Connecting Students and Communities: A Case Study in Historic School Rehabilitation Vaux Big Picture High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This project takes a multidisciplinary pronged approach to community development, schools, and historic preservation using a case study of Vaux Big Picture High School, a successfully rehabilitated historic Philadelphia school that was closed and later returned to use as a neighborhood school. Through partner involvement and the incentives of a HUD choice neighborhood grant, the new school has the funds and resources to create essential social, health, and employment support resources for the students and outside community. This case study demonstrates that the school building is an important neighborhood asset and has significance beyond its architectural style or design. In addition, a greater understanding of local history can be appreciated and understood through a broader inquiry into social and cultural community history. The goal of this paper is to encourage preservationists to consider designing spaces with possible community-serving purposes in institutional buildings such as neighborhood schools

Cultural Landscapes Study: Langley Park/Adelphi

Final project for HISP-GAPALS Independent Study (Fall 2020). University of Maryland, College Park.Through their work with the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland (UMD), the Prince George's County- Planning Department commissioned this report from the University’s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS). PALS works with local jurisdictions throughout Maryland to identify projects and problems that can be taught through university courses where students focus on developing innovative, research-based solutions. This project was focused on investigating current County-listed historic resources as well as identify potential new resources. This report centers on obtaining research by covering the Langley Park/Adelphi community at large, to include all phases and periods of the development of the communities, from the 18th century to the present for Prince George's County.Prince George's County- Planning Department (PG PD

Pawndering Dog Parks for Prince George's County Parks

Final report for URSP600: Qualitative Research Design & Methods for Planners (Spring 2022). University of Maryland, College Park.Over the Spring 2022 semester, students investigated this topic while learning the skills associated with qualitative planning research. The researchers used methods that included archive and document analysis, environmental/behavioral and participant observation, soundscape and video documentation, critical cartography, and interviews. This study aimed to better understand how dog parks are used and the report makes recommendations for how to best design and locate dog parks to ensure their success. Questions of community, access, and equity were central to this inquiry. Seven case study sites were selected to examine a variety of park types, including variations in design, scale, location (urban/suburban), ecology (slope/stormwater issues, etc.), and material (grass/synthetic).Prince George's Department of Parks and Recreatio