Collaborative Projects and Teaching
As an instructor who ascribes to critical pedagogy, I believe everyone has something to teach me and “experts” and residents or students should learn together. I also value collaboration with community members, activists, colleagues, other researchers, and people who work in completely different fields. Some examples of collaborations that I felt were especially `important to me are presented below.
Teaching Philosophy
Throughout my experiences teaching in university classrooms, I’ve developed a teaching philosophy that is described in the below presentation.
ARDA Spark 2021 Keynote Panel: Rooted in Data, Grounded in Community
I have been involved with a local group called the Alamo Regional Data Alliance (ARDA) for the last few years, and was thrilled to be able to put together this virtual panel line up to discuss data, social justice, and community.
Hindsight Conference, 2020
The annual (but now discontinued) Hindsight Conference was a fantastic space to discuss equity in planning and was put on every year by the NY Metro Chapter of the American Planning Association’s Diversity Committee. For one of their last conferences, I was thrilled to be able to have three of my City of San Antonio Colleagues join me from the Planning Dept, Office of Equity, and Office of Historic Preservation to Discuss San Antonio.
Pratt Studios, 2012–2014
Pratt's city and regional planning program uses New York City as a classroom. Each student takes three studios with clients that are mostly community-based groups within the five-boroughs. My three studios, described below, allowed me to work as part of a team to exercise skills in a real life setting while learning from the residents who know their communities best.
Urban Design Studio - Broadway Triangle
Professors Ron Shiffman and David Burney
Pratt Institute, Fall 2014
The Broadway triangle is a highly contested area of mostly vacant land that lies where Flushing, Union, and Broadway cross in a triangle in Southside Williamsburg. The triangle was historically a bustling manufacturing hub, with Pfizer at the center. However, with Pfizer leaving the area in 2007, and a rezoning from the city that has been labeled discriminatory in court, there are serious development concerns for affordable housing. At the current zoning, the city has determined that only about six-story buildings are allowed in the area, which shows a strong preference for the hasidic community. Our studio is charged with creating density. The city needs more housing, and with a unified and sustainable plan we hope to use urban design to envision possibilities for an equitable, sustainable, and affordable community in this unique intersection between three distinct neighborhoods
View our final presentation here.
Sustainable Communities Studio - Coney Island
Professors Eddie Bautista, Stu Pertz, and Ron Shiffman
Pratt Institute, Fall 2013
During the fall of 2013, we completed a semester-long studio in Coney Island with our client being tenant association leaders from various public housing developments on the peninsula. Coney Island’s preexisting issues of segregation, an inadequate sewer system, flooding, and poor transportation were only exacerbated by Superstorm Sandy’s impact. For the short-term concerns raised by residents at our community meeting—such as poor access to parks and inadequate youth services—we presented the community with information that could help with their immediate needs. For the long-term goal of comprehensive resiliency, we provided a plan for coalition building and advocacy for the needs of the Coney Island residents.
We delivered a 182-page report with extensive existing conditions research as well as 21 recommendations for the community leaders ranging from short-term projects such as a better ability to reserve ball fields, to long-term goals of street redesign.
View our final presentation here.
Fundamentals Studio - Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH) in Williamsburg
Professors Ayse Yonder, Eve Baron, Mercedes Narcisco, and Juan Camilo Osorio
Pratt Institute, Fall 2012
In the fall of 2012, I was part of a collaborative Pratt studio project with Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH), a local faith-based non-profit in South Williamsburg. Our central goal was to identify spaces owned by CUFFH's member churches that could potentially be used as affordable housing. Some of my duties included collecting and analyzing existing conditions data for the neighborhood, developing recommendations, and presenting our final report at a public meeting. Our end product was a set of easily understood and well-received recommendations and strategies that identified affordable housing opportunities, possible green infrastructure sites, and ways to spur economic growth.
