KNIGHT PROGRAM IN COMMUNITY BUILDING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE ANNOUNCES 2002 FELLOWS

March 5, 2002—Twelve distinguished mid-career professionals from a variety of disciplines have been awarded fellowships for 2002 from the Knight Program in Community Building, based at the University of Miami School of Architecture.

The non-residential fellowships are awarded annually to individuals with an active interest in the interdisciplinary process of community building. Throughout the year, fellows pursue independent research projects and take part in intensive community-building workshops, seminars, and a charrette. Fields from which fellows are selected include economic and community development, housing, transportation, architecture, planning, real estate, journalism, academia, and human services.

Established in 2001, the Knight Program addresses today’s urgent issues associated with community building including the complex, interrelated problems of suburban sprawl and inner-city disinvestment. The program’s goal is to advance the knowledge and practice of New Urbanism and Smart Growth across disciplines through an innovative series of initiatives, including fellowships, scholarships, conferences, and publications. The Knight Program builds on the strengths of the School of Architecture as an international educational leader in the planning and design of livable communities. It is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities. The Knight Program extends the foundation’s commitment to community service with its fellowship program.

Each year the Knight Program Fellowship focuses on a different theme; for the 2002 year, the fellowship will concentrate on suburbs, cities, and regions (the focus for 2001 was on revitalization issues at the neighborhood and community scale). Each of this year’s fellows brings special talents, skills, and experience to bear on the complex issues associated with development and growth. Through their proposed case studies, research topics, and participation in the Knight Program events, the fellows will broaden their knowledge of community building approaches and practices and deepen their understanding of how to apply community building techniques to places throughout the United States.

The fellows will assemble in Miami on March 16-19 for their first round of activities, when they will meet the 2001 Knight Fellows and attend a variety of events including presentations of research conducted by last year’s fellows and lectures by prominent community building theorists and practitioners. During the year, fellows will take part in the annual Congress for the New Urbanism (being held in Miami Beach this June), organize and conduct a charrette in one of the 26 Knight communities in conjunction with University of Miami's School of Architecture, and help organize an annual symposium to explore a community building topic of interest with an expanded audience of participants.

The 2002 fellows are:

·         Lester Abberger, Senior Executive Vice President of Florida Water Services Corporation and ALLETE Water Resources; active volunteer in community environmental, civic, and business organizations, Tallahassee, FL. Expertise: water utilities, real estate development, and land conservation.

·         Tom Borrup, Executive Director, Intermediary Arts, a multidisciplinary arts and education center, Minneapolis, MN. Expertise: community cultural development, arts, and philanthropy.

·         Joyce Crosthwaite, Senior Policy Analyst, Project Design Consultants, Cardiff, CA. Expertise: community planner with expertise in affordable housing, planning/development, community building, and social equity.

·         William Gietema, Jr. Co-founder, Arcadia Realty, Dallas, TX. Expertise: development of mixed-use master planned communities – land planning and market research.

·         Neal Payton, Director of Town Planning, Torti Gallus CHK, Washington, DC. Expertise: architecture and town planning.

·         Gloria Katz, Vice Mayor, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Expertise: elected official with focus on long-term urban design issues.

·         Milt Rhodes, Watershed Planner, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality, Raleigh, NC. Expertise: regional environmental planning.

·         Kofi Sefa-Boakye, doctoral student in planning and development studies, School of Policy, Planning and Development, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; former community redevelopment manager, City of Compton. Expertise: urban planning, city management, and regionalism.

·         Arnold Spokane, Pofessor, Department of Education and Human Services, College of Education, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. Expertise: person-environment psychology.

·         Peter Swift, Swift and Associates, LLC, Longmont, CO. Expertise: civil and transportation engineering, town planning.

·         Laurie Volk, Co-mananging Director, Zimmerman/Volk Associates, Inc., Clinton, NJ. Expertise: residential market analyst. 

·         Barbara Vroman, Associate Editor, San Jose Mercury News, San Jose, CA. Expertise: journalism.