planning

The 13th Annual Texas A&M College of Architecture Research Symposium: Built, Natural Virtual was held Monday, Oct. 24 at the Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M campus.

Recent Master of Architecture grad Erin Peavey will discuss how nursing units can be designed to aid staff communication, a vital component of effective hospital care, at a healthcare design conference in Nashville.

A revitalization plan for Sealy, Texas’ downtown district, created by Texas A&M Master of Urban Planning students, won the 2011 Student Planning Award from the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association.

A report published by the Texas Transportation Institute, authored in part by Tim Lomax, a lecturer in urban planning, suggests too little progress is being made ensuring the nation's transportation system will be able to keep up with job growth when the economy improves.

Prospective students can learn more about Texas A&M’s Urban and Regional Science doctoral program during a Oct. 23-25 open house, held in conjunction with the College of Architecture Research Symposium: Natural, Built, Virtual.

Private property rights are prevailing over efforts to avoid building in hazardous areas, said Sam Brody, professor of urban planning, in the Sept. 2011 issue of Architect, the magazine of the American Institute of Architects. He was quoted as part of the magazine’s coverage of a rise in natural disasters.

Two Texas A&M urban planning professors have garnered a two-year, $313,000 National Science Foundation grant to research the effectiveness of using 100-year floodplains in predicting property damages from floods, and to develop improved criteria for assessing the risk of inundation in low-lying coastal areas.

City officials in Sealy, Texas are proceeding with steps to revitalize its historic downtown area, part of a comprehensive strategy aided by recommendations made during the fall 2009 semester by Master of Urban Planning students at Texas A&M.

Momentum is mounting for the creation of a National Science Foundation-funded network of researchers dedicated to investigating disaster resilience, vulnerability and risk reduction, said Walter Gillis Peacock, director of the Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center and champion of the interdisciplinary network proposal.

Francisco Farias and Paula Lorente, Ph.D. students at Texas A&M’s College of Architecture, are completing the final phases of their scholarly research-oriented work as inaugural Office of Graduate Studies dissertation fellows.

A new book exploring critical planning issues facing Latino communities includes a chapter about a building technique in Texas colonias by Cecilia Giusti, assistant professor of urban planning at Texas A&M, and Miriam Olivares, an Urban and Regional Science doctoral student.

Residents of Brownwood, Texas had a chance last fall to shape their city’s future by participating in a survey developed by Master of Urban Planning students at Texas A&M, part of a collaboration with the city’s officials to update its master plan.

Texas A&M Master of Urban Planning graduate Heather Wade ‘11, Texas’ first coastal community development agent, is creating plans with leaders in Coastal Bend counties with the twin aims of retaining the area’s coastal charm while growing in environmentally responsible ways.

Students in the Master of Science in Land Development program prepared for careers in the property industry by visiting three of the Houston area’s most notable mixed-use developments, then worked with the developers to craft leasing proposals for a hypothetical business.

Serenbe, an environmentally friendly residential development an hour’s drive from Atlanta designed by Phillip Tabb, professor of architecture at Texas A&M, was lauded by Architectural Record magazine as a masterfully planned, sustainable residential community.