Full Time Faculty

Rob Kent (Chair), Ph.D.

Kenya Covington, Ph.D.

Craig Olwert, Ph.D.

Henrik Minassians, Ph.D.

Ward Thomas, Ph.D.

Zeynep Toker (Acting Chair), Ph.D.

Mintesnot Woldeamanuel , Ph.D.

Part Time Faculty

Euripedes De Oliveira, M.A.

Scott Howard, J.D.

Charles Keynejad, M.A.

Carl Morehouse, M.P.A.

Kaizer Rangwala, M.A.

Alyssa Ribeiro, Ph.D.

Regina Sadono, Ph.D.

Christopher Teng, M.A.

Abhishek Tiwari, Ph.D.

Dev Vrat, M.A.

David Weintraub, M.A.

Claude Willey, M.A

Peter Wong, Ph.D.

Staff

Pat Ordonez (Administrative Coor-dinator)

Aaron Guillory (Administrative Staff)

Julie Mac and Monte Marable (student workers)

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Campus News 2

Graduates, Spring 2014 2

Faculty Achievements 2

Internship partner 2

Alumni 3

Students’ News 3

Contact us 4

News let ter of CSUN Department of Urban Stud ies and P lanning

We are thrilled to announce that Urban Studies and Planning Department is cur-rently accepting applications for the first cohort of the long anticipated Master of Urban Planning degree, which will start in August 2015. You can find more infor-mation about the application process on our website: www.csun.edu/urbanstudies.

In the fall semester we have welcomed two guest speakers: James Rojas from Place It and John Perfitt from Restore Neighborhoods LA. The annual Graduate Educa-tion Night event featured Urban Studies and Planning alumna Nareh Nazary (‘12) and Dr. Olwert. The department’s student organization, the Urban Planning Stu-

dents of Northridge (UPSN) hosted a screening of the film Silent River, a depiction of a family’s struggle to clean up the most polluted river in Mexico.

Urban Studies and Planning Department Chair, Dr. Kent, took a sabbatical leave and he will complete his year long sabbatical leave at the end of Spring semester.

THE U R B S P O ST Fall 2014/Spring 2015

Issue

Urban Studies and Planning College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

FROM THE (ACTING ) CHAIR

MASTER O F

URBAN PLANNING (MUP) TO B E L A U NC H E D I N FA L L 2015

The Department of Urban Studies and Planning will start its first Masters program in Fall 2015. The Master of Urban Planning provides a broad based education in urban planning, especially as it is practiced in the State of California, where a wide range of state laws and mandates have created a planning environment which is distinct from its practice in much of the rest of the United States. The degree’s curriculum is thoroughly grounded in the academic and applied dimensions of the profession. Classroom experience emphasizes key theoretical aspects of ur-ban planning, while practical exercises and field experiences address how planning problems are addressed at the local and regional level. The 36 credit-unit master’s degree in urban plan-ning is designed to be completed in two calendar years. The degree program is cohort driven with new class cohorts beginning in the fall semester. This de-gree is designed especially to serve the needs of working stu-dents and professionals. Classes are scheduled for evenings and Saturdays and are scheduled sequentially over the course of the two year program. It is intended that the students re-ceive as much exposure to different professional planning en-vironments as possible through field experiences and assign-ments in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

For more information: http://www.csun.edu/social-behavioral-sciences/urban-studies-planning/ma-urban-planning

Application Deadline: May 15, 2015

More electric car chargers to campus parking lots

In continuing to work toward reducing com-muter emissions and miles by faculty, staff and students, CSUN has added more electric vehicle charging stations on campus while mechanical engineering students developed alternative energy charging stations.

An updated set of electric charging stations were installed on campus in fall of 2013, as part of the campus sustainability plan.

The plan to reduce emissions and pollution was first enabled in fall 2012 by CSUN Presi-dent Dianne Harrison, through the CSUN Institute for Sustainability and Physical Plant Management.

The current charging stations acquire power through the existing electrical power stored

in CSUN’s main power grid, which consists of traditional and solar energy.

There are currently eight electric vehicle charging stations on campus. Two stations are located in the F5 parking lot. There are stations in B4, G3 and G9.

