Maisha Barnett, Community, Environment and Planning Student
Maisha Barnett, CEP ’18
Recently, Interim Superintendent Christopher Williams announced the winners of Seattle Parks and Recreation’s 2018 Denny Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Stewardship. Maisha Barnett (CEP ’18), was among those recognized for their service and was awarded Seattle Parks & Recreation’s Superintendent’s Award.
Maisha has been an advocate and key contributor to the development and success of Powell Barnett Park and Jimi Hendrix Park. She has been a champion of open spaces and green spaces throughout central Seattle, including the planned new Waterfront Park. Because of her leadership, millions of dollars have been raised in support of playgrounds and open spaces, and Powell Barnett Park continues to be recognized annually as one of the best playgrounds in the United States.
The winners of the Denny Awards are a cross-section of Seattle’s most creative, dedicated and hard-working volunteers who donate precious time and energy to improving Seattle’s parks and recreation programs. In 2017, 36,198 people volunteered for Seattle Parks and Recreation, providing 196,448 hours of service.
2018 Denny Awards
“Choosing award winners is always a difficult task for us,” Williams said. “We are grateful to the many volunteers who contribute to Seattle Parks and Recreation’s mission of supporting healthy people, a healthy environment, and strong communities through a lens of equity.”
To learn more about the Community, Environment and Planning (CEP) undergraduate degree program, please visit the CEP Website
Building a relationship with the Rainier Scholars to develop future community leaders and agents of change
MPH student Sophia Lesesne assists a group activity
Seattle’s Rainier Scholars program cultivates the academic potential of low-income students of color by providing access to postsecondary institutions, opening doors to future careers, and developing leadership skills. Students of color account for 66% of the students in Seattle Public Schools, and only 10% of those students are represented in the district’s advanced learning programs. These are the inequities that the Rainier Scholars program seeks to address. In collaboration with the University of Washington Department of Urban Design and Planning (UDP), they are determined to steward a relationship to create a meaningful connection with the University of Washington. Susie Wu, the Director of Leadership Development for Rainier Scholars, spoke warmly about the relationship built between UDP and the Rainier Scholars. “My hope is that our scholars become leaders of change at all levels of society. That’s what it will take to transform our society and build a pipeline.”
The students participating in the Rainier Scholars program are generally first-generation college students, negotiating an unfamiliar space without the experience from a member of their family. This is where relationships with institutions like the University of Washington are so instrumental. The access and contact with current students and professors demystify the college experience and place them at the same table with undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students. The results of this program are undeniable. The Rainier Scholars program has successfully mentored six cohorts from elementary school through college, with years of inspired young scholars to follow. There is tremendous power in seeing six years of students graduate ahead of you, building a landmark for success.
Rainier Scholars share their neighborhood mental maps
Leadership is a cornerstone of the department, exhibited by the dedication and passion of both students and faculty. Following a successful workshop in December which focused on gentrification and displacement in the Central District of Seattle, undergraduate and graduate students came together to host a second workshop focusing on public space and healthy communities. The built environment directly impacts the health of a community in lasting ways, and by understanding how planning decisions shape the distribution of resources, we can begin to heal the scars of spatial segregation. Urban design, architecture, and public health are powerful avenues for social change. This workshop helped Rainier Scholars understand the impact of these three disciplines and was aimed to inform their academic interests.
Rainier Scholars discuss how public health is affected by the built environment
UDP students led the visiting scholars through exercises introducing fundamental concepts in these fields. The first was a mapping exercise that introduced students to the methodologies of Kevin Lynch. By exploring the relationships between nodes, edges, paths, districts, and landmarks, the students were taught the vernacular to experientially communicate space so that their neighborhoods may become more legible. In illustrating the relationships between certain types of spaces, a city can be broken down into its multiple components to become more navigable. The second exercise covered asset mapping through a discussion about how space is built, and who gets to build it. Through a mental map exercise, the scholars drew places they travel, places they love, and places they feel unwelcome. CEP student Maisha Barnett emphasized “if you want to make a change in your neighborhood, YOU are the community asset.” The last exercise illuminated the connection between public health and the built environment. By decoding the language surrounding public health and the built environment, the visiting scholars unpacked the relationship between gentrification, affordability, and life expectancy. Using census tract data, the scholars found that in some cities in King County have a 17-year difference in life expectancy. Concurrent MUP/MPH student Elise Rasmussen reinforced that “where you live influences
your health” and health inequities stem from disparities in education and income.
