SCaRP Spring Semester Highlights
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
SCaRP Has Been Busy This Spring!
|
|
|
As
the academic year unfolds, we’re excited to share a glimpse into the
dynamic events and accomplishments that have shaped recent months at
SCaRP. From impactful lectures on environmental justice, urban politics,
and AI in planning, to milestone achievements like the launch of our
new undergraduate degree, our community has been energized by innovation
and engagement. Students showcased their creativity and research at
national conferences, international studio trips, and public festivals
like STEAM Day. Faculty and alumni continued to lead through
groundbreaking research, public discourse, and global collaborations. We
also welcomed new faculty members, celebrated award-winning students,
and deepened our commitment to resilience and equity through events like
the inaugural Urban Resilience Leadership Symposium. Together, these
moments reflect the spirit of SCaRP- collaborative, forward-thinking,
and rooted in real-world impact.
|
|
|
This spring semester brought a landmark announcement that signals an exciting new chapter.
|
|
|
New Undergraduate Degree in Urban Planning and Spatial Analytics
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
Georgia
Tech’s new Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and Spatial
Analytics—the first undergraduate planning degree in Georgia—will launch
in August 2025. Combining planning, spatial analysis, and data-driven
decision-making, the program equips students to address complex urban
challenges across sectors. With Atlanta as a dynamic living lab,
students will gain hands-on experience and graduate prepared for
impactful careers in planning and analytics.You can learn more about the
new program here and see details about the curriculum here.
|
|
|
Here’s a quick look at key events we hosted this semester!
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
The inaugural Urban Resilience Leadership Symposium, hosted by Center of Urban Resilience and Analytics (CURA) at Georgia Tech,
brought together global experts to reimagine how cities confront the
climate crisis through equity, design, and innovation. From cooling
infrastructure to climate finance, the event underscored the urgent need
to translate research into action—and connect data with the people it’s
meant to serve.Dean Ellen Bassett hosted a panel with Brian Stone (Professor, SCaRP), Matthew Gonser (Los Angeles County’s Climate Resilience Officer), Eleni (Lenio) Myrivili (Global Chief Heat Officer), and Jesse Keenan (Associate Professor, Tulane University). Read more about the event here.
|
|
|
STEAM Day at the Atlanta Science Festival
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
As part of the Atlanta Science Festival,
students from SCaRP hosted an interactive table at STEAM Day in The
Kendeda Building. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to share your
dream city ideas and explore how urban planning shapes our world! MCRP
students Olivia Phillips, Alex Kozela, Vincent Parisi, Lehn Ellingson, Niamh O'Dea, and Rutvi Ahir engaged young visitors through hands-on activities and thoughtful conversations—tackling questions like:
“What do drones have to do with urban planning?”
“How can we make cities better places for everyone?”
We’re proud to see our students fostering curiosity and community at the intersection of design, sustainability, and planning.
|
|
|
SPA Portfolio and Resume Workshops
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
The Student Planning Association (SPA)
recently hosted two career-focused events to support students in
preparing for the job market. The first event featured SCaRP alum Blake Reeves,
who shared insights on crafting strong portfolios and resumes tailored
for planning professionals. This was followed by a hands-on resume and
portfolio review session, where alums provided personalized feedback to
students to help refine their materials and enhance their job search
success.
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
The
SCaRP community gathered in April to recognize and celebrate the
outstanding achievements of SCaRP students at the annual Spring
Reception and Awards Ceremony.
The following students were received awards for their accomplishments:
American Institute of Certified Planners Student of the Year Award: Arthur Miranda
Georgia Planning Association Student of the Year: Changmin Seok and Dylan Whitlow
Community Engagement Excellence: Soumya Gupta and Jeremiah LaDuca
Professional Excellence Award: Katherine Losada
Service Excellence Award: Niamh O'Dea and Alex Kozela
Academic Excellence Award: Zihan Weng, Sierra Dinndorf, Sanica Manglorkar, Thanawit Suwannikom, Kelsey Abernathy, Eunjee Son, Mark S.
Thomas D Galloway and Dean's fellowships: Catherine Campbell
Equity, Justice and Inclusive Design and Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Fellowships: Xavier Fitten
Thera H richter Fellowship and Thomas D Galloway fellowships: Emerence Poiraud
William F Kennedy fellowship and Dean's fellowships: Ethan Salter
Thomas D Galloway fellowship and Fredrcik K Bell fellowships: Amy K Schutt
Congratulations to the awardees for their hard work and dedication!
|
|
|
Student-Alumni Mixer Hosted by SPA
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
In
April, SCaRP students and alumni reconnected at a casual mixer hosted
by the Student Planning Association, sharing insights, stories, and
career experiences. Nearly thirty alumni and thirty current students
were present, with an overall attendance of sixty.
|
|
|
This
semester, SCaRP welcomed a lineup of guest speakers who shared their
insights and experiences with our students and faculty.
|
|
Noah Nathan: "Vernacular Architecture and Grassroots Urban Politics" Drawing from original research in urban Ghana, Dr. Nathan, from MIT, explored
how informal, vernacular architecture—particularly the compound
house—affects political participation. His work highlights how
residential design influences access to political information, the
formation of social networks, and the capacity for collective action,
especially in cities experiencing rapid growth and housing scarcity.
