July - December 2003

Department seeks Assistant/Associate Professor

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York invites applications for a tenure track Assistant or Associate Professor, starting Fall 2004. More information here.

Department Welcomes M.U.P. Class of 2005

The Department has welcomed the Master’s in Urban Planning class of 2005. The incoming class has 46 students, the largest in department history. Students come from 10 states plus Puerto Rico and from seven nations, including Ghana, Lebanon, South Korea, China, Jordan, India, and Japan. This brings Department of Planning graduate roster to nearly 100 students representing 14 states and 11 nations.

Department Reaches Peak High in Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design Program

The Spring 2003 semester saw the Department reaching a head count (majors, minors, and intended majors) of 162 students, the highest level since reactivation of the program in Spring 1996. Up over 125% since Fall 1998, the interdisciplinary B.A.E.D. program increasingly attracts new majors with design, engineering, and social science backgrounds and interests.

New Faculty Join Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

The Department welcomes four new faculty in Fall 2003:

  • Dr. Daniel B. Hess joins the faculty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor following his highly successful year as Visiting Assistant Professor in 2002-03. Professor Hess, whose work on transportation, transit policy, land use, and planning history has been published widely and well-funded, received his Ph.D. in Urban Planning from UCLA.
  • Dr. Robert Mark Silverman joins the faculty as Associate Professor (without tenure) following previous positions at Jackson State University and Wayne State University. An expert in community development, citizen participation and minority business entrepreneurship, Prof. Silverman received his Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He will hold a joint appointment with the Center for Urban Studies.
  • Dr. Kelly Lenore Patterson joins the faculty as Visiting Assistant Professor on a joint appointment with the Department and the Center for Urban Studies. Prof. Kelly, whose research focuses on social stratification, urban race relations, and faith-based community development, received her Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She is managing editor of Critical Sociology.

Dr. Sam Cole Completes Sabbatical Leave in Aruba

Professor Sam Cole recently returned from his Spring 2003 sabbatical leave on which he consulted with the island nation of Aruba on its tourism and recreation planning policy. An international expert in international economic development, Dr. Cole spoke widely in and around the Caribbean on tourism policy. He will teach a new course in the Department this fall, Tourism and Recreation Policy and Planning, that draws upon these experiences.

Department Faculty Receive Grant Funding

Department of Urban and Regional faculty have been the recipients of several grant awards in recent months.

  • Dr. Samina Raja and Dr. G. William Page received $14,000 from the UB Environment and Society Institute to conduct a study of land use and fiscal impacts of growth management programs in Western New York. Professor Samina Raja also assisted the Massachusetts Avenue Project in Buffalo, NY, to receive funding for the development and implementation of community gardens on Buffalo’s West Side.
  • The Center for Urban Studies, under the direction of Dr. Henry Louis Taylor, Jr., has received numerous awards over the past year, including $94,000 from the City of Buffalo for master planning work in the Fillmore and Masten Park districts of Buffalo, New York.
  • Dr. Ernest Sternberg has completed a major research project on disaster planning funded by the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake and Engineering Research.
  • Dr. Daniel B. Hess is Principal Investigator on a $14,000 study funded by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to research transit-oriented development around Metrorail stations in Buffalo, NY.
  • Over the past year, the UB Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth received $150,000 in funding from the Oishei Foundation and additional regional foundations to complete its most recent release of the State of the Region Project, directed by Dr. Kathryn A. Foster. The 2003 edition of the ongoing, award-winning regional performance measurement project focuses on regional equity and asks the questions, How Fair is Buffalo-Niagara?

Town of Porter Master Plan Studio Wins APA Planning Awards

“Toward a Smart-Growth Plan for the Town of Porter, New York,” the product of a Fall 2002 graduate planning studio led by Dr. Ute Lehrer, was recently awarded two Student Project Awards from divisions of the American Planning Association. In June 2003 the project won the Best Student Project Award from the Western New York section of the American Planning Association. In August 2003, the project won similar top honors for Best Student Project from the Upstate New York (statewide except for New York City Metro Area) Chapter of the APA. The project will now be nominated for Best Student Project at the national level, which will be awarded next April 2004 in Washington, D.C.

Students Experience Summer Abroad in Havana, Cuba

Called by leaders and participants the most successful program ever, the 16 students participating in the 2003 Summer Abroad in Havana, Cuba, recently completed their studies on neighborhood organization and preservation in the historic city of Havana. Led by Professor Henry Louis Taylor, Jr., this annual program brought together undergraduates and graduates in planning and other fields to learn about the politics, economics, and culture of this unique socialist city.