Going Beyond the Classroom

Demonstrating the Program’s commitment to Immersive Learning, Sustainable Planning, the graduating class of 2015 for the City Planning and Urban Affairs Programs and other students across Boston University, created a framework for Quincy’s Climate Action Plan. This planning initiative, on which the students collaborated with and were guided by planners from the City of Quincy and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), was the focus of this years Boston Urban Symposium – the capstone course for graduating students of the program.

Led by Associate Professor of Practice and Program Coordinator, Dr. Madhu C Dutta-Koehler, and co-taught by Professor John Weis, an award-winning planner and educator with over 30 years of experience in urban development, the students embarked on a challenging project that would make a difference in “real-time”. The goals of the project were twofold: to give our Master’s students hands-on experience in complex planning situations, and to provide data and analysis to aid the community in making crucial decisions about planning for climate change.

In keeping with part of the program’s mission of “preservation and good stewardship of the environment, while being grounded in research from the field”, this Graduate Symposium class has furthered the traditions of community-focused research that have long been the hallmark of the Program. Over the past several years, students in the Program have collaborated and consulted on current planning projects, including the General Management Plan of the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership (2013), which incorporated student recommendations into its final report.

In 2014, students conducted research and drafted recommendations on urban gentrification for the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC). The 2012 Symposium, also working with the CSNDC, focused on the intersection of community development, sustainable urban agriculture, urban entrepreneurship, land use, civic engagement, and fundraising. These projects produced actionable planning initiatives for this vital Boston community.

We would like to congratulate the members of the Symposium on their hard work and practical insights into the issues confronting the city of Quincy. We would also especially like to thank our community partners—the city of Quincy and the MAPC—for their unwavering support throughout the semester.