UIC MCD Charrette Students Receive APA-IL Student Project Award!
Earlier this year, the UIC City Design Summer Graduate program, the Chicago Charrette, worked with the McKinley Park Development Council (MPDC) to design three cutting-edge public infrastructure and civic realm projects in the community. The outcome of this process, received an American Planning Association - Illinois (APA-IL) Student Project Award!
The Chicago Charrette was developed by faculty of the MCD and Urban Planning and Policy Department as a community-immersive, collaborative-planning studio. The course is supported by the UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement (IPCE) and offers a hands-on field-based environment for learning community engagement at the intermediate urban scale. Working with seasoned scholars, professional practitioners, engaged residents, and community organizers, students engage with diverse place-based communities to co-create meaningful design solutions.
One of the main community stakeholders the Chicago Charrette Studio collaborated with was the McKinley Park Development Council (MPDC), a non-partisan group of concerned residents, teachers, and business owners working to collectively foster economic, cultural, and social development in the McKinley Park neighborhood. The Design Workshop, an international design studio working across the fields of landscape architecture, urban design, planning, economics and engagement, led the formal charrette process in McKinley Park.
The Community Charrette was held on Thursday, June 2 at the Aquinas Literacy Center where Design Workshop, IPCE, and the studio members co-designed with McKinley Park stakeholders after a week of local pop-up engagement. The Final Presentation & Showcase was also held at the Aquinas Literacy Center on Friday, June 10. It included a community presentation, public exhibition, plan document, and a video documenting the entire charrette process.
To learn more about the summer 2022 Chicago Charrette Studio and access the video visit ICPE Chicago Charrette.