Post Doc position at Metropolitan Institute, Virginia Tech (Alexandria)

The Metropolitan Institute (MI) at Virginia Tech in Alexandria, Virginia has just formally posted the position of a Postdoctoral Associate for the upcoming year. The job is a research appointment only, with no teaching duties, and the position reports to the Director of the Metropolitan Institute.

MI is looking for an entrepreneurial candidate to help elevate several of the Institute’s major research initiatives and projects, such as:

• Urban Regeneration, Shrinking/Legacy Cities, and Vacant Property Reclamation
• Regional Sustainability and the Sustainability Planning Lab
• Smart Cities and the New Metropolis
• Trans-Atlantic Policy & Planning Translation Project

Required Qualification-  A Ph.D. in any of the following fields: urban planning, public policy, sociology, geography or any social science field related to urban studies.  

Please note that this position will close on 05/24/2013.  

To apply for this job/ for more information, please visit VT NCR Jobs at https://listings.jobs.vt.edu/postings/39656

June 6 MI & AED Special Event: Leadership Through Landscape, Exploring the Power of Place and Its Influence on Public Leadership and Sustainability Policy

Special Event: Leadership Through Landscape

Exploring the Power of Place and
Its Influence on Public Leadership and Sustainability Policy

June 6, 2013 ~ 6:00 PM

Artisphere ~ 1101 Wilson Boulevard ~ Arlington VA 22209

Join Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute (MI) and the Arlington Economic Development (AED) in welcoming back Sir Robert Harvey to Arlington, VA. Introduction from the Right Honorable Michael Moore, New Zealand Ambassador to the United States.

For the past 25 years Bob Harvey (still known affectionately as Mayor Bob) has infused the diverse dimensions of sustainability throughout his work as an elected official, international peace envoy, President of the New Zealand Labour Party, businessman, and most recently Chairman of the Auckland waterfront authority. A charismatic speaker and visionary thinker, Harvey came to sustainability through his strong personal and professional bond with the amazing landscape of Auckland’s west region. As a young leader of a local surf club at Karekare Beach, Harvey’s respect and reverence for Waitakere’s rugged coastline and temperate rainforest set the foundation for one of his first political activities — advocating for national legislation that permanently protects the Waitakere Rainforest and Ranges from encroaching suburban development. For Mayor Bob, Leadership through Landscape does not end with acts of conservation and preservation, but becomes a starting point for a dialogue with nature, understanding the landscape, listening to the landscape, and learning from the landscape in ways that reflect the values of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori culture. Building on these themes, Mayor Bob will offer his insights and observations on how sustainability leaders in the US can leverage their own landscapes to support their work in making sustainable communities.

MI and AED welcomes the Right Honorable Michael Moore, New Zealand Ambassador to the US, for introducing Mayor Bob; and commentators, Jay Fisette, Vice Chair, Arlington County Board and Susannah Drake, ASLA, AIA, Principal, delandstudio, New York City.

The full flier is available here.  Please RSVP at http://sirrobertharveylecture.eventbrite.com/ by June 4th.

May 15 Pre-Conference Roundtable: What Next? The Future of Brownfields Research in Policy and Practice

For individuals heading to the 2013 EPA National Brownfields Conference, a pre-conference roundtable has been organized by Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, St. Louis University and Ryerson University. This roundtable will explore the latest developments in Brownfields research as well as discuss opportunities for future collaborations among researchers, practitioners and policymakers.

Register at http://www.mi.vt.edu/archives/1363

Michelle Cullen, MI Visiting Fellow, speaking at 2013 NAED Annual Reception + Workshop

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Institute:

"Michelle Cullen, Metropolitan Institute’s Visiting Fellow for Smart Cities, will be speaking at the 4th Annual National Academy of Environmental Design Reception + Workshop held at the National Building Museum, February 21-22, 2013. The program, Designing Intelligent Environments: Social + Ethical Implications, is led by Susan Piedmont-Palladino, a Faculty Fellow with the MI, and will include Eduard Epp (University of Manitoba), Kathleen Harder (University of Minnesota), Anijo Matthew (Illinois Institute of Technology) and Erik Steiner (Stanford University)."  Read more at http://www.mi.vt.edu/archives/1158.

