Question 5

Q: Your influence extends beyond your projects as you contribute to nurturing the next generation of urban visionaries through teaching. How do you inspire your students to think differently about urban design and encourage them to create spaces that reflect their own passion and values?

A: Urban design requires the skill of many different professions: architect, landscape architect, planner, economist, transportation planner, teacher, storytellers, and many more. I believe in teaching my students how to be a connector and a facilitator. We all have the power to be an urban designer, which is someone who brings together things that seemed unresolved, fragmented, or leftover in an urban environment, and transforms it into something much more livable. I want my students to understand their stakeholders and to see multiple potential futures. I want our society to feel more empowered to shape their world and solve the urban problems they see. I can’t do this alone. It will take a generation of like-minded, creative, and energetic urban advocates to affect change to make our neighborhoods more just, more livable, and better places to thrive.