rocco, MUP Hunter, ABD University of Pennsylvania gave a paper on her doctoral work titled, "Revitalizing Legacy Cities in the 21st Century: The Role of Foundations"

And Prof. Jill Simone Gross brought an international lens to her standing room only Colloquy titled: "Re-thinking Justice in the City in the Wake of Ferguson and Baltimore" with Todd Swanstrom, University of Missouri-St. Louis; Michael Leo Owens, Emory University; Henry Taylor, University of Buffalo; and Cathy Schnieder, American University.

Other notable Hunter sightings at the conference included former Teaching Fellow Kimberly Libman (PhD Environmental Psychology, CUNY Graduate Center, now at the New York Academy of Medicine). Dr, Libman presented a paper titled"New York State Hospital “Community Building” Investments: Will They Advance Health Equity?." Shauneequa Owusu, a graduate of the MS Urban Affairs program (currently at New York Academy of Medicine) moderated a panel titled "Health and Community Development: Rethinking Anchor Investments and Institutions." Fredrica D. Kramer, DPA, gave a paper titled "The Loss of Social Diversity in Urban Revitalization and the Promise of Social Impact Assessment to Fix It." Dr, Kramer is an educator, researcher and consultant who came to Hunter to work with Paul Davidoff and was in the first class of MUP graduates in 1968. Dr. Kramer, is currently based in Washington DC. Also in attendance was Professor Kevin Keenan, PhD. ( College of Charleston, and among our adjunct summer school faculty), who gave a paper titled,"The Gender Values-Vulnerability Nexus and Studying Societal Responses to Terrorism."

Prof. Laxmi Ramasubramanian has been appointed by Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, to serve on the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC). The Committee will review and comment on geospatial policy and management issues and provide a forum to convey views representative of non-Federal partners in the geospatial community. Prof. Ramasubramanian will hold a three-year appointment concluding December 31, 2018.

Additional information can be found at:
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-appoints-new-members-and-leadership-national-geospatial-advisory

Prof. Matthew Lasner's book and exhibit on affordable housing featured in "The Long, Complicated History of Affordable Housing in New York," written by Eillie Anzilotti, The Atlanta City Lab.

UPP Visiting Professor Pablo Vengoechea’s project, The Landmark Colony, is the focus of New York Times article,”New Life for Staten Island’s Derelict Farm Colony”, written by David W. Dunlap, January 20, 2016.

The Landmark Colony project, headed by architects Pablo Vengoechea and Timothy G. Boyland is a master plan for the redevelopment of Staten Island’s derelict Farm Colony. Staten Island Developer, Raymond Masucci purchased 45 acres of the Farm Colony for $1 and plans to rehabilitate it at a cost of about $91 million dollars. The plan includes building approximately 350 senior-targeted condominium units, the rehabilitation of 5 of the 11 historic buildings, approximately 17,000 SF of commercial space, and much more. For further reading, click here.

Prof. Matthew Lasner's new book, "Affordable Housing in New York:The People, Places, and Policies That Transformed a City", is the subject of Slate Magazine article, "The People Who Call New York’s Affordable Housing Developments Home", written by Jordan G. Teiche, February 1, 2016.

UPP Distinguished Professor Peter Kwong quoted in Radio Free Asia, CBS Money Watch, and AlJazeera, December 2015.

China Seeks Wider Global Reach With African Loans, Naval Presence: Analysts Reported
by Yang Jiadai for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie, Radio Free Asia, December 4, 2015.

Xi Jinping delivers a speech in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dec. 4, 2015 announcing China would be extending $60 billion in debt facilities to African countries as well as writing off existing loans in a three-year plan to extend its influence in the region. Peter Kwong, Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York, agreed, saying that China appears to be taking a well-trodden colonialist path in Africa. "It's very similar to the [European] colonialism of the 19th century," Kwong said. "It's not just about resources; it's also about achieving political control over these places." For further reading, click here..

China's crackdown on graft, media obscures picture for investors
Written by Robert Hennelly, Money Watch, December 21, 2015.

