The Equity Lynchpin: Why planners should re-think the role of schools
Ariel Bierbaum joined the University of Maryland’s Urban Planning Program in January 2017 after completing her Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. While a seasoned planner with over 15 years of experience in community development and public policy, Ariel turned her attention to the U.S. public education system during her time at Berkeley, after discovering through her work in participatory planning that public schools are “the lynchpin” to creating equitable, thriving communities. It’s a complex issue Ariel knows is imperative to tackle.
Dr. Willow Lung-Amam Promoted with Tenure to Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning
Willow Lung-Amam has been promoted with tenure to Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning by the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. She serves as Director of Community Development with the National Center for Smart Growth (NCSG) and teaches courses in urban inequality and diversity, social planning and community development.
Madlen Simon Promoted to Full Professor of Architecture
Madlen Simon, AIA has been promoted to full professor by the University of Maryland’s Architecture Program. She currently serves as Professor and as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Outreach for the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where she has been teaching since 2006.As a researcher and educator, Simon focuses her work on design thinking as a methodology for innovation and entrepreneurship. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Alumnae Amalie ElFallah Receives Fulbright Award
Written by Dan Novak Amalie ElFallah (B.S. Architecture ’18) has been awarded the Fulbright U.S. Student Program’s two-year Laurea Magistrale in Architecture and Urban Design at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy. The program trains students in advanced architectural design and develops theoretical, humanistic and artistic competences based on the Italian tradition.
Finding Friendship in Warm Waters
A conversation with a stranger—in the checkout line, riding a quiet elevator or waiting for class to start—can spark a human connection that brightens an otherwise ordinary day. Yuval Zohar ’08 has had plenty, with one distinction: He’s usually naked. In these cases, he has disrobed and descended into the mineral-rich, blistering pools found in Japanese onsen: hot-spring bathhouses fueled by the country’s highly volcanic landscape that for centuries have been a source of community, healing and friendship.
Speaking of Books with Yuval Zohar
Speaking of Books with Yuval Zohar ’08 "Toward a Nude Architecture: A Visual Compendium of Japanese Hot Springs"About the BookAs one of the most volcanically active geographies in the world, the islands o
February 3, 2026
February 3, 2026
Annual Creative Placemaking Event
This event is open to the public and will be live streamed.
April 22, 2026
April 22, 2026
A Design Career Takes Off
This article originally was published in Terp.AN AIRPORT’S MOVING walkway offers a window into the spectrum of human emotion in motion: the exhaustion of a mother placating her toddler with M&Ms; the collective fury over a canceled flight; the apathy brewing in a stagnant queue at Starbucks.
UMD Program Plants Seeds of Stormwater Relief
Of the many ways downpours disrupt the small town of North Brentwood, Maryland—from flooded basements to sodden front yards—one in particular is surprising: the walk to school. One of Prince George’s County’s oldest and lowest-lying towns along the Anacostia River is often overwhelmed by rain, with water pooling on roads and sidewalks, leaving children’s socks and shoes squishy as they head to class.
Maryland Takes Top Honors at 2022 AIA Baltimore Design Awards
Two stunning urban enclaves—“Stack Alley” by graduate students Joseph Chase Edwards (B.S. Architecture ’20) and Marcelino Defngin (B.S. Architecture ’21) and “Dwelling in the City” by undergraduate student Meredith Eby (B.S. Architecture ’22)—were awarded top honors in the graduate and undergraduate categories last week at the 2022 AIA Baltimore Excellence in Design Awards celebration.