Current Student Projects
Andrea Houseman is studying mixed-use development within a village context.
Carolyn Wren is working with Surry County, Virginia, to address a rural food desert.
Toluwalase Ibikunle is preparing a historic resources management plan for Varina, a district
of eastern Henrico County, Virginia.
Mark Aaron Hill is working on an urban design scheme for Robinson Street in the Fan
neighborhood of Richmond.
Katrina Fontenla is studying the possibilities for artists' live/work spaces in the city of
Richmond.
Andrea Robertson Cuffee is preparing a needs assessment plan for Petersburg, Virginia.
Kelly Hall is working with Blackstone, Virginia, on a Main Street enhancement plan.
Angela Campagnoli is creating a master plan for the Department of Recreation and Parks for
the city of Hopewell, Virginia.
Navdeep Kaur is preparing a workforce development plan for Hillside Court, a public housing
facility on Richmond's southside operated by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
Student News
Katrina Fontenla is working toward both a Master of Urban and Regional Planning and a Master
of Public Administration at VCU.
Mark Aaron Hill and Toluwalase Ibikunle are two of this year's Wilder Graduate
Fellows. They are each serving one-year appointments.
Carolyn Wren is now working as Project Manager for Virginia's Gateway Region, located in
Petersburg.
Latasha Allen-Hyde began her position as Public Housing Director for the Hopewell Housing and
Redevelopment Authority in January 2011.
May Madness at VCU
“Plan Off” tourney allows masters students to show planning work to VCU and the community
Planning Professor John Accordino, Ph.D., isn’t quite sure what to expect when two dozen students in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program present a condensed version of their work during a friendly competition. While 30-minute presentations of their “studio II” plans to professors, clients and peers are part of every graduate planning student’s academic experience, they have never before presented a condensed version of their plans as part of a competition. “We teach planners to collaborate. We don’t teach them to compete,” Accordino said. But on May 9 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., graduate students will compete head-to-head at the VCU Sports Medicine Building at 1300 West Broad St. The three-hour competition is open to the VCU community and to the public, with free parking available at Bowe Street Parking Deck. “We are hoping to bring out people from VCU and our surrounding communities – really anyone interested in the quality of life where they live – to see the work of some of the best and brightest planning students,” Accordino said. Students will present plans that cover a variety of topics, ranging from how to develop living and working spaces for artists to commercial corridor and downtown revitalization, bike trail promotion and development and outdoor recreation. Accordino built upon an idea he first came across at the University of Messina, one of VCU’s International Partnership Universities. Scholars in medicine at Messina participate in a tournament in which they present a medical case study in five minutes and a panel decides on the best presentation. But Accordino added a uniquely American twist that reflects VCU’s success in the NCAA basketball tournament, which he calls “Plan Off!!! May Madness @ VCU.” After all of the students deliver a five-minute presentation of their plans, the judges will narrow the field to the “final four” and will ultimately select a tournament champion from that group. “I’m hoping this is a fun way for people to see what we do,” Accordino said. “But on a serious note, we really need to get the word out to the community. People need to be aware of planning issues and challenges where they live. And they need to see the plans created by our students, discuss them, critique them and appreciate them.” The eight judges represent government, planning departments and organizations from areas outside of the jurisdictions of the students’ plans and media. And while the competition exposes the community to important planning issues and solutions, it also offers students valuable experience in concisely presenting their plans. “The fact of the matter is increasingly planners are being called on to make the case quickly to stand and deliver,” Accordino said. “Our students need to be able to summarize how their plan really makes a difference and they need to make the case quickly.” The final four winners will receive gift certificates to the American Planning Association bookstore and the grand prize winner will receive a one-year membership to the American Planning Association. The plan off is sponsored by the Urban and Regional Planning Students Association, the Master of Urban and Regional Planning Program and the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
Planning for Their Future
For Wilder School graduate planning students, the “Studio II” course is a culmination of their VCU education
On a recent Wednesday in a basement classroom at Cabell Library, Jordan Snelling took a deep breath
and launched into a nearly 30-minute PowerPoint presentation, explaining her vision for improving
the business district in a small town in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.
It was a final chance for Snelling and 21 other graduate students from the Master of Urban and
Regional Planning Program in Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of
Government and Public Affairs to practice their “Studio II” presentations and get feedback from
student peers and faculty mentors. Students will make changes and deliver their final presentations
to clients and community members the first week of May.
Studio II projects are developed by second-year graduate students to address actual planning issues
or opportunities. The Studio II course (URSP 762) is worth six credits, twice as many as an average
graduate course.
“Studio II is the culmination, or capstone, of the Master in Urban and Regional Program, equivalent
to a thesis in other graduate programs” said John Accordino, Ph.D., professor of planning. “The
students are developing a professional quality plan for a real-world client to address a current
planning issue.”
Over the years, students have worked in communities across Virginia, other U.S. states and even
Italy. Among the projects this year, a water management plan for VCU, a farmers’ markets plan for
Newport News, a storm water management plan for Broad Bay Island in Virginia Beach, a sustainable
neighborhood plan for Charlottesville’s Rose Hill neighborhood and Snelling’s commercial
revitalization plan for Matamoras, Pa.
“We really have an excellent collection of plans this year and I’m really proud of the students,”
Accordino said.
And the students are proud to be part of the program. Tyler Klein, author of the Rose Hill plan,
will receive his degree in May.
Klein made the most of his time at VCU, serving as president of the Urban and Regional Planning
Student Association in 2010, selected as Virginia Planning Association’s Outstanding Student in
and receiving the Wilder Graduate Scholars Fellowship where he served with the Virginia Department
of General Services. Klein said the Master in Urban and Regional Planning has given him the perfect
blend of theory, technical training, real world experience and networking to prepare him for a
career in planning.
“I’m certainly leaving VCU with no lack of experience,” Klein said. “The way the classes are
structured, the focus on writing, the connections you build with professionals in Richmond and
across the state sets our program apart.”
And graduates appreciate that the program makes them desirable for potential employers.
Klein entertained three job offers before accepting a position with the Front Royal-based Northern
Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission. He starts the new job on May 9.
“And when I was interviewing for the job, they said ‘you are replacing a VCU graduate so we know
you have real world experience, you have analytical skills, you understand deadlines and know how
to work with government and the public,’” Klein said.
Accordino said Klein’s career success is reflective of a program heavily focused on student success.
“Our people graduate ‘work ready’ and that makes us proud,” Accordino said. “Our placement rate is
well over 90 percent.”
Members of the VCU Community and residents of the communities for which plans have been developed
are invited to attend the Studio II presentations, which take place from 12:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on
May 2,3,4 and 5 in classroom B-35 in Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave. Refreshments will be provided.