"Nobody inside China wants to do news or documentaries anymore because the politics are so unsettled," said Peter Kwong, a documentary filmmaker and professor of Chinese-American history at Hunter College in New York. "They are doing very safe things. People are intimidated." For further reading, click here..

Gentrification threatens Chinatowns across the US
Development and rising rents are pushing many ethnic Chinese out of the neighbourhoods they call home.
Written by Gabriel Elizondo, Lucia He, Business & Economy, United States, Aljazeera, December 29, 2015.

"A Chinatown is not just where the people reside. Chinatown is a place where social networks, economic fabrics have been built," Kwong said. "New immigrants come, want to adjust, want to find a job, want to know how to fund a business. And the information, the material, the supplies, all these things come from a place like Chinatown."The development of cities has been pressuring Chinese communities to move out of the neighbourhoods where they have been living for decades, according to Kwong. For further reading, click here..

UPP Professor Matthew Lasner and Prof. Nicholas Bloom, NYIT, co-editors of "Affordable Housing in New York: The People, Places, and Policies that Transformed a City", discuss the history of housing in NYC on CUNY TV’s "Eldridge and Company", December 8, 2015. For further reading, click here.

Photos from Professor Matthew Lasner’s new book, "Affordable Housing in New York", are featured in the New York Times article, “An Affordable Place of One’s Own”.

UPP Prof. Matthew Lasner and Alicia Glen, New York Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development interview with VICE on affordable housing in New York,"Can New York Save Itself from Out-of-Control Rents?", November 8, 2015. Prof. Lasner shares his views on Mayor de Blasio’s ten year housing plan. For further reading click here.

"Dont Make Times Square square: Be careful not to turn the commons into an overmanaged suburban space" article by Anthony Maniscalco,UPP Adjunct Associate Professor and author of “Public Spaces, Marketplaces and the Constitution”, is published in the New York Daily News Opinion Section, Sunday October 11, 2015.

Our 2009 Urban Planning degree alum, Ryan Rzepecki, is the CEO of Social Bicycles (SoBi), an NYC-based company that recently won a contract to manage Portland's bike share system. The proposal calls for a 600-bike fleet as part of a long-delayed bike rental program to be rolled out as soon as next summer in order to help renew Portland's reputation as a bicycle-friendly city. Click here to read more...

UPP Distinguished Professor Peter Kwong, known by many in Chinatown as the Dean of Chinatown scholars, is quoted in the September 24, 2015 New Yorker Magazine article, “How Has Chinatown Stayed Chinatown?” Prof. Kwong, the author of numerous books on Chinese-American immigrants says, “Chinatown has reinvented itself, that’s why it’s still here.” For further reading, click here.

Ryan Rzepecki,Hunter MUP 2009 alum is CEO of Social Bicycles (SoBi), an NYC-based company that recently won a contract to manage Portland's bike share system. Click here to read the article, "Portland says bike share coming in 2016, names bicycle supplier"

Hunter MUP students Mia Moffett and Melissa Plaut gain scholarships for the fall 2015 semester through Advancing Women in Transportation (WTS) Greater New York Chapter.

On Thursday, July 9, HunterUAP students traveled to Washington DC where they presented the research findings to senior level White House staff. Students studied the planning and implementation of the Obama Administration’s place-based initiatives.

The project grew out of the URBG 702 Structure of the Urban Region class offered in Summer Session I. For this class, students studied various urban plans, policies and programs at national, regional, city and neighborhood scales. Under the guidance of Adjunct Professor Mary Rocco, students gathered and analyzed data from five specific geographies along with the implementation of placed-based initiatives such as the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, Promise Zones, and the Mayor's Challenge to End Homelessness. Rocco, an alumnus of both the Urban Studies and Master of Urban Planning programs at Hunter, coordinated the project to demonstrate the connection between the classroom and on the ground urban practice in cities and regions. The White House Community Solutions team, led by Tara McGuinness, plans to disseminate the findings of the students' work to their partners in each of the places studied.

For more information, please contact Mary Rocco at mrocc@hunter.cuny.edu or rocco.mary@gmail.com.

