Category Archives: Cities Praxis Fieldwork Seminar

Meagan Kearney, Growth and Structure of Cities, BMC ’21

Student in Cities Praxis Fieldwork Seminar: Exploring Urban Questions through Practical Engagement (CITY420)

Field Site: THINK.Urban (‘Edit the City!’ project)

Field Supervisor: Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

Fieldwork Description:

I was involved within an urban consulting team charged with leading and facilitating the pedestrianization of South Street with a focus in community input and open-data within the decision making process. Along with participating in weekly meetings, one being the inner team group and the other with South Street business owners, I researched and created a pedestrian street case study compilation and a South Street urban development timeline to better inform and inspire future programming and methods of the pilot project. Both resources will be included in their website and final report.

Praxis Project:

Please click on the image or here to access the StoryMap that Meagan created to share her work.

Benita Ikirezi, Growth and Structure of Cities, BMC ’21

Student in Cities Praxis Fieldwork Seminar: Exploring Urban Questions through Practical Engagement (CITY420)

Field site: Philadelphia City Planning Commission 

Field Supervisor: David Kanthor 

Fieldwork Description:

Before completing my studies at Bryn Mawr College, I wanted to gain knowledge in transportation from a local government’s perspective and how they are working to mitigate consequences of climate change, social inequality, and accessibility to deliver sustainable transportation systems. This course will focus on the impacts of COVID 19 on parking in Center City Philadelphia in terms of revenue and compare with other cities in the USA. It will also look at how the city of Philadelphia is addressing climate change through the increase of electric vehicle parking stations.  

Praxis Presentation:

Please click here or on the image below to view Benita’s Prezi presentation.

Madeleine Park Hager, Growth and Structure of Cities, BMC ‘21

Student in Cities Praxis Fieldwork Seminar: Exploring Urban Questions through Practical Engagement (CITY420)

Field Site: Brandywine Realty Trust

Field Supervisor: Stacey Mosely

Fieldwork Description:

Brandywine Realty Trust, which was founded in 1994 by Jerry Sweeney, is a real estate investment trust that owns over 24 million square feet of property across the United States. I became interested in Brandywine after hearing that the company was exploring new ways to expand upon their existing Neighborhood Engagement Initiatives in Philadelphia. I wanted to understand the role of private investment in community development and was eager for that learning to take place at Brandywine.

I had the great fortune of working under Stacey Mosley, who, after 5 years in government service, moved to Brandywine where she spearheads data analytics for the company. Under Stacey’s guidance, I had the chance to support Brandywine’s project, which hopes to find new ways of supporting the local community.

The following is a poster with a variety of homeowner resources that I produced during my time for the purpose of informing and supporting local residents.

Praxis Project:

HOMEOWNER PROGRAMS

Please click here to access a PDF version of the poster.

Joe Dizenhuz, Growth and Structure of Cities, HC ’21

Student in Cities Praxis Fieldwork Seminar: Exploring Urban Questions through Practical Engagement (CITY420)

Field Site: Philadelphia Orchard Project

Field Supervisor: Kimberly Jordan

Fieldwork Description: 

This Praxis course allowed me to explore issues of social justice, community engagement, and urban food production within the lens of the Philadelphia Orchard Project. In my role at the Philadelphia Orchard Project I conducted original research, interviewed partners and community members, assembled data sheets, and helped drive an increase in online engagement with our social media presence. Through my individual readings and discussions in the Praxis Course I explored issues of social justice within urban agriculture and urban orchards, which allowed me to engage at a deeper level in my work at the Philadelphia Orchard Project.

Praxis Presentation:

Jasmine Brown, Psychology, BMC ’22

Student in Cities Praxis Fieldwork Seminar: Exploring Urban Questions through Practical Engagement (CITY420)

Field Site: Juntos

Field Supervisor: Zia Kandler, Erika Guadalupe Núñez

Fieldwork Description:

For my Praxis internship, I worked remotely at Juntos, a community-based immigrant/human rights organization located in South Philly. Because much of Juntos’ work is in-person with the surrounding South Philly community, my work centered around one of their political campaigns. For this particular campaign about York County Prison, I was able to begin working on it from the ground up — I initially researched immigration detention itself, before reading and analyzing several detainee interviews conducted by Juntos at York County Prison. I’m now working on facilitating the search and hire for an animator to create a video about the research I’ve done. I was able to secure an additional summer internship at Juntos, where I will continue to do remote research, engage in education advocacy by speaking about my research to others, and help the video project come to fruition.

Praxis Presentation:

Juntos Praxis Blog Presentation_red

Please click here to access a PDF version of the presentation.

Praxis Project:

Juntos York fact sheet

Please click here to access a PDF version of the document.