News from VT's Metropolitan Institute: 17 Fellows Selected for Inaugural Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Fellowship

From Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute:

"The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), Cleveland State University (CSU), and the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech have launched the Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Fellowship Program with the selection and placement of 17 fellows working to build local capacity in seven SC2 pilot communities: Chester, PA; Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Fresno, CA; Memphis, TN; New Orleans, LA; and Youngstown, OH.

The fellows have varied backgrounds, ranging from planning and economic development to workforce development and program . Over the next two years..."  Read more at this link.

Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute Announces 2012-2013 Visiting Fellows

The Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech is pleased to announce its 2012 – 2013 Visiting Fellows. Mariia Zimmerman, Michelle Cullen, and Kim Hodgson will be working with the MI team this year on a variety of projects and collaborations. The Fellows bring a variety of research expertise and professional connectivity to the Metropolitan Institute’s portfolio. Read more about MI and the fellows at: http://www.mi.vt.edu/archives/839.

@UAPVirginiaTech's Joseph Schilling coauthors American Planning Association guide for cities in transition

by Barbara Micale

"Joseph Schilling, research assistant professor and associate director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Alan Mallach have coauthored Cities in Transition: A Guide for Practicing Planners, published by the American Planning Association (APA). The two authors are presenting the report at the 2012 Virginia APA Conference this week in Wintergreen, Va.

Cities in Transition, available through the APA bookstore, offers practicing planners a comprehensive menu of place-based strategies for addressing different dimensions of urban distress -- from the reclamation of vacant properties to rebuilding local government and civic capacity. Schilling and Mallach view cities in transition through a typology that includes older industrial, shrinking cities, fast growing boom-n-bust cities, declining first tier suburbs, and small, but growing gateway cities. All these cities, large and small, east and west, share similar challenges of trying to confront the convergence of many socioeconomic transitions."  Read more at http://ncr.vt.edu/highlights/Highlight-071912.html.

Feb Events on Greening America's Capital - The Anacostia Metro Station

From the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments:

"The District of Columbia was recently selected as one of five capital cities to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greening America’s Capitals technical design assistance.

This assistance will focus on green design and pedestrian/bicycle safety in the public spaces surrounding the Anacostia Metro Station and its proximity to the Anacostia River. Part of the design process will include a community work session—or a “charrette”—which will focus on designing a public space that connects the metro station to neighborhood assets, makes the area safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, better manages local stormwater and complements upcoming economic development projects in the community.

The Office of Planning, District Department of the Environment, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the District Department of Transportation are seeking your help in reaching out to the surrounding community and spreading the word about the event. We would like to engage as much local support and participation as possible to in order to understand what area residents would like to see in their neighborhood and what some of the major concerns are for the metro station area. We are asking you to forward the flyer attached this email to your contact lists or to those you think would be interested in improving the area surrounding the Anacostia Metro Station.

The attached flyer provides more detailed information on the event, which will be held at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church (2616 Martin Luther King Jr., Washington, DC 20020) following this draft schedule:

Monday February 13th, 6:30pm to 8pm – Public Evening Presentation
Tuesday February 14th, Daytime – Design Charrette
Wednesday February 15th, 12:30pm to 2pm – Community Open House

For more information, please contact Laine Cidlowski at the Office of Planning at laine.cidlowski@dc.gov or (202) 442-8809."

Examining Public Participation in ACTion Alexandria

The Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech has entered into an agreement to partner with ACT for Alexandria to advance the design of citizen engagement platforms. Kevin Desouza, Director of the Metropolitan Institute, will lead a team of researchers who will work in collaboration with ACT for Alexandria personnel to examine public participation on the ACTion Alexandria platform. The team will look at how user interactions on the community platform can guide design choices that promote more robust forms of citizen engagement.

ACT for Alexandria is a community foundation founded in the the fall of 2004 by a small group of citizens who came together to decide how best to stimulate philanthropic giving to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in their community. The ACTion Alexandria project is a new citizen engagement platform which provides interactive tools that make it easier for residents to take a more active role in addressing community problems. ACTion Alexandria connects individuals to nonprofit organizations they want to support, but with a strictly local focus. Individuals have the opportunity to take action on behalf of nonprofits working to improve the community.