Mary Rocco and students in front of the Old Executive Office building where they presented

Mary Rocco and students in front of the White House

 

 

 

Dash Henley presents as Tara McGuinness and Victoria Collins look on

 

Philip Mark Plotch, Political Science Professor at St. Peter's University in Jersey City, NJ and former UAP Adjunct Lecturer, is interviewed on WNYC in a 2-part interview, "The New Tappan Zee Isn't as Innocent as It Looks," about the political history of the new crossing being built north of the Tappan Zee Bridge and his book " Politics Across the Hudson."

Joseph P. Viteritti, Urban Planning and Policy Department Chair and editor of "Summer in the City: John Lindsay, New York and the American Dream" interviews with the New York Times, "What Bill de Blasio Can Learn From John Lindsay".

Associate Professor Lynn McCormick, who teaches courses in economic development, employment policy and planning, and manufacturing retention, authored a chapter in the recently published Handbook of Manufacturing Industries in the World Economy (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015). Entitled “The city and industry: deurbanizing manufacturing in New York City?,” the chapter examines the issues surrounding manufacturing retention in the city.

As the chapter points out, in 1950s, New York City was the largest manufacturing hub in the United States, with over one million workers. Today, manufacturers in the city employ about 75,000 people, or less than 3 percent of all local workers. Planners and policymakers face a question of whether to attempt to retain the manufacturing that remains or let it go and foster service sector expansion instead. For further reading, click here.

Each year, the Environmental Design Research Association recognizes professional and scholarly excellence in environmental design. Award-winning projects reflect an interdisciplinary approach that is enduring, human-centered, sustainable, and concerned with the experiential relationship between people and their environment (built and natural).

This year, the Great Places book award is being given to Community Matters: Service Learning in Engaged Design Planning, co-edited by Associate Professor Sigmund Shipp.

The award will be formally announced and presented at EDRA46LosAngeles, the 2015 EDRA conference held May 27-30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The winning entries will be on display throughout the conference and publicized throughout the year in various print and electronic publications.

Professor Shipp is the Director of the Urban Studies program. His research has involved a study of urban renewal, worker-owned cooperatives, and the Black church and college community development corporations.

The Urban Affairs and Planning Department proudly congratulates Brian Lamberta on becoming a 2015-2016 Urban Fellow. The Urban Fellows Program is sponsored by The City of New York and administered by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS). The program is designed to introduce America's finest college students and graduates to local government and public service.

Brian credits the assistance of UAP faculty members as being invaluable in guiding him toward the fellowship, specifically in terms of his professional growth and sharpening his academic skills. His placement is still unknown, but he is leaning toward the New York City Department of Small Business Services.

The Urban Affairs Association (UAA) is the international professional organization for urban scholars, researchers, and public service professionals. Congratulations to Associate Professor Jill Gross, who has just been elected Chair of the UAA Governing Board.

From the UAA website: “The Urban Affairs Association is dedicated to creating interdisciplinary spaces for engaging in intellectual and practical discussions about urban life. Through theoretical, empirical, and action-oriented research, the UAA fosters diverse activities to understand and shape a more just and equitable urban world.”

UAA includes over 700 institutional, individual, and student members from colleges and universities throughout North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Among its other activities, UAA sponsors the Journal of Urban Affairs, a refereed annual journal, publishing manuscripts related to urban research and policy analysis of interest to both scholars and practitioners.

Prof. Gross is the Director of the Graduate program in Urban Affairs. Her primary areas of research are in comparative urban politics, governance, migration and economic development in Western European and North American cities, with an emphasis on issues of equity.

Jeremiah Cox, a graduate student in urban planning, is the first - prize winner of the 2015 student paper competition for the Transportation and Planning Division (TPD) of the American Planning Association (APA). The first -prize winner is awarded a $1,000 cash prize. Jeremiah's paper, "The Shrinking, Rural Intercity Bus Network: A Problem of Immobility for Rural Residents without Automobiles and Possible Solutions, " is posted on the American Planning Association's website.

Cheers to Jeremiah!

