VCU news

By Mike Porter

Some of Virginia Commonwealth University’s top planning graduate students presented their work to a panel of professional  judges during the third annual “VCU Plan-Off!!!” competition on May 2 at the Virginia House Authority Office in Innsbrook.

The plan-off demonstrates the best work by students in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. The evening‘s competition featured research from 19 students.  

For each of the participating students, the plan or thesis represented a semester of work focused on solving a real planning issue, public policy or management opportunity. The plans are part of a studio two capstone class that comes at the end of the two-year program. As part of the class, students identify and study an issue, work with a client, engage people who are affected by the issue and prepare a solution.

The students’ plans cover a variety of topics, including transit, urban design, neighborhood revitalization, food management, wayfaring and tourism, tactical urbanism, green building practices, bicycle safety and emergency preparedness. The plans include projects in Richmond and Petersburg, the Williamsburg area and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Spotsylvania.  

During the competition, each student condensed the plan or thesis into a five-minute presentation, aiming to convince the judges of the value of their work in addressing the issue. The original field of 19   was narrowed to a "final four." Josh Son presented his plan to improve Broom Road Triangle in Richmond, Joe Griffiths presented a plan to improve Pocahontas Island in Petersburg, Toby Vernon discussed his implementation plan for food market management and Shawn Winters presented a bicycle education plan for Richmond. 

From that group, the judges selected Griffiths as the overall winner.

“This really is meant to be a celebration of planning through a friendly competition of our best and brightest,” John Accordino, Ph.D. , professor of planning and creator of the event. Accordino is also director of the VCU Center for Urban and Regional Development.  

The Master of Urban and Regional Planning is a two-year degree program requiring 48 semester hours of class work and 120 hours of internship experience. The program is part of VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. 

Established in 1973, the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board and offers professional grounding in the theory and methodology of planning through a curriculum that balances classroom, studio projects and other field experience. The program has provided training to more than 1,400 professional planners and undergraduates. 

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