“ACT for Alexandria is excited about partnering with the Metropolitan Institute to further refine and grow the ACTion Alexandria platform as a model for others nationally,” said John Porter, Executive Director of ACT. Tracy Viselli, the Project Manager for ACTion Alexandria, added “the possibilities for this platform working with the institute are endless.”

According to Desouza, “ACT for Alexandria is a prominent player in the non-profit space. We are excited to partner with them to study the dynamics of public participation in action. The ACTion platform gives us access to real world scenarios of how citizens use technology to engage each other.”

This initiative will advance the work being done in Policy Informatics at the Metropolitan Institute. “Designing better collaborative and participatory platforms remains a critical challenge in the public arena. We are not only interested in this project from a research point of view but also from a design and policy point of view,” says Desouza. The Metropolitan Institute will be analyzing information on user behavior on the platform, designing experiments to test various strategies for increasing engagement on the platform, and contributing to the design of the overall platform.

Desouza explains, “Collaborating on this effort allows us the opportunity to make a difference in our community. The MI is based in Alexandria and we want to be part of the community. ACT for Alexandria provides an amazing array of services, from scholarships to leadership training. ACTion Alexandria is where the idea of community engagement meets the newest technological innovations.”

HUD Selects German Marshall Fund, Cleveland State and Metropolitan Institute for Strong Cities, Strong Communities Program

Alexandria, Va., December 2, 2011 – Today, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced its selection of the German Marshall Fund (GMF) partnership as the recipient of the $2.5 million award to manage the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) fellowship program for HUD. The partnership is comprised of the German Marshall Fund, Cleveland State University, and the Metropolitan Institute (MI) at Virginia Tech. Associate Director Joseph Schilling will serve as Virginia Tech’s principle investigator on this three-year project.

The fellowship program is the capacity building element of the White House-led SC2 initiative. SC2 is a pilot program focused on retooling and rebuilding the capacity of cities facing long-term economic challenges often known as cities in transition or legacy cities. Up to 30 fellows will be assigned to the six SC2 cities (Chester, PA; Detroit, MI; New Orleans, LA; Fresno, CA; Memphis, TN; and Cleveland, OH.)

To fund the fellowship program, the Rockefeller Foundation donated $2.5 million to HUD to manage and implement the fellowship program. The GMF partnership was the winning proposal and will be responsible for implementing and administering the fellowship program.

“The Strong Cities Strong Communities Initiative represents a new and innovative way for the federal government to work with local governments, the private sector, and institutions of higher learning to support local economic growth and encourage community development,” said Melody Barnes, White House Domestic Policy Council Director. 

"The Rockefeller Foundation is thrilled to support the Strong Cities Strong Communities Initiative, as part of our commitment to help vulnerable populations build resilience," said Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin. “The selected fellows will bring new innovation to cities like New Orleans and Detroit in these rapidly changing times, and lend increased energy to communities that are already working to find ways to be resilient during a difficult economic period."

"At the Metropolitan Institute we strive to build collaborative research alliances,” said Director Kevin Desouza. “This grant gives us the opportunity to leverage the work we have done on cities in transition, vacant properties, and our emerging work in resiliency with global partners. We will continue to build international research partnerships that advance the goals of our partner institutions and Virginia Tech."

The fellowship program will be a competitive program that provides funding for early to mid-career professionals to work for 24 months in the six pilot cities to supplement existing local capacity. Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute and CSU’s Center for Community Planning and Development will take the lead on mentoring the fellows on an ongoing basis and evaluating the impacts from the fellows. MI’s Associate Director, Joseph Schilling, and CPD’s Director Kathryn Hexter will serve as the Fellowship’s “Mentor Team” by coaching the teams of fellows and coordinating fellowship activities with sponsor organizations.


In addition to building the capacity of local governments, SC2 aims to encourage partnerships among local community organizations, anchor institutions, businesses, foundations and government agencies, to help leverage federal investments.

Resilience of Citizen Engagement to Local Disasters Project

"Kevin Desouza, Director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, and Maggie Cowell, Assistant Professor in Urban Affairs and Planning, School of Public and International Affairs), have received a seed grant of $20,000 from the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment (ISCE) at Virginia Tech for a project titled 'Resilience of Citizen Engagement to Local Disasters: Studying the Emergence and Dissolution of Community Networks.'"  Read more about this article on the Metropolitan Institute website