UAP Professor and Director of the Urban Affairs program, Jill Simone Gross was recently published in Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning. Her work, co-authored with Hank V. Savitch and Lin Ye, titled, "Do Chinese cities break the global mold?" investigates the significance of China's new-found globalism.

Professor Gross wrote about a similar subject for the Journal of Urban Affairs in the article titled, "Asia and the Pacific Rim: The New Peri-Urbanization and Urban Theory" with Lin Ye and Richard Legates. She also participated in the Second International Conference on Regional and Urban Development last month at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China where urban clusters and regional development were discussed through the lens of contemporary public administration.

Ted Orosz, an adjunct lecturer in the Hunter College Urban Planning program, in collaboration with Sean Di Luccio, a planning undergraduate student at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz, created a special feature for the American Planning Association. In their report, Green Acres: The Greatest Planned Neighborhood You've Never Heard Of, they detail the significance of the history of Green Acres, New York, a neighborhood just east of New York City in Nassau County. Click here to read more about the cultural and historical importance of this seemingly forgotten planning project.

In 2011, the International Research Training Group 1705 "The World in the City" was established under the auspices of the TU Berlin in conjunction with two universities in Berlin, four New York City universities (including City University of New York) and two Canadian universities to conduct interdisciplinary, internationally-oriented metropolis research.

The workshop “Metropolitan Capitalism, Family, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship,” was held in New York City from October 9th to 10th. It was jointly organized by Fordham University and the DFG--the German government's official Research Foundation's--New York office. In the opening presentation titled “The Historical Impact of Entrepreneurship on Metropolitan Development,” Professor Owen Gutfreund emphasized the importance of both successful individual and communal assumption of risk in order to enable quantum leaps in metropolitan development. Click here to read more about the workshop.

Our Urban Affairs and Planning Department at Hunter College has been ranked as a Top Planning School by Planetizen in their Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, a comprehensive ranking and listing of graduate urban planning programs, which thousands of students have used to inform their decision on which graduate programs to apply to, and ultimately, attend.

According to the guide, the purpose of our Master of Urban Planning program, "is to train planners who, like their counterparts throughout the nation, have general expertise in planning theory and methods, an understanding of urban structure, specialized knowledge of a chosen planning concentration, and the skills and intellectual maturity to operate in the professional arena."

Based on the research his research with Professor Peter Tuckel in the Department of Sociology at Hunter, Hunter UAP Professor William Milczarski was invited to be part of a panel at a forum held at the UN on October 17th.  The forum was entitled, "The International Conference on Global Environment, Carbon Reduction, and Eco-drive" and Milczarski discussed how using non-motorized forms of transportation, especially walking, can make a contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Milczarski was then invited to be a guest on a TV show entitled The Inside Scoop -- Emerald Planet, which is part of the Emerald Planet network and is broadcasted on over 2,000 stations worldwide.  You can learn more about the Emerald Planet organization and the TV show at www.emerald-planet.org. Milczarski had the opportunity to not only talk about his research, but also his experience at Hunter College and what a great place the UAP department is to learn about cities and urban issues. The entire one-hour show can be accessed here, but for just Milczarski's 15-minute segment, click here.

We are so excited to congratulate two of our students for their amazing accomplishments this semester. Joshua D'Ambrosio, an urban studies undergraduate student, has received the Wells Fargo Scholarship, which awards undergraduate students and students obtaining a master’s degree in real estate to attend the Urban Land Institute fall meeting that's taking place this week. Click here for more information about this program.

Amina Hassen, a master of urban planning student, has been awarded the 2014-2015 Judith McManus Scholarship, made possible by the APA Planning Foundation. This scholarship is awarded each year to women and minority students enrolled in PAB accredited planning programs who intend to pursue careers in the public sector. To learn more about Amina and her award, click here.

Congratulations once again to these two gifted students who are making a difference in the world through their urban research and community development and planning!

