Ryan Smith, director of CAPLA’s School of Architecture, was elected to the National Academy of Construction Class of 2026 for leadership in offsite construction.
CAPLA students brought creativity and design thinking to global Park(ing) Day on Sept. 19 at Main Gate Square, transforming a parking space into a vibrant public installation themed “Curb the Power: Micro Acts of Civil Joy.” Led by Master of Landscape Architecture student Esmeralda Carrasco, the project featured colorful ground painting, desert-adapted plants, and flexible seating to reimagine urban streets as safer, greener, and more welcoming spaces. Partnering with the City of Tucson and community organizations, students demonstrated how small-scale interventions can spark conversations about design, equity, and the future of Tucson’s streets.
For their final capstone project, architecture students designed and built a prototype 8-by-12-foot micro-shelter that they hope lays the groundwork for a network of similar shelters for unhoused people in Southern Arizona.
A Canadian and global academic leader, Dean Nancy Pollock-Ellwand reflects on her time in Japan and Australia, her work with UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the connection between culture and design—highlighting how emotion and global perspectives influence the built environment and the classroom.
An interdisciplinary team of undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture won the national 2024 Bank of America Low-Income Housing Challenge.
Robyn Nelson '24, B.Arch and Nathan Becenti, M.Arch '25 are members of the newly established CAPLA student chapter of the Indigenous Society of Architecture, Planning, and Design.
Assistant Professor Ladd Keith was quoted in an Arizona Public Media story about the dangers of extreme heat on the affordable housing crises. Together with an Arizona State Researcher, they co-authored an urban heat resilience guide for planners.
CAPLA Research Seed Grant funding is supporting research focused on community engagement processes that are more inclusive for designing public spaces, such as parks and plazas.
Laura Carr, a Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture, is part of a team that secured a $200,000 grant for the Native People's Design Coalition. This grant will support their efforts in collaborating with tribal communities to plan and design sustainable and resilient built environments.
Master of Science in Urban Planning student Tiara Stephen came to Tucson from Brooklyn to explore the Desert Southwest and work at the University of Arizona. Not long after, she joined the MSUP program, furthering her passions for affordable housing and community access.
Researchers from the UArizona Drachman Institute, along with colleagues from ASU, NAU and the University of New Mexico, will research housing security, climate and health with a focus on Hispanic and underserved communities in the arid Southwest.
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.