2024 Outstanding Student Project Award
In spring 2024, students from Rowan University’s undergraduate and graduate Planning Studios, offered in the Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability, worked on a project titled “Community Voices: A New Vision for Rowan University’s Master Plan.” The studio collaborated with Rowan University Facilities, consulting firm The Olin Studio, and Rowan University Community Planning + Visualization Lab to actively engage the university community, with a focus on students, to create a set of recommendations and a conceptual master plan for the university.
Under Dr. Mahbubur Meenar’s guidance, students applied theoretical insights from restorative urbanism, sustainable design, and the 15-minute city concept, enriching their analysis with data from community workshops, surveys, focus groups, field observations, and GIS. This holistic, mixed-methods approach balanced qualitative and quantitative analysis, giving voice to both student and community aspirations for a welcoming, well-connected campus. Showcased online, their work not only contributed to Rowan’s official master planning process but also introduced replicable strategies that can guide campus planners elsewhere.
The project’s success lies in its exceptional outreach and accessibility, with live-streamed presentations and an engaging project webpage reaching over 350 stakeholders. The students’ ideas sparked campus-wide interest and encouraged deeper community involvement. Their work has inspired faculty across departments to incorporate these planning concepts into curricula, expanding the project’s influence beyond the master plan. With its focus on fostering an inclusive, vibrant campus environment, Rowan University’s planning studio project stands as an exemplary model of student engagement and community-centered design.
Explore more at planviz.org/studio-2024
