City Planning and Urban Affairs Students at Boston University 
Engage in Local Climate Action

Demonstrating the program’s commitment to “immersive learning, sustainable planning,” the graduating classes of Metropolitan College’s City Planning and Urban Affairs programs and other students from across Boston University recently helped create a climate action plan framework for the city of Quincy, Massachusetts. Conducted as part of the 2015 Boston Urban Symposium, the capstone course for CP and UA master’s students, this project was a cooperative effort with city officials and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

The symposium was led by Program Coordinator and Associate Professor of the Practice Madhu C. Dutta-Koehler—a scholar in climate change adaptation and sustainability—and was co-taught by Professor John Weis, an award-winning planner and educator with over thirty years of experience in urban development. Together, they guided the students through a challenging project that would make a critical difference in “real time.” 

The goals of the project were twofold: to give master’s students hands-on experience in complex planning situations, and to provide data and analysis to aid the community in making crucial decisions about planning for climate change.

The spring 2015 symposium extended the program’s long tradition of City Planning and Urban Affairs students from Metropolitan College collaborating and consulting on real-world planning projects. For example:

• The 2012 project focused on the intersection of community development, sustainable urban agriculture, urban entrepreneurship, land use, civic engagement, and fundraising. These efforts produced actionable planning initiatives for Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood.

• The 2013 project included work in support of the general management planof the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.

• In 2014, several student projects focused on providing research on—and drafting recommendations for addressing—urban gentrification for Dorchester’s Codman Square Development Corporation.

We would like to congratulate the members of the 2015 Graduate Symposium on their hard work and practical insights into the issues confronting the city of Quincy. We would also especially like to thank our community partners—the city and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council—for their unwavering support throughout the semester.