CAPLA Lecturer and Alumni Win 2025 AIA Arizona Ideas Competition
Senior Lecturer in Architecture Oscar Lopez and three CAPLA alumni won first place in the 2025 AIA Arizona Ideas Competition for their proposal “BLOCK UP.” The project reimagines the urban tower as a vertical civic framework for Phoenix, integrating public space, housing and climate-responsive design into a shared, adaptable structure. Developed through close collaboration between Lopez and alumni Sal Arellano, Trevor Watson and Cameron Noble, the proposal explores how density can expand community and access beyond the street level, highlighting CAPLA’s impact on forward-thinking, civic-minded design in Arizona.
Applied Active Transportation Class Aims to Improve Bike and Pedestrian Safety on Campus
A CAPLA studio led by Senior Lecturer Joey Iuliano is turning student interest into action by focusing on improving walking and cycling conditions on campus. In collaboration with Parking & Transportation Services and the Office of Sustainability, students analyze crash data and develop design proposals for key campus corridors to improve safety and connectivity. Inspired in part by last fall’s fatal traffic accident near campus, the course aims to produce practical ideas that could inform future campus planning.
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.
In Memoriam: Drew Sanderford
It is with great sadness that we share that our former colleague Drew Sanderford, associate professor of real estate development and urban planning, passed away in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 31, 2023.
CAPLA Lecturer Valerie Lane Aims to Accelerate Tucson Casita Construction
In a recent story in Arizona Daily Star, CAPLA's Valerie Lane is highlighted for her new Tucson-based business partnership, the Urban Infill Project, working to help the Tucson community meet supplementary and affordable housing needs.
Dr. Esther M. Sternberg Authors Acclaimed New Book, ‘Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace’
Esther M. Sternberg, M.D., Inaugural Andrew Weil Chair for Research in Integrative Medicine and professor of architecture, landscape architecture and planning (by joint appointment), has published Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace, a "Top Ten Lifestyle Book" by Publishers Weekly.
New Media Guide Offers Tips for Journalists Reporting on Extreme Heat Events
The Global Heat Health Information Network’s free resource for members of the press, created by CAPLA's Ladd Keith, aims to help make reporting on heat more impactful, effective and beneficial for the public.
Solving Pressing Problems: Oscar Rodriguez Ponce '24 MLA, '22 BS SBE
Master of Landscape Architecture student and Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Built Environments alumnus Oscar Rodriguez Ponce was born in Navajoa, Sonora, Mexico, but brew up in Nogales, Sonora. In 2017 he moved to Rio Rico, Arizona, and has lived in Arizona ever since.
Museum of the All Souls Procession: Merle Weisshaupt '26 B.Arch
The architecture of Tucson's Museum of the All Souls Procession serves as a daily reminder of multicultural strength, bridging past and future. The museum's design embodies the procession, uniting history and modernity with weathered steel and wood, mirroring the cyclical renewal of tradition.