CHARLES C. BOHL Named Director of Knight Program in Community Building

Dec. 5, 2000—The University of Miami has named Charles C. Bohl director of the newly established Knight Program in Community Building at the School of Architecture. The Knight Program, created with a $2.1 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, will provide professional development to address the regional planning and urban design challenges facing American communities.

"Our goal for the Knight Program is to build on the strengths of the School of Architecture as an international leader in the planning and design of livable communities, and expand this focus to include other disciplines that play equally important roles in building healthy towns and cities," said Bohl. "To accomplish this, there are many exciting initiatives on the horizon, including the Knight Fellows, a mid-career certification program that will bring together community leaders, policymakers, journalists, architects and urban planners from across the nation to explore the interdisciplinary process of community building and its relationship to the built environment.”

Bohl brings more than ten years experience in exploring issues of urban design and town planning. While pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Department of City and Regional Planning, Bohl organized the Fall Institute on Smart Growth and Community Design, an initiative to address challenges facing North Carolina communities combating sprawl.

He has authored numerous research studies and publications on issues of New Urbanism, urban/community growth, community livability, sustainable development, and smart growth/growth management. His research has been funded by the Urban Land Institute, the Fannie Mae Foundation, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, The Weiss Urban Livability Program, and the North Carolina Department of Social Services and Department of Community Affairs. Bohl received a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University at Albany, and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from New York University’s Gallatin Division.

"Chuck brings to the program the broad-ranging vision needed to help address the interdisciplinary process of building and rebuilding our communities," said Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Dean of the School of Architecture. "Much attention has been brought to the urban development issues facing communities across the country – challenges such as increasing traffic congestion, inadequate zoning, decay of our inner cities, and suburban sprawl. Under Chuck’s direction, the Knight Program can make a national contribution to tackling these issues by educating future leaders in the principles of effective community building.”

One of Bohl’s first responsibilities is the enrollment of the inaugural class of Knight Fellows. The ten fellows, to be selected by December 24, 2000, will remain in situ, living in their home communities while working with University of Miami faculty, and will travel to six intensive sessions over the 12-month program. These will include four 3-day seminars held in Miami, a national symposium, and a community design workshop (“charrette”) to be held in one of the 26 communities served by Knight newspapers. Seminars will cover topics that cut across disciplines, such as city planning, journalism, urban studies, architecture, public policy and related fields within the arts, social sciences and humanities. The first seminar is scheduled for February 2001 at the University of Miami.

Nominees for Knight Fellows will be judged on the basis of their demonstrated interest in community building issues and their accomplishments in their careers or as volunteers. The fellowship program is designed to nurture future leaders and encourage those who have a proven history and commitment to community building and effectively shaping the physical environment.

“We’re looking for a diverse group of people who have a clear vision for advancing community building efforts in their hometowns and careers,” Bohl said. “During the year-long program, the fellows will come in contact with leading thinkers and practitioners involved in the building of livable communities and will bring this knowledge to their own individually-directed case studies. Upon completion of the program, they will become charter members of the Community Building Network of Knight Fellows, an ongoing nationwide consortium of expertise, contacts and resources for building and rebuilding communities.”

In addition to the Knight Fellows and the national symposium, the initiative also includes a National Advisory Board and scholarships for a post-professional Master of Architecture degree program in suburb and town design.

Since its inception in 1983, the School of Architecture has gained a national reputation for training hands-on practitioners who view architecture as intrinsically linked with urban planning and public policy. As a leading advocate for the New Urbanism – a national movement committed to reform in the physical environment – the school’s curriculum incorporates regional issues of environment and transportation, community issues of social integration, and street and building design that make neighborhoods pedestrian friendly and safe. With an enrollment of 300 undergraduate and graduate students, the school is nationally recognized for its work in representation and documentation of historic buildings, towns, and cities.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information on the Knight Program in Community Building at the University of Miami School of Architecture, contact Charles Bohl at 305-284-5000.