The field planning and urban design has seen relatively little in the way of controversy or consequences since the #MeToo movement gained a foothold in the public consciousness. The status quo ended this week.
The University of California, Berkeley has suspended Nezar AlSayyad, professor of architecture, city planning, urban design, and urban history as punishment for "a pattern of sexual harassment."
Cynthia Dizikes and Nanette Asimov report: "AlSayyad is an internationally recognized scholar and speaker who has taught at UC Berkeley since 1985. He was barred from teaching courses in 2016, when The Chronicle broke the story of the harassment findings. Within days, students demanded his removal."
"But AlSayyad, 62, continued collecting his $211,000-a-year salary, serving on academic committees and advising students. In November, he faced a hearing in the faculty senate, which deliberated four months before recommending that Christ suspend him for one year because of the sexual harassment. "
"The chancellor tripled the suspension after determining that the tenured professor also abused his faculty powers."
Eva Hagberg Fisher is on Twitter and has spoken publically about the long process leading up to the decision to suspend AlSayyad this week.
i feel like i've been pushing on an immovable wall for 2.5 years and now the wall is gone and i have no idea what to do with myself
i kind of want to cry? have been so keeping it together to stay on message that i have no idea what rest looks like now— Eva Hagberg Fisher (@evahagberg) August 21, 2018
Hat tip to jack Balderrama Morley for sharing the news.
Read the full story: UC Berkeley suspends professor after ‘pattern of sexual harassment’
Design Media's Disguised Sexism Called Out
A planner who used vulgar terms to complain about an article on the subject of a "female approach to development" gets schooled about #TimesUp.
UC Berkeley Says Supportive Housing ‘Inseparable’ Part of People’s Park Project
The park remains closed to the public as a court weighs a decision on the university’s proposed housing development.
UC Berkeley Commits to Supportive Housing Project in People's Park
The university will work with the city and local nonprofits to provide 42 units of housing and supportive services to unhoused people living in Berkeley's iconic People's Park.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority