PROJECTS

I am proud of my academic achievements and want to use this page to share my projects with you. View the attached files below to see more. Feel free to get in touch with any feedback or comments!

Latest Projects

Book Review: The Life and Death of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs - CPLN 5010 - Introduction to Community Planning

In my first semester as a Graduate student at Auburn University, I enrolled in Introduction to Community Planning (CPLN-5010). This class served as a basic introduction to community planning principles and specialization areas within the planning profession. One of my first assignments was to write a book review on a planning-related book.

This assignment's purpose was to review a planning-related book while concisely summarizing the contents and providing a critique of the text. In this assignment, I learned to concisely and clearly define the book's main objective while also analyzing the text for its most vital and weakest points. Once the strongest and most vulnerable points of the publication were found, I highlighted the book's main issues while providing real-world examples to explain the publication's value.

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The Correlation of Racial Zoning and The Interstate Highway - CPLN 5460 - Geographic Information Systems for Planning and Policy

When the Interstate Highway System was created in the 1950s, it was made with five goals in mind; to increase safety, reduce congestion in city streets, increase economic activity by moving goods more efficiently, reduce traffic court litigations and provide for national defense. The Interstate Highway System addressed all of the problems listed above, but it also created even more issues that still linger on today. My project's question concerns the racial bias and methods used during interstate highway planning. Birmingham is a significant city within the state of Alabama, so analyzing this city will likely present evidence that is present in other cities of comparable size.

In urban areas, it could be noted that African Americans tend to live in communities that are intersected by the Interstate Highway System. I chose this topic because I wanted to analyze the tract of the interstate and the percentage of African Americans in the urban areas as opposed to the suburban areas of Birmingham. There are underlying causes of the interstate highway system that could be described as political and economic. The economic reason could be an underlying cause of the problem in the view of the fact that the interstate was touted to help the country move goods more efficiently, which could help the economy. The political reason that could be an underlying cause of the problem is that urban renewal was a method that was used to clear “slums” most of these slums were mostly African American community. In some of these communities, African Americans were destroyed or ripped in half by the interstate system. In this project, I plan to examine the population trends in those communities and how the interstate system travels through those communities.

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Final Project Presentation - CPLN 7200 - Urban Design Studio

In this class, students presented a corridor urban design master plan for Martin Luther King Drive in Auburn Alabama to an audience in the form of a verbal presentation using one well-composed 36 inches by 48 inches poster. Each student had 5 minutes to present their work.

The project poster had strict guidelines which contained the following:

Template – use the template provided for the headers, students should comply with all graphic regulations provided in the template.
Project title – provide a “name” for your project, ideally one word to a few words with a subtitle
Problem statement – in two to three sentences describe what are the issues of the neighborhood that you are aiming to address through your proposal. Support by data (use maps, charts, tables, graphics, etc.)
Vision and Mission Statement – these are your revised vision and mission statements from previous assignments – your vision and mission statement at this stage should align with your problem statements
Goals, Objectives, and Strategies – briefly present your goals, objectives, and strategies as revised or adapted from previous assignments. This should be presented visually using minimal text.
Case Study – provide at least one case study that informs your project ideas – brief it using these elements – plans, visions, goals, objectives, visuals, and main takeaways
Final Concept Plan – using the template, identify the different project components, such as designed spaces, new structures, change in road layouts, policy changes, etc. for the project and show them on the base map. The concepts plan should have proper labeling and all proposed design elements
Project Details – for each project component, identify the required/proposed project area, design details (such as number of parking spaces, number of floors for buildings, design specifications, type of building layout, etc.)
Stakeholder – identify the stakeholders for the project and their role in the project by creating a stakeholder diagram (refer to examples)
Implementation – graphically present your implementation strategies, especially focusing on the different phases of the project.
Visuals – to represent how your project looks three-dimensionally, provide at least one of the following types of visualizations – 3D rendered view of the project, hand-drawn sketches, photo vignettes, sections, elevations, or axonometric views.
References – use superscript to cite all your data sources at their respective locations. All borrowed images should be cited, including self-authored images.

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Assignment One: Sensing and Synthesizing - CPLN 7200 - Urban Design Studio

Any urban design or urban planning project begins by understanding the project site and its context. To design and plan for a place and its people, we needed to know and have a sense of the stakeholders' needs and wants. This assignment served that purpose by creating a series of maps and graphics that illustrate, document, and presented MLK Corridor's current conditions in Auburn. We (the class) did so by first - observing and collecting data and information, mapping and documenting people, places, and phenomena, and then - organizing, structuring, and absorbing collected data. The purpose of the assignment is threefold –

Understand the context of MLK Corridor – its historical, cultural, social, political, and physical aspects
Collect primary (collected by you) and secondary (obtained from other sources) data on the corridor and illustrate or map them
Organize, structure, and synthesize from the collected data to recognize the needs and wants of the community

The entire class will worked as a team to collect and synthesize data and distribute it to the class. Each student was responsible for collecting and creating the assigned set of maps/ illustrations. This process helps generate a data bank for the entire class to be used later in the semester. The instructor will created and managed a Box folder for the project where the data will be available to others. The students will create the following maps and illustrations:

Gather relevant data and create maps of the following in one or multiple 17 x 11 (landscape format) sheets.

I was assigned Current Land Use and Zoning for this Project.

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Assignment Two: Theorizing - CPLN 7200 - Urban Design Studio

In the theorizing process, students established mission, vision, values, and sets of goals and objectives for the corridor supported by findings from sensing and synthesizing assignment. Each student developed their own mission and vision statements, and identify their values, goals, and objectives that may or may not align with Auburn Corridor Investment Group’s overarching development goals for the MLK Corridor. Students were required to provide data as evidence to support their mission, vision, values, goals, and objectives.

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Assignment Three: Analyzing - CPLN 7200 - Urban Design Studio

The analyzing phase will helped me to evaluate the feasibility of the project in achieving its goals and objectives. As a process, analysis helps to identify the prospects and constraints of the projects and the possible strategies to address those. There are three major purposes of this assignment – first, to support my vision, mission, goals, and objectives with data; second, to gauge the impact of the project on the stakeholders; and third, to familiarize myself with the context, policies, and standards to devise implementation strategies.

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Assignment Four: Making - Draft Proposal - CPLN 7200 - Urban Design Studio

At this point, the I have collected data on the MLK Corridor, identified issues, set visions, missions, goals, objectives, and strategies, and analyzed the corridor for potential development. In the making phase, I worked towards developing an urban design concept plan for the MLK Corridor. This phase included implementing goals, objectives, and strategies through realistic plans. I conceptualized different components of the project that reflected my vision for the corridor, conduct case studies of best practices that align with the project ideas, identify the stakeholders.

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Development Proposal Staff Report - CPLN 6040 - Land Use Planning

The goal of this course was to arm future practicing planners with the necessary practical tools in land use planning and plan implementation to be effective in the field. The class was premised on one assumption: that many municipal planners do more planning administration and plan implementation than plan-making throughout their careers. Therefore, the focus of this class was on the day-to-day administrative (and sometimes bureaucratic) activities of a practicing municipal planner. In this course, students will develop the critical and analytical skills that are needed to implement, administer, and analyze a wide range of plans, and deal with the long-term and cumulative impacts of those decisions. Students will also learn how to interact with the public, elected, and appointed officials involved in the planning implementation process.

In this assignment, I prepared a staff report on a site plan review for a development project provided by my instructor in Auburn, Alabama. I needed to complete a site visit (I pretended that the development was not yet built). I also was required to examine the City of Auburn's (Alabama) Zoning Ordinance and made sure that all of the rules were followed.

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Community Development Concept Paper - CPLN 6090 - Community Development

The concept of ‘community’ in cities and in the field of planning has a diversity of meanings, being understood as a geographic, social, political, racial, ethnic, cultural, and/or economic unit. The concept of ‘development’ is equally complex and is oftentimes problematic. However, a focus on community and the dynamics of community change are essential aspects of planning. As such, this course provides an introduction to and an overview of community development approaches to planning. In this course, we explore these planning approaches from their historical, political, theoretical, analytical, and practical dimensions, with an emphasis on social justice, equality, and inclusion.

In the first part of the course, we examined the concepts of ‘community’ and ‘development,’ why planners engage in community development work, and the roles that planners play in this work. This included looking at the historical emergence and evolution of the community development field within the planning profession, some of the policies that have shaped this work, and theoretical issues related to community power and control.

The second part of this course focused on community development fieldwork and some of the methods and strategies that planners working in this arena use. In particular, we will examine the methods of social capital and asset-based assessments; policy analyses; community mapping, surveys, and visioning; and charrettes; as well as several strategies including Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), Community Development Corporations (CDCs), Tax Increment Financing Districts (TIFs), and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).

In both the first and second parts of this course, we looked at various examples and assessed the level of community engagement, and the methods and strategies that are used for addressing community development issues. In the third and final part of this course, we will look at a specific case study that ties all of the material covered in this course together. In our final project for this class, I applied my knowledge of the community and economic development concepts, strategies, and tools by analyzing and evaluating a case study and proposing a strategy for addressing the issues presented.

For this assignment, I produced a paper that articulates and analyzes what community development in planning is.

The purpose of this paper was for me to describe and analyze the role and value of community development work within the planning field and to start developing and articulating my own conceptual and theoretical approach to community development planning.

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The Garden District, Montgomery, Alabama - Historic Preservation Plan - CPLN 5400 Historic Preservation Planning

History

The Garden District takes its name from the presence of large lawns and numerous tree-lined streets. The district developed as an early suburb of Montgomery, south of the downtown area because of a streetcar line running in the area. Due to the development of many housing sizes, the district was home to people of diverse economic backgrounds. Renewed interest in the Garden District has caused people to renovate and develop homes.

Existing Conditions

Edges in the Garden District are not clearly defined. The South Side of the Garden District has more expensive well-kept housing, while the North Side of the District suffers from vacancy and blighted housing properties. Furthermore, on the North Side of the district, there are more businesses located in the area than on the south side. Currently, Court Street is being repaved to bring it up to code. Sidewalks in the area are not easily traversable and need to be replaced.

For this assignment, my group completed a historic preservation survey to collect and record information about resources in The Garden District in Montgomery, Alabama. After analyzing the surveys, we developed a plan for The Garden District.

Acknowledgments

Derrick Peevy, Jr. – Master of Community Planning, Auburn University: Goal One, Report Formatting, Report Editing, Cover Page Design, Poster Design

Jennifer Derdoski – Bachelor of Science, Public Administration, Auburn University: Goal Two, Summary

Caylin Newton – Master of Community Planning, Auburn University: Goal Four

Rui Zhou – Master of Community Planning, Auburn University: Goal Three, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mapping

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Case Study: Community and Economic Development Planning in Practice: Paper and Presentation - CPLN 6090 - Community Development

The purpose of this assignment was to give hands-on experience with working through a real-life example and crafting a proposal to address issues that were presented. In this proposal, I utilized conceptual frameworks, analytical methods,practical strategies, and tools discussed throughout the semester in the course. In conclusion, I synthesized and applying knowledge to create a high-quality tangible solution for real community issues

To create a proposal for the site (An old factory building in the downtown area of a mid-sized midwestern city) the following questions had to be answered/ addressed in the final proposal:

1. How would you approach the job and structure of the planning process?

2. What principles would guide your work?

3. Who would be the "community" in this case? Who are the stakeholders?

4. What is your role in the planning process and what are the community's and stakeholder's roles?

5. What potential issues do you see arising between the various groups and how would you address them?

6. What are community assets that could be leveraged?

7. What are some community and economic development solutions, strategies, and tools that you would use to address the site?

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