Community Connection: Lesley Peréz ‘26 MSUP & ‘27 MS.Arch
Lesley Peréz (’26 MSUP, ’27 MS.Arch) is a dual-degree graduate student at CAPLA committed to advancing equity through design and policy. Inspired by her upbringing in East Los Ángeles, her work focuses on creating accessible, community-centered spaces where people can thrive. At CAPLA, she has served as a student ambassador, contributed to housing policy research with ARCHES, and engaged in community outreach through the Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning and Design—shaping a future career in planning, transportation, and design at local and global scales.
CAPLA Planning Faculty, Recent Alumna Study TUSD’s Climate Impact
A report led by Associate Professor Philip Stoker and alumna Alyssa Fink delivers the most comprehensive climate assessment of Tucson Unified School District’s 2024 operations to date. The study establishes a greenhouse gas baseline and outlines strategies to reduce emissions, energy use and costs, supporting the district’s sustainability goals. Sponsored by Jobs With Justice, the project also highlights the impact of student-led, community-based research.
Nature Sustainability Article by CAPLA Emerging Faculty Fellow Proposes Model for Sustainability Transition in the Global South
Seth Okyere, a CAPLA visiting assistant professor and Emerging Faculty Fellow, contributed to an article published this summer in Nature Sustainability, which publishes significant original research about sustainability, including policy dimensions and possible solutions.
Learning from the Sonoran Desert: Brendan Sullivan Shea, Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture
Brendan Sullivan Shea joined CAPLA this fall as a visiting professor of architecture. His research, creative work and teaching focus on digital fabrication and desertification, while his advice to students is simple: if you can, travel.
Lecture Recap and Video: Hamid Mostofi on 'System Dynamic Modeling for Sustainable Urban Planning & Developments'
In this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture, Hamid Mostofi introduces the theory, tools, and techniques associated with systems thinking and simulation methods which can help assess and explain the relationship and connections between components of sustainable urban planning and development.
Teaching as Mediation: Noémie Despland-Lichtert, Emerging Faculty Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture
Noémie Despland-Lichtert joined CAPLA this fall as our second Emerging Faculty Fellow. An accomplished teacher, researcher and practitioner, she spent the last year in Brussels and has also worked at Taliesin West, the Canadian Centre for Architecture and the Architecture Department of Getty Research Institute, among others.
CAPLA’s Ryan E. Smith Leads Efforts on HUD Research Roadmap to Address Challenges in Offsite Housing Construction
Architecture Professor Ryan E. Smith, director of the School of Architecture, is lead author on a HUD report outlining policy, finance, labor and other parameters for growth of offsite housing construction in the United States: Offsite Construction for Housing: Research Roadmap.
‘Spanning Boundaries Challenge’ Grant Unites Design Students from Arizona and Sonora
Thanks to a 2022 Center for University Education Scholarship Spanning Boundaries Challenge Grant, landscape architecture and architecture students from UArizona and the University of Sonora came together last semester to explore green infrastructure in Hermosillo, Sonora.
The Housing-Health Connection: Atticus Jaramillo, Assistant Professor of Planning and Real Estate Development
Assistant Professor Atticus Jaramillo joined the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture this fall. His research focuses on housing and community development planning, with a particular focus on the housing-health connection.
Professor Arthur C. Nelson Honored with Western Planner’s Article of the Year Award
Arthur C. Nelson, an emeritus professor of urban planning and real estate development, has received the Western Planner 2023 Stan Steadman Article of the Year award for his “Homes on the Range” article series.
UArizona Drachman Institute Announces Community Call for Projects – Deadline: October 5, 2023
The Drachman Institute—CAPLA’s outreach arm committed to advancing equity, resilience, connection and belonging across the built environment through interdisciplinary research, design and partnerships—has announced its second annual community call for projects.