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