UEP students completed eight projects this spring in the required Field Projects course. Field Projects is a required course for UEP first year MA’s, where students work on teams of 3-5 for the entire spring semester with real-world partners. These projects are an opportunity for students to engage with on-the-ground challenges in policy and planning and contribute to the field.
Some of the project results have already had immediate impact. The Tufts Planning Office commissioned a team to develop ideas for social programming at a set of wood-frame houses on one corner of campus that it is turning into apartments for juniors and seniors. The university chose to rename the project “COHO” (for community housing), which was a recommendation that came out of the UEP team’s campus-wide survey. [See this Tufts Daily article for more details.]
Field Projects are also making best use of the latest digital technologies. The team working with the Mystic River Watershed Association was tasked to explore strategies for increasing access to the Mystic River and its greenways. They used a Story Map tool (by ESRI) to crowdsource information from community members regarding problem areas for walking and biking to the river.
Projects are also informing public policy and programs. One team worked with the Green Communities Division of the state’s Department of Energy Resources to develop a statistical analysis and method for the program to set MPG (mile per gallon) ratings for municipal fleets. This was one among a number of recommendations made by the team for reducing fuel consumption of public vehicles.
To access the full reports for all of this year’s projects, click here.
Full List of 2018 Field Projects
- Engaging the City, a study of innovative engagement strategies around housing density.
Boston Mayor’s Housing Innovation Lab and CBT architects - Supporting Small Scale Food Manufacturing: An Analysis of Challenges and Opportunities
Commonwealth Kitchen - Clean Green Driving Machines: Reducing Municipal Fuel Consumption
Green Communities Division of the MA Department of Energy Resources - Wasted: A Greenhouse Gas Inventory of Food Waste
Metropolitan Area Planning Council - Growing the Mystic River Greenways
Mystic River Watershed Association - Replanting Metro Boston’s Roofs
Recover Green Roofs - Imagining CoHo, a planning study of community housing for Tufts juniors and seniors in Medford, MA
Tufts Office of Campus Planning - Soil in the City: Urban Farming on Community Land Trusts
Urban Farming Institute Community Land Trust