Strengthening Cities Through University Community Partnerships
Inspiring Design: Creating Beautiful, Just, and Resilient Places in America

Hosted in partnership with the Northeastern University School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy as a part of its 2021 Spring Myra Kraft Open Classroom, Inspiring Design: Creating Beautiful, Just, and Resilient Places in America explores the role of design in cities.

The series is presented in partnership with the Association of Architecture Organizations, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Boston Society for Architecture, and the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.

How does Boston, home to 29 colleges and universities, leverage its extensive educational institution resources to build a stronger and more equitable city? In Phoenix, a public private partnership between the City of Phoenix and Arizona State University led to the creation of Civic Space Park (2011 RBA Silver Medalist), a new signature public space in the heart of downtown. Drexel University Dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design dean Jason Schupbach and Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts professor Maria Rosario Jackson discuss how ongoing dialogue between their respective schools and communities and about creative placemaking are informing planning and investment in Philadelphia and other cities. Northeastern University’s Vice President and Chief of Campus Planning and Development Kathy Spiegelman will offer insights on approaches to university community partnerships in Boston.

Learning Objectives 

  • Understand and describe how place-based investments by educational institutions can address community welfare and affect economic, environmental, and social change.
  • Discuss the value of collaborative, public private partnerships in urban planning, design, and development.
  • Describe how college and university-based design programs can engage, empower, and build the capacity of people and communities.
  • Discuss how cities can leverage college and university resources for community benefit.

This session was recorded on Wednesday, February 24th, 2021 as part of Northeastern University’s Myra Kraft Open Classroom 2021 Spring series. ASLA and APA continuing education credits are available thanks to partnerships with Boston Society of Landscape Architects and the American Planning Association, Ohio Chapter.

Panelists
Jason Schupbach, Dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel University
Jason S. Schupbach is the Dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Jason Schupbach is an advocate for reimagining urban civic spaces through placemaking, arts and design. Previously, he was Director of The Design School at Arizona State University where he led an ambitious “ReDesign.School” initiative to make the school more collaborative, relevant and equitable. Schupbach oversaw design and creative placemaking grantmaking and partnerships as Director of Design and Creative Placemaking Programs for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Maria Rosario Jackson, Professor at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University
Maria Rosario Jackson’s expertise is in comprehensive community revitalization, systems change, arts and culture in communities and dynamics of race and ethnicity. She’s worked widely with philanthropy and governments advising on strategy, program design, research, learning and evaluation. She’s an Institute Professor and is affiliated with the College of Public Service and Community Solutions. Prior, she was with Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. for 18 years.

Kathy Spiegelman, Vice President and Chief of Campus Planning and Development, Northeastern University
Kathy Spiegelman is currently the Vice President and Chief of Campus Planning and Development at Northeastern University. This position was created in 2013 to ensure that the university’s physical resources keep pace with its core values and ambitions. In this role, Kathy is responsible for the effective use of land and buildings on Northeastern’s main campus in Boston, its graduate campuses around the country and other properties owned or leased by the university

Anne-Marie Lubenau (moderator), FAIA, is the director of the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence at the Bruner Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An architect, educator and writer, she is an advocate for engaging people in the design of the built environment and increasing awareness of its impact on our lives. She contributes regularly to national and international publications and forums on design and urban development and is a member of the Boston Civic Design Commission, Harvard GSD Alumni Council, and the Association of Architecture Organization’s board of directors. She holds a BArch from Carnegie Mellon and was a 2012 Harvard Loeb Fellow.

Ted Landsmark (facilitator) is a Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs; Director, Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. Ted is an architect, attorney, academic, and civil rights activist who serves as one of five members of the Boston Planning and Development Agency.

 

 

RESOURCES

Civic Space Park Case Study (2011 RBA Silver Medalist)

Civic Space Park (2011 RBA Silver Medalist). Courtesy Craig Smith.
  • In Phoenix, a public private partnership between the City of Phoenix and Arizona State University led to the creation of Civic Space Park (2011 RBA Silver Medalist), a new signature public space in the heart of downtown. For more information about Civic Space Park check out the Rudy Bruner Award case study to learn about the project’s urban context and history, leadership and vision, collaborative partnerships, design and development, financing, operations and programming, and impact.

ASU Social Embeddedness Network Conference

Studio for Creativity, Place and Equitable Communities

Courtesy of Arizona State University.

Creative Placemaking Resources

NEA How To Do Creative Placemaking. Courtesy National Endowment for the Arts.
  • The following resources have been developed by the NEA and others to support creative placemaking practitioners in advancing positive, equitable change in their communities. How To Do Creative Placemaking Book includes case studies and essays from leading creative placemaking thinkers describing the diverse ways that arts organizations and artists can play an essential role in making places better across America.

Northeastern’s Outstanding Service Award Recipients

Courtesy of Matthew Modoono and Ruby Wallau on behalf of Northeastern University.
  • Northeastern University announced 13 Excellence Award recipients honoring staff members who led their teams and the university through an unprecedented global health crisis and helped reopen the Boston campus amid the 2020 pandemic. Kathy Spiegelman, Northeastern University’s Vice President and Chief of Campus Planning and Development was among the award recipients who took on roles that went beyond their usual day-to-day responsibilities and mobilized their teams to tackle extraordinary challenges. Read the full article on the News@Northestern webpage.