A two-panel series on “Designing Value” will be held at the Bloustien School on consecutive Wednesday, October 2 and October 9. The events are presented by Bloustein School student organization EJB | DESIGNS, a group that networks both undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and planning professionals interested in learning and teaching digital and hand-drawing techniques. Through practice and social networking its members prepare for the planning and urban design profession.
Movements of industry, service, and residents cause substantial change to cities, towns, and suburbs. The visual impact of the changing physical environment often negates the social characteristics that once uniquely identified a neighborhood or place. Urban design is often used to generate and substantiate citizen buy-in – the promise of a better quality of life, and a higher tax base. But who is the beneficiary of good urban design? In this two-part series, panelists will discuss how design impacts community development and explain how their role in community development leads, and can partner with, the development community to reduce the negative effects of change and gentrification.
On the October 2 panel “The Impact of Design” speakers will discuss their professional experience with planning to spark interest and attract investors. They will share how design aesthetics enhance design value and how they work to protect residents from the displacement of that results from gentrification. Panelists will include Sarah Haga, Principal at Urban Projects Collaborative; Charles T. Brown, MPA, LCI, Senior Research Project Manager at Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center and adjunct professor at the Bloustein School; and Gregory Heller, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and Sr. Vice President of Community Investment at PHDC.
RSVP for the October 2 panel at http://go.rutgers.edu/as0tj37
The topic of the October 9 panel will be “The Value of Design.” In this panel, speakers will discuss how design value is generated throughout the design process. They will provide insight into how their critical thinking process yields positive long-term growth. Speakers will be Rose V. Gray, Senior Vice President of Community and Economic Development at Asociación Puertorriqueños En Marcha (APM) and Tony Nelessen, Professor, Bloustein School.
RSVP for the October 9 panel at RSVP at http://go.rutgers.edu/r4axnl28