This is what access looks like. The bridges built during these workshops will help influence a future generation of leaders in our community who are invested in change. Students in the Department of Urban Design and Planning have created a bond with the Rainier Scholars. They have actively used their skills to develop a connection through academia to empower and educate. Having students of color lead these workshops is incredibly powerful in developing the way that the visiting scholars envision their academic and professional futures. MUP student Louie Leiva spoke about the importance of urban planning, stating that “we want to shape decisions and create better living environments for our families and communities.” When we plan for a city, we plan for our home, we plan for everyone.
To learn more about the Rainier Scholars program please visit rainierscholars.org.
The Positive Impacts of a Democratic Planning Process
Mathew Langley, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Mathew Langley, MUP ’17
In the summer of 2016, Mathew Langley (MUP ’17) interned as a Junior Program Analyst for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Great Plains Region, Division of Facilities in Aberdeen, South Dakota. This was a transformative experience as he spent three months assessing data, relevant policies, and housing conditions to create a Comprehensive Plan that would outline a 20-year process to improve the existing conditions of the community. The internship focused on a pilot project to assess and address the housing stock and built environment at the agency location of Standing Rock at Fort Yates, North Dakota that served local employees. These locations are typically on reservations, which are often in remote locations and have a limited housing market. As an incentive, government agencies offer housing opportunities for their employees to compensate for the housing deficiency. The existing housing stock was built nearly 80 years ago and has severely deteriorated due to harsh natural conditions, and the presence of mold and radon in the dwellings. The environmental degradation, coupled with programmatic and budgetary issues led to poor, and in some cases hazardous, conditions over time for the residents. Through stakeholder engagement, Mathew quickly discovered that these poor housing conditions were detrimental to the economic vitality of the community. In some instances, BIA employees sought employment elsewhere to improve their living circumstances. He realized that by improving the built environment, this community would begin to enjoy a healthier quality of life both physically and socially.
Mathew sites the time he spent in the UW Master of Urban Planning (MUP) program as an important building block to gain the expertise that made this experience possible. The hard skills that he learned during his time in the MUP program were instrumental in developing a draft master plan for the Great Plains Regional Office (GRPO) in South Dakota. In creating the plan, Mathew utilized his skills in research design, visual communication, and comprehensive plan implementation to create a planning methodology that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) GPRO would later use as a blueprint for future documents.
“By involving local experts and key stakeholders in the planning process, his collaborative planning practice has led to long term improvements in the community.”
The plan he drafted has since been adopted and the BIA GRPO is looking to replicate the process in all the local agencies in the region over time. “As the plans for one agency begin to undergo implementation, Facilities intends to work with another local agency to apply my process and begin drafting a new plan that identifies and evaluates the needs of that community.” In time, the intent is to stagger the development of each successive plan so that time and resources can be properly allocated to the appropriate communities. By involving local experts and key stakeholders in the planning process, his collaborative planning practice has led to long term improvements in the community. His work culminated in a thesis project titled A Roadmap to Better Agency Planning: A Case Study in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains Regional Office Division of Facilities Pilot Project. This stands as a beaming example of applied planning theory centered on collaborative planning and illustrates the power of community engagement.
Where is he now?
Mathew Langley facilitating a public meeting.
Mathew Langley is a graduate from the University of Washington with a concurrent Master of Urban Planning (MUP) degree from the Department of Urban Design and Planning, and Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Mathew started working at the Jackson County Development Services Planning Department in Medford, Oregon as a professional planner in September 2017. His current planning practice involves understanding the Land Development Ordinances adopted by the county and helping individuals navigate the language of those ordinances throughout the application process. “Whether helping people coming in with questions or looking over applications, I’m immersed in serving the public in a way that protects resources and provides fair opportunity for land uses.” He also works in partnership with Jackson County’s Floodplain Manager on the implementation of the Community Rating System Program, which grants rankings and flood insurance discounts for communities who participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. Driven by his passion to provide knowledgeable and robust assistance to his community, Mathew is now practicing to become a Certified Floodplain Manager.
