Students enrolled in Introduction to Urban Planning & Design recently took part in a hands-on field trip to two recently completed waterfront park projects as part of the course’s Spring lecture series and experiential learning component. Led by Professor Carmelo Ignaccolo, the excursion was sponsored by the Rutgers Bloustein School’s Urban Planning Program and made possible through a Teaching Enhancement Grant awarded to Dr. Ignaccolo by the Rutgers Vice Provost for Experiential Learning. The trip brought students out of the classroom and into the field to observe firsthand how the principles of urban design, environmental justice, public space, and climate adaptation take shape in real-world built environments across the region.
The group visited two waterfront projects designed and constructed by the AECOM NYC Landscape Architecture + Urban Design Studio, guided by Design Principal Gonzalo Cruz, ASLA, and Senior Associate Tristan Porto. At the East Newark site along the Passaic River, one of the largest Superfund sites in the United States, students learned about ongoing environmental remediation efforts and how landscape design can serve as a vehicle for ecological repair and community restoration. The second stop, Wagner Park in Lower Manhattan, offered a striking case study in resilient waterfront design, illustrating how flood protection infrastructure can be seamlessly integrated into the fabric of everyday public space. Together, the two sites gave students a vivid, on-the-ground understanding of how contemporary design practice confronts the urgent challenges of climate change and environmental justice.