Hunter UAP Professor William Milczarski along with Professor Peter Tuckel in the Department of Sociology at Hunter and Professor Richard Maisel in the Department of Sociology at New York University have an article published in the December 2014 issue of the Journal of Safety Research. Entitled "Pedestrian Injuries Due to Collisions with Bicycles in New York and California," it examines the incidence of pedestrians injured by cyclists in New York between 2004 to 2011 and in California from 2005 to 2011. They found the rate of pedestrians injured in collisions with cyclists has decreased over time. You can read the full article here and find out why that is the case.

The research was featured on The Atlantic Citylab, which you can check out here. Professors Milczarski and Tuckel were interviewed on The Brian Lehrer Show on CUNY-TV about the research. To view the entire show, click here, and their segment starts around the 16:30 mark.

The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) has announced two recipients for its inaugural Service Award, which recognizes individuals who have significantly contributed to the growth, development and ongoing success of the organization. UAP Professor Laxmi Ramasubramanian is one of the recipients of this award.

From the UCGIS press release: "Professor Ramasubramanian recently completed her term as President of UCGIS and is now serving the organization as Past President. [She] tirelessly served the organization during a time of restructuring and renewal. Professor Ramasubramanian has also served UCGIS as Secretary, a member of the Board of Directors and Vice President. Through her diplomatic and consultative style, her inclusive view of GIScience, and her strategic planning skills, Professor Ramasubramanian has positioned the organization for a successful future."

The New York Post recently reported that the 126th Street Bus Depot in East Harlem, which is situated above a 17th-century African burial ground, will be shut down in January. Plans for the site include a memorial as well as possible residential development. The article references Hunter UAP's Fall 2011 studio report, Reclaiming Cultural Heritage: A Plan for the Harlem African Burial Ground, which recommended relocation of the bus depot and identified three possible alternative sites. The report was the result of a four-month-long planning process to provide the Harlem African Burial Ground Task Force with a cohesive plan to memorialize the site. The plan outlined design guidelines, recommendations, strategies and future policies that were intended to assist the Task Force in their efforts to memorialize the burial ground and educate the public about its historical and cultural significance.

Professor Sigmund C. Shipp is an editor of recently published Community Matters: Service-Learning in Engaged Design and Planning (Routledge, 2014). The book explores issues that resonate with a diverse group of design and planning educators drawn to the challenge of supporting greater community building and empowerment while combining learning with practice. It provides compelling evidence that educators should be adopting engaged pedagogies, research methods and theories through which they can bring together education, practice and scholarship at the boundary of community and academy.

UAP Professor Matthew G. Lasner was quoted in today's Real Estate section of The New York Times, which featured an article on middle-income housing in Manhattan:

“In New York, it’s not just the poor in Jacob Riis-type conditions who endure housing stress,” said Professor Lasner, the author of the book “High Life: Condo Living in the Suburban Century” (Yale University Press, 2012). “When it comes to housing, middle-income families also need help. They earn too much to qualify for apartments earmarked for low-income families, but they can’t afford market-rate housing. So they feel very vulnerable. They get that letter telling them their rent is going up, and they realize they’re one pen stroke away from being displaced, from having to pay a lot more for a new apartment, or worse, having to leave the city.

“They’re truly the forgotten middle, locked out of both luxury and public housing,” said Professor Lasner, whose department recently published a report titled “Where Will New Yorkers Live?” that underscored the shrinking number of affordable rentals for middle-income households. “They don’t experience as much stress as low-income families, but they live with a tremendous amount of uncertainty.”

Mitchell J. Silver, a graduate of Hunter's Master in Urban Planning program and former planning director of Raleigh, N.C., was featured in today's edition of The New York Times. Silver was recently appointed Commissioner of NYC Parks (read the full article. In the article, Silver described parks as "a system within a city. They are connected to culture. They are connected to traditions and memories, the economy, the natural systems. As a planner, I take a very different view of parks, as not just a green space but a public space.”

Professor Joseph P. Viteritti's new book on the legacy of the Lindsay administration, Summer in the City: John Lindsay, New York, and the American Dream, was celebrated last week at a conference hosted by the Public Policy Institute of Roosevelt House. Hunter College President Jennifer Raab gave introductory remarks prior to Professor Viteritt's keynote address. Sam Roberts of the New York Times and Errol Louis of NY1 moderated panel discussions with former Lindsay aides including Jay Kriegel and Ronnie Eldridge, and urban history scholars including Vincent Cannato and Lizabeth Cohen.

