Pomp and Circumstance
If there was ever a group of students more deserving—and ready—to walk across a commencement stage, it was the class of 2024. Freshly pressed gowns and decorated caps could not detract from the smiles beaming off the parade of undergraduates as they weaved through a standing-room-only Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts auditorium–their first “real” graduation after COVID put high school ceremonies online.
Mike Binder’s Regenerative Career
For Associate Clinical Professor Mike Binder (M.Arch ‘06), teaching architecture wasn’t rocket science. He knows, because he did that—in a former life at NASA before scratching an itch to leverage his science mind to propel sustainable, regenerative design. Teaching architecture for UMD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation was a literal labor of love for Binder: in studio, on the competition stage, as a mentor and advisor.
Stormwater Hits D.C.’s Poorest Neighborhoods Hardest, UMD Study Finds
A new University of Maryland study suggests that Washington, D.C.’s most socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods are less equipped to handle runoff from heavy rainfalls made more frequent by climate change.
SBAN Awards Grants to Study Community Ownership Programs in Six Metro Areas
The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN) has awarded grants to six organizations to conduct case studies of their community ownership efforts in Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
Recent EFC reports support investment in natural resources important to local economies
The Mispillion River and Cedar Creeks drain to the Delaware Bay in Kent and Sussex County Delaware. The vast marshes connecting them are part of an international flyway for migrating birds and a horseshoe crab sanctuary, which brings tourist dollars to the area and secures land value for residents. In addition, the marshes act as a “coastal stronghold” for managing the effects of sea level rise, including reducing property damage from flooding. Together, these resources produce multiple benefits to the state of Delaware, and the towns of Milford and Slaughter Beach.
2020 - 2024
Nature in Urban Planning for Better Human Health
Urban planning, public health, and nature are intricately connected. Studies show that exposure to natural environments can reduce stress, improve mental health, increase social cohesion, and promote physical activity – all of which can attribute to positive health outcomes. Understanding the specific elements of nature experiences and their health benefits is crucial for tailoring urban planning efforts to meet community and public health goals.
EFC Partners with ASLA to Develop Resource Guides on Economic Benefits
“We know that landscape architects design nature-based solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises. But how they do that is key: they design them to be even more effective and inclusive and to provide even greater benefits.”
An Emblem of Resurgence and Restoration
Twenty-three years ago, architect Bill Spack ‘82 was tapped for an unusual assignment: Accompany Arlington County historic preservationists to a derelict mausoleum slated for demolition on the edge of Arlington National Cemetery to see if anything could be saved.
An AR-Aided View of Black History
Visitors pointing their phones at the unassuming log cabin tucked along a wooded road in Olney, Md., may see a 19th-century wash basin still wet with laundry just outside the back door, chickens roaming around a wooden coop or a neighboring log cabin just yards away.But when they lower their phones, all that remains is an empty yard and a deeper understanding of this property’s complicated past.
New Tools for Keeping Immigrant-Owned Shops In Place
Jenn Tran admits that her favorite childhood memory of Eden Center, a strip of Vietnamese shops in Falls Church, Va., is controversial. Of the many snacks offered at the grocery store where she shopped each week with her mother, she always beelined to durian, the spiky fruit revered for its creamy, mango-like pulp and reviled for its stinky smell.