Outreach
The School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning works with the community in reciprocal partnership. The initiatives contribute to community dialogue and respond to community needs. Here are a few examples:
T
he Arizona Geographic Alliance
Founded in 1992 as part of a national network of state geography alliances, the Arizona Geographic Alliance currently has over 3,700 members and more than 175 teachers in its Teacher Consultant leadership cadre. The organization hosts numerous workshops as well as a Summer Geography Institute. Since 2003, the Alliance has provided professional growth opportunities in geography education to over 16,000 teachers who in turn have impacted over 640,000 students. The Alliance web site provides K-12 geography lesson plans linked to national and state standards as well as printable outline maps.
Arizona Geographic Alliance web site
Brown Bag Lecture Series
The Brown Bag Lecture Series seeks to bring the School of Geographical Sciences & Urban Planning academic community into an ongoing collaborative relationship with the cities of the Phoenix metropolitan area, the greater public, and the private sector -- promoting and sharing ideas on urban form, city planning, design, and architecture in the urban context. A total of 12 key lectures will be held during the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters. All lectures are free, open to the public, and held every other Thursday on the 5th Floor of COOR at 12:00 P.M. unless otherwise noted.
Fall 2012 Lecturers:
- Taz Loomans, Architect + Community Writer, Bloomingrock.com
- Curt Upton, Planner II, City of Phoenix
- Bonnie Richardson, Planner + Architect, City of Tempe
- Cavin Costello, Chief Designer, The Ranch Mine, LLC
- Benjamin Limmer, Corridor & Facility Development Manager, Valley Metro
- Jonce Walker, Sustainability Manager, Maricopa County
Schedule of Fall 2012 Brown Bag Lectures
Place Makers Collaboratory
The Place Makers Collaboratory provides continuous learning opportunities for professionals and students in the areas of urban development, sustainable design and community planning.
The School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (SGSUP) offers unique resources and knowledge bases to provide a learning environment for architects, design professionals, real estate leaders, government officials, policy makers, social scientists and planners. Together with programs across ASU, The Place Makers Collaboratory will develop and offer workshops that address emerging issues. The workshops will focus on educating professionals, practitioners and students on current planning issues, to create further opportunities for civic engagement between the University and the greater Valley community.
Fall 2012:
- "Health + Community Planning" (October 9, 2012)
Spring 2013:
- "Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Developers & Brokers" (January 30-31, 2013)
- "Economic Impact Analysis Workshop" (March 1, 2013)
Arizona Town Hall Background Reports
The Arizona Town Hall is a nonprofit organization that identifies critical issues facing Arizona, and hosts biannual Town Hall meetings to promote public consideration of these issues and build consensus, as well as supporting implementation of the resulting recommendations.
Several School faculty have taken responsibility for preparing Town Hall Background Reports. The reports are comprehensive research documents distributed to Town Hall participants before each conference. Recent reports edited by School faculty:
- 94th Arizona Town Hall (2009): "From Here to There: Transportation Opportunities for Arizona," edited by Professor Michael Kuby and Assistant Professor Aaron Golub.
- 91st Arizona Town Hall (2007): "Land Use: Challenges and Choices for the 21st Century," edited by Professor Patricia Gober.
