CRPGSA announces a call for proposals for its annual symposium on April 19th.

The Community & Regional Planning Graduate Student Association announces
a call for proposals for its annual symposium on April 19th.

Proposals will be accepted in three focus areas--Community Development, Natural Resources/Environment, and Built Environment/Place Making--from graduate students in any UNM department.

Proposals should include a one to two page statement that expresses what topic you would like to present, how you will present it, and how the research benefits community. Your application should also include the proposal form found here.

Proposals will be rated on the following.
1. Technical merit of the project and comprehensiveness of the research.
2. Benefit to the community.
3. Clarity / Feasibility of the presentation in a 15 minute period.
4. Completeness of application.

Priority will be given to students defending a thesis/project in the spring semester who are presenting on thesis related topics.

Proposals are due March 14th by 12pm to Liz Siletti in the CRP office in the George Pearl Hall.

Please direct questions to Victoria Hirschberg by e-mail at vic413@unm.edu.

The symposium will take place on April 19th from 11am to 5pm in George Pearl Hall.

OUTSTANDING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN A WONDERFUL SETTING!

From August 5-8, 2008 the annual Western Planner Conference will be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Those of you who have attended these conferences in the past know that they offer a great learning and networking experience with an emphasis on intermountain western issues. If you haven’t yet had the chance, the Western Planner conference this year is closer to New Mexico than it has been since 2001! Cheyenne is an easy day’s drive up I-25 from most of northern New Mexico (just over 500 miles from Albuquerque). For those of you who would rather fly, Cheyenne is an easy 1½ hour drive from Denver International Airport.

Wyoming’s capital city is located in close proximity to the Rocky Mountains and features a vibrant and revitalizing downtown area. Conference headquarters will be at the historic Plains Hotel in the heart of downtown near the restored Union Pacific depot.

In this time of tightening budgets, it should be noted that the Western Planner Conference can be experienced at a fraction of the cost of APA’s National Conference.

For further information on this great opportunity you may view the attached flyer. You may also contact Brad Stebleton, NMAPA’s representative to the Western Planner’s Board of Directors, at 505-867-7628 or bstebleton@sandovalcounty.com.

Hope to see you there!

CRP GSA Meeting, Please Join Us!

Congratulations again to Winnie, Mike and Moanna! Please join us for the February Meeting of the Community & Regional Planning Graduate Student Association (CRPGSA) on Thursday, February 21 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in George Pearl Hall (room TBA).

We'll be celebrating the newly elected council representatives and also brainstorming about the use of space in our new buildings. So bring your appetite (lunch will be served) and ideas/solutions for George Pearl Hall!

Also, save the dates for the following upcoming CRPGSA co-sponsored activities:
Wednesday, February 27, 11:30-12:30 - School of Architecture & Planning Student Forum
Saturday, April 19 - CRPGSA Spring 2008 Research Symposium

Finally, if you're interested in the American Planning Association (APA), Planners Network (PN) or any other planning-related conference, please email Sarah Wentzel-Fisher at sarahwentfishing@gmail.com. She's collecting names of students for a group proposal to the department for funding!

Community & Regional Planning Graduate Student Association (CRPGSA)
University of New Mexico
crpgsa@unm.edu

Historic Green in New Orleans

Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development’s HISTORIC GREEN New Orleans NEEDS YOUR HELP –
Join CSED in NOLA this March!
From March 8 through March 22, the Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED) in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans (blocks away from Brad Pitt’s “Make it Right” project) is hosting a large volunteer event called HISTORIC GREEN, focused on rebuilding historic properties as sustainably as possible. Your interest and expertise are needed as CSED takes on 10 projects in 3 categories: Buildings, Spaces, and Community. EGB’s overarching goals for this effort are: to connect volunteers with existing grassroots community rebuilding programs; to provide hands-on education through lectures, demonstrations, and tours; and to directly benefit the residents of one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods during hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The 10 projects and associated events:
A. Buildings: CSED Design Charrette, Home Preservation & Greening, Home Consulting & Testing, and Home Deconstruction
B. Spaces: Parks & Playground Restoration, Rain garden Construction, and Bayou Restoration & Access
C. Community: Lower 9 Neighborhood Assessment, Greater Little Zion Church HVAC replacement and Neighborhood Tours
D. Events: Lectures / Demonstrations, and Music / Celebration

The CSED seeks to rebuild this community not only in a physical sense, but also by rebuilding its social capital so that it can once again be a thriving neighborhood and a model of sustainability. This mixed community – low and middle income, young and elderly, artists, writers, musicians and blue-collar workers – needs your help. Since your skills lie in green design and construction, you can help in a variety of ways. Historic Green’s efforts will focus on both sustainability and preservation, “where green design and construction meets historic restoration.” An opportunity exists to green the built environment of a historic neighborhood on a scale never attempted before. So come on down to New Orleans to volunteer for a day, a week, or for the whole event!
Please visit www.historicgreen.org for more details. Check back often, as more features will become available on the Web site in the coming weeks.

For more information on the neighborhood and the history of this community, watch a Webcast on the subject at www.zerocarbonNOLA.org.