Dr. Santina Contreras, an Assistant Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, recently visited Gibbs College to present her talk, “Building Resilience through Community Practices: Exploring Community-led Efforts to Address Gaps in Relocation and Resettlement Programs” as part of the Regional + City Planning Kuhlman lecture series.
In her lecture, Dr. Contreras presented findings from her study in Puerto Rico to challenge how planners relocate and resettle populations when dealing with environmental hazards and development-related issues facing informal communities. Dr. Contreras takes an interdisciplinary approach towards understanding relationships between local communities and external stakeholders surrounding natural hazard events, environmental planning efforts, and international development projects.
Dr. Contreras sits down to talk with students.
Following the talk, Dr. Contreras also met informally with Gibbs students to talk about international planning issues.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
