Nina Chase closed out LAbash's two-day student run conference at the University of Maryland. Her keynote presentation, entitled "Urban Landscapes," featured a how-to guide to building a career focused on urban landscapes.
"the power of public space" at Carnegie Science Center's SciTech Day
Nina Chase was recently invited to present on the power of public space at SciTech Day in Pittsburgh.
Nina Chase Joins Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto on Distinguished Speaker Series
Nina was invited to join Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto to present at the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics Distinguished Speaker Series.
Midwest Research on Display at Harvard Graduate School of Design
"A Midwest Renaissance: Reinvention and Renewal" will be on display at the Harvard GSD through the Spring 2017.
From the project:
Across the Midwest, many cities have struggled with shrinking economies and loss of population. However, many cities have found strategies to capitalize on renewed interest in the city. This project reviews how landscape architects and urbanists can position the urban landscape at the core of the reinvention and renewal process taking place across the Midwest.
The Midwest can also be thought of as The Great Cutover, Rust Belt, Great Lakes Region, Corn Belt, Heartland, Flyover States, and Middle America. The geographic definition can be argued, and these regions have social, cultural, and political histories that still exist and often feel pervasive.
More recently, the national spotlight is on the Midwest as “Trumpland.”
Largely fueled by interests from philanthropy and private foundation communities, reinvention and renewal is taking place across the Midwest. Cities are labeled as livable, creative, and innovative, and millennials are encouraged to move back home to their second-tier city to have a big impact.
How does investment in public space and design have an impact in the Midwest? What is the responsibility of the designer to confront and react to the social, cultural, and political histories in these cities?
The work here is design research documenting projects and stories from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and Omaha.
"urban landscapes" presented at WVU Davis
Nina Chase was recently invited as a guest speaker at the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design to present "Urban Landscapes."
WVU School of Design and Community Development
"It's a test: The power of urban prototyping" debuts at Pittsburgh AIA Pecha Kucha
Nina Chase presented "It's a Test: The Power of Urban Prototyping" at Pittsburgh AIA's Pecha Kucha Pittsburgh Vo. 25 event. Check out Nina's full presentation on the Pecha Kucha website.
Sea Change Boston Wins ASLA Honor Award
From the Jury: "The multi-modal nature of this is a great strength. No matter what capacity of the various audiences might be, they have provided a tool that everyone can use."
Sea Change: Boston is a research initiative on sea level rise that advocates for long-term coastal resiliency in the Greater Boston area. The Sea Change team, led by landscape architects, collaborated with experts in science, academia, advocacy, and policy-making to engage in preparedness planning at the building, city, and regional scales. Designers curated an exhibition to showcase this research, highlighting Boston's vulnerabilities and demonstrating design strategies for resilience. The exhibition shared the Sea Change research with the broader Boston community in an engaging and accessible format, rich with graphics and interactive media. Events and digital media associated with the exhibition catalyzed a conversation among designers, city officials, real estate leaders, and academics about a specific call to action: to develop a regional resiliency plan for the Greater Boston area. Outcomes of Sea Change have included authorship of Designing with Water with the Boston Harbor Association, advising for Boston Living with Water Competition, and implementation of Climate Ready Boston, Boston’s climate change vulnerability assessment.
Q&A with Elevating Erie Competition Organizers
The Erie Eco Transect has been featured on the Elevating Erie blog:
"The ideas and illustrations generated by the Elevating Erie Ideas Competition have inspired us all to think bigger as we envision the future of Erie Boulevard. Today we hear from Chris Merritt, who delivered stunning imagery of a vibrant urbanized boulevard. His proposal reads as a how-to guide on striking the ideal balance between reestablishing our rich heritage, committing to new patterns of use and investing in the core fabric of our community through an activated streetscape."
Chris Merritt Joins ULI Advisory Services Panel in Pittsburgh
Presentation of Recommendations
"The City of Pittsburgh continues to demonstrate a successful transformation from an older rust-belt city to a city of the new economy. The city receives high marks for addressing the needs of millennials and leveraging the educational and technological opportunities associated with the myriad of universities and techy businesses . However, even with all of its recent success, many neighborhoods continue to struggle. The East End communities: East Liberty, Larimer, Homewood, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar and East Hills suffer from high crime, low homeownership, neglected infrastructure and minimal economic development. East Liberty, with the guidance ELDI has seen the most positive transformation over the past twenty years in its the commercial core and adjacent residential areas; the other neighborhoods less so. ELDI and the city council member representing these neighborhoods asked an ULI panel to convene and provide strategic advice regarding a host of issues, including homeownership, economic development, crime and community engagement."
Chris Merritt Named 2016 Harvard Community Service Fellow
This summer, Chris will be working on a design research project that explores reinvention in Midwest cities. His work will focus on Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis. The project aims to build a collective body of knowledge on how quality design for development and public space transforms cities. Midwest cities are experiencing a renaissance, and Chris argues that a city’s investment in public space can be a fundamental catalyst for change.
Chris’ project is sponsored by the Central Indiana Community Foundation and funded through Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and the Joint Center for Housing