Each chapter of Summer in the City: John Lindsay, New York, and the American Dream covers a distinct aspect of Lindsay’s mayoralty (politics, race relations, finance, public management, architecture, economic development, and the arts). The book is an honest portrait of Lindsay and the prospects for shaping more balanced public priorities as New York City ushers in a new era of progressive leadership.

Professor Viteritti's book was mentioned in The New York Times and Crain's, and also featured on NY1 and CUNY TV.

The CUNY Academy for the Humanities and Sciences awarded Matthew G. Lasner the 2014 Feliks Gross Endowment Award. This honor is presented each year to two junior faculty members in the CUNY system who, through their research, show exceptional promise for contributing to their field, the university, and academia.

Congratulations to Mitch Silver, MUP alum and former APA president, on his recent appointment to NYC Parks Commissioner! Silver, a Brooklyn native, was most recently the Chief Planning & Development Officer and Planning Director for the City of Raleigh, North Carolina. Previously, in NYC, Silver served as planning and policy specialist for the Manhattan Borough President's office, and as a city planner. Silver played a central role as an expert consultant in the formulation of the "Harlem-on-the-River" 197-A plan, which materialized into the plan for Harlem Piers Park, redesigning a site originally pegged for a hotel development and turning it into a $20 million park.

Silver has written and spoken extensively about the need to integrate city planning and public health policy, the expansion of green spaces and recreational facilities, and the implementation of educational campaigns promoting walking and other outdoor activities. He was President of the American Planning Association, has been named one of the Top 100 City Innovators in the World by UBM Future Cities, and was named one of the top international thought leaders of the built environment by Urban Times.

According to a recent report by Hunter UAP Professor William Milczarski and Professor Peter Tuckel (Sociology), New Yorkers on bikes are riding safer than they were 4 years ago. They are also proportionally more female.

The study, "Bike Lanes + Bike Share = Bike Safety" looked at the behavior of 4,316 bicyclists at 98 different locations in central and lower Manhattan. The researchers compared the resulting data to what they found in a similar, although not identical, survey in 2009. You can read the full report here. 

The Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development (CCPD) has released a new report, Keeping the Public in Public Housing, by Tom Angotti, Director and Professor of Urban Planning and Affairs, and Sylvia Morse, Fellow and Master of Urban Planning student. The report includes a look at the New York City Housing Authority, its controversial plans for private infill development and other NYCHA initiatives, and proposes policy directions for the future. On Friday, January 31, Tom and Sylvia presented the report at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. They were joined for a discussion on the report and the future of public housing by local elected officials, planning and housing professionals, researchers, and advocates, public interest law groups, and public housing residents.

In a recent article for urbanomnibus.net, housing advocate and Hunter MUP alum Oksana Mironova investigates the planning policies and housing developments that have shaped the often-overlooked residential side of Coney Island and calls for investment in a neighborhood facing challenges of poverty, climate change, and affordability loss. Click here to read the full article, "West of Nathan's: Planning Coney Island's Residential Community."

It's been an active time for our faculty and alumni in the news. Mark Levitan, who teaches courses on poverty and inequality at Hunter UAP, was featured in The New York Times for his work on redefining the poverty index.

One of our alumni, Daniel Campo, recently published The Accidental Playground: Brooklyn Waterfront Narratives of the Undesigned and Unplanned, which was also featured in The New York Times as suggested reading for Bill de Blasio.

Speaking of Bill de Blasio: we are happy to congratulate Lilliam Barrios Paoli, a former long-standing adjunct in our department, on her appointment as his deputy mayor.

In other news, our own Peter Kwong, Distinguished Professor and noted expert on immigration policy, was recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal on recent trends in NYC immigration.

