News

Plan-Off to be Held April 21

The sixth annual Plan-Off will take place on Friday, April 21, with students in the Wilder School’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning program presenting their ideas for a better community.

This year’s event—Plan-Off 2017! Real Challenges. Real Solutions. — will take place at the Virginia Housing Development Authority’s Virginia Housing Center, 4224 Cox Rd. in Glen Allen, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Twelve students will compete for a prize by pitching their solution to a real-world planning, public policy or management problem before a panel of expert judges. Each student will have three minutes to present his or her plan, which will advance through a series of rounds until a champion is named.

There will also be a poster contest related to the presentations, with the winner of the People’s Choice Award selected by those who attend.

Participating students and the title of their presentations are as follows:

• Hayley Angel, Building Community in Scott’s Addition
• Richard Brown, Invisible Disabilities in the Workforce
• Joseph Costello, Pump House Park Revitalization Plan
• Lauren Cross, Revitalization Plan for Historic Highland Springs
• Douglas Diedrichsen, Middlesex County Public Waterfront Access Vision Plan
• Elizabeth Greenfield, Affordable Housing in the Richmond Region: A Comparative Analysis
• Catherine Koval, Norwood Avenue Corridor Redesign and Land Use Alternatives Plan
• Jonah Lampkin, Community Engagement in the Face of Historic Preservation
• Milone, Vertical Green Walls as a Vehicle for Civic Ecology
• Mina Monavarian, Activating Manchester Canal and The Walker's Creek
• Michal Voscek, VCU Solar Energy Plan
• Tyler Walter, Elderly Accessibility in the Greater Richmond Region

The judges will be:

• Parker C. Agelasto, Richmond City Council, 5th District
• Joseph Emerson, planning director, Henrico County
• Bryan Green, Ph.D., director of historic preservation, Commonwealth Architects
• Cheryl Groce-Wright, executive director, Neighborhood Resource Center
• Joanne Simmelink, senior planner, Chesterfield County
• Scudder Wagg, project manager and transportation planner, Michael Baker International

“The Plan-Off is one of our program’s signature events and is a fantastic opportunity for students to present their projects to leading planning professionals,” said Meghan Gough, Ph.D., chair of the Wilder School’s Urban and Regional Planning and Studies program.