MCD Studios Wins APA-IL Student Project Award for Spring/Summer 2024

CUPPA Building

The Spring and Summer 2024 Master of City Design (MCD) Studios has been awarded the American Planning Association - Illinois (APA-IL) Chapter's Student Project Award.

This marks the fourth year in a row that CUPPA students have received this award and the third year in a row for the MCD program. Their winning submission, titled Think like a City: A Framework Plan for Remaking Places " engages with contemporary issues of the built environment for the Illinois Medical District (IMD) – a special sector of Chicago’s west side poised for significant change. Students focused on co-designing an IMD that thrives in medical research, innovation and care, with a community informed, community-centered vision of a resilient and reparative neighborhood that prioritizes the public realm, strengthens livelihoods, and is inclusive to all.

The proposal is the result of an intensive six month process, spanning the Spring Great Cities and Summer Chicago Charrette studios, in partnership with the IMD, UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement (IPCE), professional practitioners from Design Workshop.

To learn more, check out our  Think Like A City: Media Kit  and website for Think Like A City , which orients audiences to the project, and has the full plan, Executive Summary, and Media Kit available for download.

Congratulations to:

Studio Instructors: Dr. Kheir Al-Kodmany, Phil Enquist (Great Cities Studio) and Dr. April Jackson, and Merav Argov (Chicago Charrette studio)

Team Members: Dimitri Nesbitt, Josh Fraser, Eneyda Salcedo, Bhumika Dahiya, Neha Pol, Srushti Patel, Ankit Varma, Palak Pandey, Mikaela Flores, Brianna Makumbi, Cassie Varrige, Kasheka Chitkara