Hunter UAP professor Matthew Lasner has been awarded the 2013 Abbott Lowell Cummings Prize for his recent book, High Life: Condo Living in the Suburban Century. According to the Vernacular Architecture Forum's website, the prize is awarded to the publication that has "made the most significant contribution to the study of vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes... in judging the nominated books, jurors look for a publication that is based on primary research, emphasizes fieldwork, breaks new ground in interpretation or methodology, and contributes generally to the intellectual vitality of vernacular studies in North America."

In his new book, The Accidental Playground, planner and professor Daniel Campo, a graduate of Hunter UAP's graduate program in Urban Planning ('97), writes about the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal, a seven-acre abandoned rail yard on the East River waterfront in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which he studied over a 10-year period beginning in 2000. The book was recently reviewed in The Atlantic Cities.

Hunter UAP Professors Sigmund Shipp and Lynn McCormick, along with MUP alum Mary Rocco ('09), recently wrote an op-ed entitled White Poverty Must Be Good Poverty that was featured on the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute's website. According to the article, "

An article coauthored by UAP Professor and Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies Edwin Mélendez has been accepted for publication by the journal International Migration and is currently available online. The article, Day Labourers' Work Related Injuries: An Assessment of Risks, Choices, and Policies discusses the relationship between wages and the risk of work-related injury among Latino immigrants who find employment as day laborers in the US. According to the abstract, the authors find “a statistically significant wage premium

On June 8th, SImagines held their third community visioning workshop, looking at the future of coastal neighborhoods along Staten Island’s South Shore in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Facilitated by Hunter UAP Professor Pablo Vengochea and 5 UAP students working as interns, among others collaborators, the charette brought members of the communities together with professional and academic experts to start imagining what a community vision for a sustainable, resilient Staten Island should include.

A partnership between Hunter College UAP, the American Planning Association, and the Staten Island Chapter of the AIA, SImagines has held similar charettes for the East Shore and the North Shore. Read more here at the Staten Island Advance, follow SImagine's Facebook page, or watch this video of the North Shore workshop.

In a taped interview with Brian Lehrer and an article published by City Lights, Professor Tom Angotti discusses the New York Housing Authority’s plan to build market-rate housing on open land between public housing developments.

Elaine Walsh, UAP Professor and Director of the Public Service Scholar Program, was honored today as a “Woman of Distinction” by the New York State Senate. She was selected for the award by 28th District Senator Liz Krueger for her history as “a passionate and dedicated advocate in her community.” Citing her work with local organizations, her work in academia, and her career as a social worker, the award lauds both her professional accomplishments and her “selfless volunteerism.” Read the full award text here.

In the April 22nd issue of The Nation, UAP Professor Peter Kwong writes about government corruption in China and the reasons it will persist despite its tendency to undermine the authority of the party amidst strengthening calls for democratic reform. Click here for the full article (subscription required).

Sylvia Morse, a graduate student in the Urban Planning department, was awarded the top prize for graduate research papers at the 20th Annual Paul LeClerc Competition held by the Hunter College Library. Her paper, “Housing in Luanda, Angola: Challenges and Alternatives,” was written for Professor Owen Gutfreund’s class Cities in Developing Countries, offered by the Urban Affairs Department in the fall semester.

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.

Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Hunter UAP professor and President of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, has been named to the 2013-14 class of fellows at the American Council of Education. She is one of just fifty fellows chosen from senior university positions to engage in the year-long program designed to prepare participants for future roles as leaders and administrators in the world of higher education. Learn more about the ACE Fellows program here.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

Award winners were honored in a special ceremony to recognize community contributions to the East Side. Professor 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.

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.

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.

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.

In his recent article published in The Nation, An Iraq Vet’s Journey from Wall Street to OWS, UAP student Derek McGee (MSUA) chronicles his journey from Marine, to financier, to Occupy Wall Street protester. “I returned from Falluja in 2006 haunted by the sense that our country had made things worse, not better, for Iraqis. Meanwhile, at home, we'd let an invasive domestic intelligence apparatus go silently to work all around us.” In addition to his article in the Nation, Derek has made a number of media appearances, most recently on Countdown with Keith Olberman.