Jonathan Tarleton: Book Talk, Homes for Living Jonathan Tarleton
joined SCaRP to share insights from his new book Homes for Living,
exploring the lived experiences of residents in two New York social
housing cooperatives. Both students and faculty enjoyed the lecture
hosted by Gregory Randolph and the Student Planning Association (SPA).
Hungxu Ma: LLMs and Data Science Assistants Hongxu Ma, Staff AI Research Scientist at Google, was invited by Yiyi He
to Georgia Tech to present on how LLM-based data science agents are
reshaping workflows across academia and industry. Many MS-UA and MS-GIST
students, along with the broader GT community attended the lecture.
Scott Markley: Mapping Uneven Development Scott Markley, PhD, Research Director at the National Zoning Atlas and Visiting Lecturer at Cornell University, was invited by Clio Andris
for a thought-provoking talk. Drawing from the Historical Housing
Unit and Urbanization Database and the National Zoning Atlas, his
lecture examined the long-term effects of zoning and housing policies on
Atlanta’s urban form.
|
Alison Post: "Pork Politics and Municipality Size" Dr. Alison Post from University of California, Berkeley
presented her research at Georgia Tech, highlighting how small cities
in Brazil can significantly increase their budgets by advocating for
national infrastructure projects. Her study showed that smaller
municipalities are more likely to pursue simpler projects, such as
street paving, over more complex upgrades.
Nick Okafor: "Liberatory GIS & Urban Analytics" Nick Okafor
delivered a lecture at Georgia Tech on Liberatory Approaches to Urban
Analytics and GIS, exploring how data and spatial analysis can advance
equity and justice in urban planning. Learn more here.
Paxton LaJoje: Remote Sensing for Humanitarian Planning
Students and faculty joined an engaging discussion with Paxton LaJoje, GIS Specialist in Education and Practice, on
the role of remote sensing data in advancing humanitarian initiatives,
with a focus on urban development, ecological health, and disaster
response. Read more about her lecture here.
|
|
|
A snapshot of some of the amazing things our faculty and students have accomplished this semester.
|
|
|
Faculty Highlights: Selection of Recent Activities and Publications
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
SCaRP faculty are dedicated to advancing
knowledge and driving positive change through their research, teaching,
and public engagement. They consistently produce impactful scholarship,
secure prestigious funding, and contribute to important conversations in
the media and beyond. Below are some faculty highlights from the spring
semester.
|
|
Gregory Randolph presented research at India’s National Institute of Urban Affairs. Watch a recording of his lecture here.
Yiyi He spoke at the Design Research Society on GIS and community resilience.
Perry Yang co-authored an article on carbon-neutral urban design. Read the publication here.
Rounaq Basu joined SCaRP as Assistant Professor, specializing in sustainable mobility and transportation equity. Here
is a short video introducing him. He immersed himself quickly in
Georgia Tech’s culture and spoke at TEDxGeorgiaTech on April 5,
delivering a talk titled “A Pedestrian Tale” that explored how walkable
environments promote public health, enhance mobility safety, and foster
more connected communities.
|
Gulsah Akar co-authored a study on MARTA rider travel behavior in the Journal of Transport Geography. Read the full article here.
Michael Elliott celebrated
41 years at Georgia Tech with a farewell address followed by a
reception to celebrate his retirement. We will share a recording of the
farewell address later in the summer.
Elora Raymond presented on financialized housing at The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Learn more here.
Brian Stone was recognized by Planetizen for Radical Adaptation as a top planning book. Additionally, he was featured in The Washington Post and on NPR for expertise on climate risks.
|
|
|
Photo: School of City and Regional Planning
|
|
|
Chaeyeon Han, Uijeong Hwang, and Bon Woo Koo published
a paper that explores how walkable environments relate to mental
health facility visits- especially in the context of the COVID-19
pandemic. Read their paper in the Journal of Transport &
Health here.
Daniel Hunsaker, Tyler Carnahan, and Jeremiah LaDuca
presented at the National Planning Conference about their work on
innovative data collection using ground-level video for pedestrian
infrastructure- demonstrating how emerging tools can support safer, more
walkable communities.
SCaRP student Vincent Parisi and his teammates were named finalists in the 2025 ULI Hines Competition. See the design here. In
addition, the spectaCLE team from Georgia Tech received an honorable
mention for their innovative design proposal, highlighting the strength
and creativity of Georgia Tech’s urban design students.
Ph.D. student Seung Jae Lieu and Professor Gulsah Akar published
a paper analyzing first- and last-mile travel behavior among MARTA
riders- now featured in the Journal of Transport Geography. Read the
full article here.
Ph.D. student Shinah Park was named a Scott Lilienfeld Scholar by Emory University's Injury Prevention Research Center. She’ll be presenting her work at IPRCE meetings throughout the year, including their October 2025 quarterly gathering.
|
|
|
Developing global leaders in sustainable, resilient, and just places!
|
|
|
|
|