To read more testimonials from students in the Master of Urban Planning program, please visit Why I Chose UW.
City officials, law professors and corporate privacy directors discuss the tension between open data work and privacy at the second day of the MetroLab Annual Summit in Atlanta, citing smart cities tech as an increasingly relevant part of the discussion.
Maisha Barnett, (CEP ’18) at Jimi Hendrix Park, standing under a shelter designed to look like a butterfly wing.
Creating change requires leadership, vision, hard work, and passion.
Maisha Barnett, a senior in the Community, Environment, and Planning (CEP) program, displays all of these traits as the project manager at the Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation for Seattle’s new Jimi Hendrix Park. The 2.5-acre park is located in Seattle’s Central District, a thriving multicultural community where Seattle-born, rock icon Jimi Hendrix grew up. Maisha is the force behind the park. She helped shape it from idea to completion and is developing programming that will make the park a new neighborhood hub.
In her role as project manager, Maisha has overseen the entire development of the park. Though she joined CEP in 2016, she has been working on the park since 2011. To start, Maisha was recruited to join the community volunteer group Friends of Jimi Hendrix Park, who brought in Murase Associates as the landscape architects to design the park. From there, Murase conducted three public engagement meetings to gather ideas from the community about what they wanted to see in the park. They narrowed down these ideas to form concepts that would inform the park’s design. The ideas that arose from these meetings are represented in the park today in the landscape’s eye-catching, abstract design as both a guitar and a spiraling flower. Every element of the design was informed by the community as an homage to Jimi Hendrix, from the purple walkways to the butterfly garden. Once the design was developed, the team was able to proceed with the park’s development.
“I had managed the development of a park before for Powell Barnett Park, but this was different from my first experience. I knew it would be a challenge in a few respects. I was working with a committee, rather than on my own. There was also a bigger budget, more stakeholders involved, and it took us a little longer to reach our goal. Through all of this, I’ve found that we can’t just do it ourselves. I am constantly reminded of the benefits of community involvement.”
Through this process, Maisha has done everything from planning and facilitating public meetings, to fundraising and event planning, and is now working on programming. The park’s largest event to date was its grand opening on June 17th, 2017. This day welcomed over 250 people to the park with a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Jimi Hendrix’s sister, Janie Hendrix, live concerts, an instrument petting zoo, and more. In the few short months since then, Maisha has already seen her work pay off. “Although I predicted and willed that this would be a destination park – it truly already is,” she commented. “The park can be used for performances by local musicians and as a beacon for tourists to connect with a space that defines its namesake. I hope that the people who live in the neighborhood use the space, and that it becomes a hub for inspiration, gatherings, and community activities. Here, Jimi is a great symbol of unity and diversity.” Looking ahead to programming for next year, Maisha is working to help this park become a cultural destination for the region.
Knowing that the Central District will completely transform in the next 10 years, she looks to the future, “I hope that unlike other areas of the city that have experienced gentrification, like losing the whole character of their neighborhood, I hope that the spirit stays in the space. The thing I fear the most about all of the new development happening in the area is that people will be priced out and displaced, and that we’ll lose businesses that have been here for a very long time. I hope this will still be a vibrant community, and that the people who live here won’t be an afterthought. With additional people and more useful services in the area, it could have a really bright future.”
A commitment to community; a celebration of unity; a point of pride that connects our past to our future – this is education with an impact.
“I am somebody, I won’t be stopped by nobody. I got my fist in the air and rhythm in my feet. I got love for my people, and it starts with me.”
– Oakland Freedom Schools –
Louie Leiva, MUP ’19
Louie Leiva is a first-year student in the Master of Urban Planning (MUP) program at the University of Washington. He is the proud son to immigrant parents from El Salvador and the first in his family to pursue a graduate school education. Louie is new to Seattle, having recently moved from his hometown of Los Angeles, CA to pursue a professional planning degree. While studying sociology during his undergraduate career at UC Berkeley, Louie gained the language and tools to identify social inequities in his own neighborhood. Consequently, Louie saw the relationship between his community’s hardships – including barriers to accessing social services, public transportation, and affordable housing – to city policies and zoning ordinances. He found that several injustices faced by many low-income communities of color across the country are not mere coincidences, but direct results of planning decisions made by those in positions of power. As a result, Louie is pursuing a career in planning driven by a community-based framework that uses art and advocacy as tools for social, cultural, and political empowerment.