Additional stations will be located in B2 and G4 parking lots.

interns from CSUN that have recently attained jobs. Those include; Brenda Magana, Planning Tech, City of Malibu, Amanda (Lafond) Chiancola, Planning Tech, City of Malibu, Cynthia Campana, Planning Tech, City of Santa Clarita. For more information about our program or to learn about internship opportunities with the City, contact Mike Ascione at mascione@santa-clarita.com.

to smoothly transition into planning technician roles at any jurisdiction. “Having the ability to work the planning counter during my time as an intern gave me the experience that many do not get. Whether I was answering phones, reviewing site plans, or providing residents with zoning information, the experience that I gained put me ahead of the game” said Cynthia Campana, a former intern. Under direct supervision, interns are able to answer planning questions over the phone and approve minor development projects over the planning counter. Interns are also assigned development projects such as sign reviews, temporary use permits, oak tree permits, and development reviews. Because of the extensive training we give our interns, we are proud to say that all have gone onto graduate schools or entry level jobs within the profession. Our most recent

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FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

CAMPUS NEWS

IN T E R N S H I P P A R T N E R– C I T Y O F S A N T A C L A R I T A

the Board of Directors of the Confer-ence of Latin Americanist Geogra-phers (CLAG), a scholarly organiza-tion dedicated to the advancement of research and publication on Latin American geography. Dr. Kent also serves as the treasurer of the organi-zation and is a member of its execu-tive committee. Craig Olwert has become the co-director for the Center for Geo-graphical Studies . Henrik Minassians’ paper “Performance Measures and Its Pitfalls: An Exploratory Study” has been published on California Journal

of Politics and Policy, Jan. 2014.

Zeynep Toker’s article “Sidewalks” has been published in Encyclopedia of Transportation: Social Science and Policy by Mark Garrett (Ed.) Volume 3 , Los Ange-les: Sage Publications, 1222-1225 (2014).

Mintesnot Woldeamanuel pre-sented his research “Multimodality and Active Living: Connectivity of the Bus Rapid Transit with Pedes-trians and Bicycle Facilities” at the Active Living Research Annual Conference (ALR 2014) held March 9-12, 2014 at San Diego, CA

Kenya Covington participated in the cosponsored UCLA, USC, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) summer Pre-Doctoral Workshop for Students of Color on July 20th through July 24th, 2014. The purpose of the workshop was to introduce promising students of color to planning doctoral study and prepare students to apply and succeed in doctoral programs. Dr. Covington presented on the faculty panel: Why Get a Ph.D. in Planning?, moderated by June Manning Thom-as, Ph.D., University of Michigan and ACSP Diversity Committee Chair.

Rob Kent has been elected recently to a three-year term as a member of

G r a d u a t e s [Bachelor in Urban Studies and

Planning ]

( S p r i n g 2 0 1 4 ) Rawan Al-Jamal

Eduardo Arias-Ramos

Amani Austin

Diana Benitez

Gianna Borsotti

Elena Camacho

Cynthia Campana

AnaLisa Campos

David Canlas

Sergio Carvajal

Jose Coyotl

Cristina Cruz

Farnum Darabi

David de la Cruz

Alvin Estrada

Nara Gasparian

Gloria Giraldo

Luca Guastaferro

Jose Ibarra

Andrew Kent

Andereh Kheshadoorian

Charles Love

Jorge Martinez

Terrence McBride

Melodi McGee

Ricardo Meza

Babak Mirabadi

Albert Munoz

Natalie Ng

Silvia Nunez

Robert Paez

Rafaela Partida

Hailey Rogers

Jazmin Roque

Enrique Rubalcava

Bryan Santos

Cody Starr

Amy Turnbull

Dejanea Williams

Yumi Yamaguchi

The URBS Post , Fal l 2014/Spr ing 2015

Over the last four years, Santa Clarita’s Planning Division has partnered with both the Urban Studies and Planning and Public Administration programs at CSUN to provide students the opportunity to obtain real world experience. With the help of interns, city planners have adopted a new General Plan written jointly with the County of Los Angeles, a new citywide zoning code that implements the new General Plan, written and adopted the city’s first form-based code for the Lyons Avenue corridor, and written and adopted the city’s first Climate Action Plan (CAP). The Planning Division prides itself with giving interns the experience needed

Photo Credit: Lucas Esposito / Daily Sundial

By Mike Ascione

In April 2014, students from Birmingham Community Char-ter High School visited our de-partment for a close look at the field of urban studies and plan-ning. They attended the de-partment’s annual event called Students Research Forum. They were curious and asked several questions. The Educa-tion Officer of Birmingham Community Charter High School, Mrs. Lindsey Suren-dranath, said students got good exposure in the field that helps them navigate their future. Up-on their arrival to campus, the students received a brief cam-pus tour.

