Urban Renewal and School Reform in Baltimore

Book Launch and Lecture

Friday, October 16, 2020
5 pm - 6:30 pm
Online event

Urban Renewal and School Reform in Baltimore, (c) Albert Vecerka/Esto.

Image (c) Albert Vecerka/Esto

Join Erkin Özay, assistant professor of architecture at UB, and Paola Aguirre Serrano, founder of the studio BORDERLESS, for a conversation about Ozay's new book, Urban Renewal and School Reform in Baltimore (Routledge, 2020), which examines the role of the contemporary public school as an instrument of urban design.

The central case study in this book, Henderson-Hopkins, is a PK-8 campus serving as the civic centerpiece of the East Baltimore Development Initiative. This study reflects on the persistent notions of urban renewal and their effectiveness for addressing the needs of disadvantaged neighborhoods and vulnerable communities. Situating the master plan and school project in the history and contemporary landscape of urban development and education debates, this book provides a detailed account of how Henderson-Hopkins sought to address several reformist objectives, such as improvement of the urban context, pedagogic outcomes, and holistic well-being of students. Bridging facets of urban design, development, and education policy, Urban Renewal and School Reform in Baltimore contributes to an expanded agenda for understanding the spatial implications of school-led redevelopment and school reform. The book is available to the UB community through the library as an e-book.

AIA (1 LU) and AICP (1.5 CM, Event # #9205321) continuing education credits available.

About the Presenters

Erkin Ozay.

Erkin Özay is an Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. Özay’s research is concerned with institutional and cooperative settings and their ability to serve as mediators against structural inequities affecting the lives of vulnerable urban communities. Özay previously taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, University of Toronto, and Northeastern University. A registered architect in the United States, he also practiced with various international firms including Foster and Partners in London, UK and Hashim Sarkis Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Paola Aguierre.

Paola Aguirre Serrano is founder of BORDERLESS — Chicago-based city design and research practice focused on cultivating collaborative design agency through interdisciplinary projects. Paola explores creative civic design and engagement interventions that address the complexity of urban systems and social equity by looking at intersections between architecture, urban design, landscape, planning and civic participatory processes. She is an active educator, and has taught at the Sam Fox School of Design Washington University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Archeworks. She has been acknowledged by Next City Vanguard’s 40 Under 40 (2016), Impact Design Hub’s 40 Under 40 (2017), Newcity Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago (2018, 2020), Emerging Planner Award by the American Planning Association – Illinois Chapter (2018), Field Foundation Civic Leader for Racial Equity (2019), Chicago United for Equity Fellow (2019), and currently serves as Commissioner of Chicago Landmarks and member of the City of Chicago Cultural Advisory Council. Paola received a M. of Architecture in Urban Design from the Harvard School of Design.