Among his multiple open house visits throughout the country, Louie considered a series of factors in deciding which masters program would be the best fit for him. His trip to the University of Washington established connections with faculty and peers whose similar interests and aspirations affirmed that they were individuals with whom he could see himself learning from and collaborating with. In addition to factors within the department, Louie found what would become his community and the core of his support system at the University through the Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP). GO-MAP’s organizational programming aims to cultivate a culturally and ethnically diverse academic, educational, and social environment through outreach, recruitment, and retention work that promotes graduate student success.
Ultimately, access to funding played the largest role in influencing Louie’s final decision and commitment to the UW. Shortly after his open house visit, Louie was awarded a graduate tuition award from GO-MAP, alongside the Urban Design and Planning Professionals Council Equity Scholarship. The department’s Professionals Council is a volunteer group of planners in the Puget Sound region that mentor MUP students and act as a bridge between the program and the profession.
During his time at the University, Louie has expressed special interest in transportation planning, especially as it connects to the arts and public space. “Prior to beginning graduate school, I had been working for an arts nonprofit in Leimert Park, the central hub for black artists in Los Angeles. The students I worked with collected neighborhood stories to inform and create temporary art installations throughout the city. I was constantly inspired and challenged by my students, their talent, and their dedication to their communities.” Here in Seattle, he is interested in further exploring the city’s community involvement process and support for public art projects in transit-oriented developments. “Planning is essential to building healthy communities, increasing educational opportunity, and economic prosperity. When I think of where I come from, I find it difficult to envision solutions without first addressing trauma.”
Looking toward the future, Louie plans to leverage his talents as an artist and skill set as a planner to influence decisions that affect the quality of life for the most vulnerable. For the time being, Louie has short- and long-term goals that include excelling academically and continuing his involvement on campus as a member of the department’s Diversity Committee, the Race and Equity in Urban Planning (RE:UP) student group, and GO-MAP’s Graduate Student Advisory Board. He plans to secure a job before graduation and possibly pursue a PhD within the next five years (maybe).
To read more testimonials from students in the Master of Urban Planning program, please visit Why I Chose UW.
students, colleagues, friends, and family came together to honor Don Miller and celebrate the 47 years of service that he dedicated to the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington.
The event was held at the University of Washington Club which provided stunning views of Lake Washington and beyond. Remarks were given by John Schaufelberger, Dean of the College of Built Environments, Christopher Campbell, Chair of the Department of Urban Design and Planning, and Karen Wolf, a former student of Don Miller’s and current Senior Policy Analyst for King County.
Attendees shared their memories of Don Miller and reminisced over hard-copy publications from years past. They marveled at the state of the world when he began his career in the Department in 1970 as well as the volume, breadth, and quality of his accomplishments in that time.
The Seattle we know today has been shaped by Don Miller, through both his research and his students.
The Online Master of Infrastructure Planning & Management (MIPM) in the Department of Urban Design and Planning has been recognized as one of the top ten programs at the University of Washington enrolling student veterans. MIPM is designed for early- or mid-career professionals who want to advance their career and take a leadership role while offering students a flexible format as a part-time, two-year program. Courses are completely online, enabling students to earn the MIPM degree from anywhere in the world.
It has long been suspected that humans and the urban areas we create are having an important — and surprisingly current and ongoing — effect on evolution, which may have significant implications for the sustainability of global ecosystems.
A new multi-institution study led by the University of Washington that examines 1,600 global instances of phenotypic change — alterations to species’ observable traits such as size, development or behavior — shows more clearly than ever that urbanization is affecting the genetic makeup of species that are crucial to ecosystem health and success.
Late Saturday evening, the UW department of urban design and planning held an event celebrating the accomplishments of one of their newly retired professors.
Touted as her “final lecture,” professor emeritus Anne Vernez Moudon held this event to both raise money for her new fund as well as review the history of urban design and planning.
Christopher Campbell, chair of the department of urban design and planning, gave a brief introduction of professor Moudon’s lifetime achievements.