The URBS Post , Fal l 2014/Spr ing 2015

Edgar Arroyo (BA, 2009) is an associate planner with the City of Beverly Hills, CA.

Bruce Chow (BA, 1991) is an associate transportation planner with KOA Corporation in Monterey Park, CA.

Hakeem Davis (BA, 2013) is vice-president for busi-ness development at Permit Report in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.

Alex Fuchs (BA, 2011) has completed his MURP de-gree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2013 and now works for San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority.

Michael Johnson (BA, 1993) is vice-president for de-sign and construction services for the PGA Tour in Ponte Verde Beach, FL.

Amanda Lafond (BA, 2011) has been promoted to assistant planner with the City of Malibu, CA.

Dorothy Payne (BA, 1979) is a core adjunct faculty member in the Department of Teacher Education at National University in Camarillo, CA.

Hermine Perkins (BA, 1978) works in the education field.

Claudia Rodriguez (BA, 2005) is the planning and land use deputy for City Council District 7, Los Angeles, CA.

Richard Simon (BA, 1978) is a consultant in Chatsworth, CA.

Anthony Washington (BA, 2000) is an assistant professor in the Criminal and Social Jus-tice Program at St. Francis Uni-versity in Joliet, IL.

John Strickland (BA, 1991) is a project manager for the Public Works Department, Compton, CA. He recently oversaw the completion of the Gonzales Park Drainage Project and the Crane Street Project.

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ALUMNI Vicente Arellano, David Oulrey and Marisol Zamar were the recipients of the James H. Ring Scholarship for 2013/14. Each student received schol-arships awards of $1000 in recognition of their academic achievements. This scholarship is named for its founder, James H. Ring, an alumni of the de-partment (1972).

David Oulrey, a junior in the depart-ment, also received a scholarship of $1,000 from California Planning Foun-dation.

Urban Planning Students Association elected new officers in Spring 2013

David Oulrey (President)

Marisol Zamar (Vice President)

Daniel lopez (Treasurer)

Jeremy Montes (Social Media )

Maria Jiminez (Secretary)

Nour Chaaban (Event Coordinator)

Ashley Mercado (Neighborhood Council Liaison)

Larry Jenkins (APA student Repre-sentative)

URBS department offered a "Graduate Education Night: Depart-ment Alumni Panel on Grad Schools and Options" on October 23, 2013.

ST U D E N T NEW S

H I G H S C H O O L S T U D E N T S V I S I T

O U R D E P A R T M E N T

Contact us: Department of Urban Studies and Planning, SH 220

California State University, Northridge 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge CA 91330-8259

urban.studies@csun.edu

Phone: 818-677-2904; Fax: 818-677-5850

http://www.csun.edu/csbs/departments/urban_studies_and_planning/index.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Department-of-Urban-Studies-and-Planning-CSUN/315811048432214

Department of Urban Studies and Planning Sierra Hall 220 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge CA 91330-8259

If you would like to send us information for the upcoming issues, or if you have any questions, contact the Newsletter Editor, Dr. Mintesnot Woldeamanuel at mint-esnot.woldeamanuel@csun.edu; phone: 818-677-7246 or the Chair of the Department Dr. Rob Kent at rkent@csun.edu; phone: 818-677-4372 .

The goal of our newsletter, The URBS Post is to maintain communication be-tween our alumni, faculty, and current students.

We love correspondence from our alumni! Please keep in touch with us– we would like to know what you are doing now, along with learning about exciting events in your life. We welcome new information to be included in our upcoming newsletters. Please also keep us updated on home and e-mail address changes.

Internships

We are trying to expand our internship program. Let us know if your company offers internships and we will share this information with our majors.

Donations

Please consider giving: no donation is too small. Donating provides both financial sup-port and encouragement to students. Information on ways to give can be found at: https://givenow.csun.edu/

Let us know if you have suggestions on how we can improve our newsletter. We hope to hear from you soon!!

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THE U R B S P O ST Newsletter of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, CSBS, CSUN

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