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.

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.

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.

Mitchell Silver, MUP ’93, one of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning’s most prominent graduates, is the first recipient of the department’s newly created Robert C. Weaver Distinguished Service Award. Silver is president of the American Planning Association (APA), a 43,000-member organization that provides leadership in community development.

The award was presented during a ceremony held September 16th at Hunter’s newly restored Roosevelt House Institute for Public Policy. The event also introduced the department’s new Urban Dialogue series, which recognizes trailblazers in urban planning and policy who uphold the ideals of Hunter’s Urban Affairs and Planning Department – in particular, innovation, advocacy and commitment to diversity.

Mitchell Silver receiving the Robert C. Weaver award from Dr. Sigmund Shipp

Silver is currently director of city planning in Raleigh, N.C. He has served as deputy director in the Office of Planning in Washington, D.C.; Northern Manhattan planning and policy director for the Manhattan Borough President’s office; a planner in the New York City Planning Department, and president of the New York Metro APA Chapter. Articles by him have been featured in Time.com, New York Times, Planning Magazine, CNBC.com, The Triangle Business Journal, Crain’s Business Journal and on National Public Radio.

The Urban Affairs and Planning faculty created the Weaver Distinguished Service Award in honor of Robert C. Weaver (1907-97), who served as a distinguished professor in Hunter’s UAP department from 1970 to 1978. Dr. Weaver was nationally recognized for his pioneering innovations in housing policy. In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson named him as the first secretary of the newly created U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, making him the first African American to serve in a presidential cabinet.

The inaugural Urban Dialogue was titled Planning and the Community: A Conversation with Mitch Silver and featured a conversation between Silver and Eugenie Birch, his former professor and mentor. Birch, a former chair of Hunter UAP, currently serves as chair of the Graduate Group and co-director of the Institute for Urban Research at the University of Pennsylvania. At one point in the dialogue, Silver laid out what many in the audience recognized as a new direction for planners: “We need to become a profession of big thinkers again, visionaries who think in the long term... We need to fall back in love with planning.”

Joseph Viteritti, Chair of Hunter UAP, summed up the ceremony, saying “What began as an event to recognize the work of one of our most accomplished alums, Mitch Silver, grew into an opportunity to celebrate Robert Weaver, the distinguished history of our department, and our common sense of purpose.”

A collaborative study between UAP’s Prof. W. Milczarski and Sociology Prof. P Tuckel exams the incidence of pedestrian-cyclist accidents. The study, the first of its kind, on behalf of the Stuart C. Gruskin Family Foundation, reveals the alarming news is that there are about 1,000 such accidents each year in New York State alone and that 55% of them occur in New York City. The report concluded that “pedestrian-cyclist accidents are far more common occurrences than previously thought and that government and public health officials need to pay more attention to this phenomenon…”

Graduate students from the MUP Program released their detailed report Beyond the Backlash: Equity and Participation in Bicycle Planning. The bicycle studio spent nine months studying the history and practices of bicycle planning, identified the challenges facing the expansion of bicycle lanes, and made recommendations that would affect the roles of the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT), cycling advocates, and community boards. In response to recent controversies over bike lanes, the group proposes new approaches to serve the needs of current and future cyclists and ensure the longevity of bicycle planning under future administrations.

Professor Jill Simone Gross, Director of MS in Urban Affairs, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research in the European Union during the Spring 2012 semester. Her research will examine the implications of European Union law on migrant inclusion in cities. She will travel between two national migrant hubs in Europe: London and Dublin, with shorter trips to Amsterdam to gather information on how these laws intersect with local inclusion policies to create what appears to be a type of "urban citizenship" separate and apart from more traditional notions of national citizenship. Read more>>

UAP Chair, Professor Joseph P. Viteritti is quoted in the NYTimes article that reviews a poll on Mayor Bloomberg's record on education. "Some people wind up in better schools than others, and it continues to break down by race and class." The article is one of several discussions among education leaders leading up to the start of the 2011-2011 academic year. Professor Viteritti was part of a panel earlier this month sponsored by City Hall News.