MCD Receives APA-IL Student Project Award for 4th Year in a Row
MCD APA IL Award
The Master of City Design program in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy received the APA-IL Student Project Award for the fourth year in a row.
This year’s winning project, Calumet: Off the Grid – A New Delta, reimagines climate adaptation in Chicago’s Calumet Region. Over six months, students and fellows co-created with Pullman community partners, SOM, Muse, IPCE & CECHE to design a visionary framework plan focused on improving connections to Big Marsh.
Graduate students and researchers, in collaboration with the new Center for Climate and Health Equity (CECHE) at UIC, explored ecological planning and design solutions for the future of Calumet. From Hegewisch to Pullman, Calumet: Off the Grid addressed the region’s fragmented landscapes with climate adaptive, equity driven solutions that reimagine the relationship between people, water, and land. They also brought their regional vision to the neighborhood scale in the Pullman community, identifying this as the first gateway neighborhood. They also used a variety of community engagement techniques through site visits, community events, and informal conversations to co-design a final plan. The summer engagement efforts took place over four weeks, making the design process a challenge. However, Pullman residents are highly engaged and have experience with participatory planning efforts, which made the group’s work as students with big dreams for the future Calumet region truly award winning.
The award will be presented at the 2025 Awards ceremony during the 2025 APA IL State Conference October 8-10 at the Old Post Office, Chicago.
Click here for the project website.
Click here for a .pdf of the plan.
Project team:
- Master of City Design Students: Ashley McKnight, George Perkins, Disha Chande, Kshitij Sriperambuduru, Clare Colvin, John Mack, Aesha Acharya, Zi Tang
- Master of Urban Planning & Policy Students: Margot Bronec, Elizabeth Burton, Noah Arroyo
Explore the full plan at the Calumet & Pullman project website.