{"453231":{"#nid":"453231","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The College of Architecture\u2019s \u2018Blueprint\u2019 for impacting 41 Georgia communities","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt was easy to feel Georgia Tech\u2019s impact at the Georgia Conservancy\u2019s eco Benef\u00eate last week.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs they celebrated the \u201cBlueprints for Successful Communities\u201d program -- a 20-year collaboration between Georgia Tech\u2019s College of Architecture and the Georgia Conservancy -- professors and alumni reminisced while videos documenting the 33 Blueprints projects played in chronological order during the gala.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis partnership with the Georgia Conservancy has provided a great opportunity for our students to engage in real world problems, in real communities,\u201d said Dean Steve French.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe joint effort began in 1996, designed to help Georgia communities grow sustainably, develop economically and do so in ways that conserve natural resources. To date, the Blueprints for Successful Communities program has directly impacted 41 communities across Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe College of Architecture was honored with the Distinguished Conservationist Award in commemoration of this far-reaching achievement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThree College of Architecture professors were also lauded as \u201cBlueprint Legacy Professors\u201d: Retired Associate Professor Emeritus Randy Roark, a founding member of the Blueprints for Successful Communities initiative; School of City \u0026amp; Regional Planning Professor of the Practice Mike Dobbins, who joined the Blueprints program in 1997; and School of Architecture Professor Emeritus Richard Dagenhart, founder of the Georgia Conservancy\u2019s community design education program, \u201cGood Urbanism 101.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis award represents the work of many faculty and students, especially Randy Roark, Richard Dagenhard and Mike Dobbins. We\u2019re very proud to receive this recognition,\u201d said Dean French.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey and other College of Architecture faculty have guided nearly 300 Georgia Tech students in Blueprints for Successful Communities studios.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese studio classes researched specific urban and community planning issues, resulting in a report of actionable recommendations. Working together with community leaders and industry partners, the College of Architecture community helped a diverse group of Georgia cities, towns and regions, from Covington, Lithonia and the Georgia Coast to Georgia Tech campus neighbors like Home Park, Berkeley Park and Westside.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe communities we have served, mostly self-selected and many without the resources to engage in planning and design processes to guide their futures, have benefitted greatly. Often the Blueprints plans directly affect private and\u0026nbsp;public action to implement the vision they have guided,\u201d said Dobbins.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Blueprints projects, along with Good Urbanism 101 is all about public education,\u201d Dagenhart said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSo much of this has to do with \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/serve-learn-sustain.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EServe-Learn-Sustain.\u003C\/a\u003E It\u2019s sustainability research, it\u2019s serving the populations that we deal with and it\u2019s educating.\u201d The Blueprints studio lessons learned in one community can be understood somewhere else, too, he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of Dagenhart\u2019s Blueprints studios examined the problem of storm water management in Atlanta. For \u201cStorm Water is an Urban Design Problem, Urban Design is a Storm Water Problem,\u201d his students studied four sites along the BeltLine that struggled with storm water flooding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve used it for teaching and it turned into a way to advocate that the understanding of storm water in urban design is something everyone should know about. Dealing with storm water as a design issue when creating sustainable cities is a big, big deal,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of City \u0026amp; Regional Planning Professor Emeritus, Larry Keating, points to the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.planning.gatech.edu\/research\/student_research\u0022\u003Eaward-winning\u003C\/a\u003E \u201cNorthern Georgia Coastal Sea Rise Effects\u201d Blueprints studio as an example of how another natural occurrence, like rising sea water levels, can impact multiple Georgia communities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAmong the extensive conclusions (of that studio) is the fact that 20,000 households and 50,000 people will be inundated, most in Chatham County. Job losses will exceed 6,950, one-half of Tybee Island will be submerged, 13 miles of I-95 and US 80 will be underwater as will rail lines, sections of the port and $3 Billion in structures \u2013 primarily residential,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe studio report recommended coastal communities take action on multiple fronts, stressing that action now can preserve options and minimize costly damage later, Keating said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother award-winning Blueprints studio focused on how the location of a school can influence community well-being, said Master of City \u0026amp; Regional Planning Program Director Michael Elliott.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cElementary and secondary schools absorb almost 40% of all local government expenditures, yet are increasingly planned and managed independently of all other community resources,\u201d Elliott said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnce the heart of any community, schools still impact children and their families, as well as anyone who lives, works, plays or commutes within the surrounding area. The difference is, Elliott said, that modern schools, \u201coften contribute significantly to traffic congestion and urban sprawl, while growing increasingly isolated from the communities that they serve.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u201cSchool Siting and Design\u201d Blueprints studio examined four Georgia school districts (Decatur, DeKalb Country, Newton County and Macon\/Bibb County) and explored how siting decisions influence school districts and their respective communities for years to come.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor a closer look at the Blueprints program, visit the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.georgiaconservancy.org\/blueprints\u0022\u003EGeorgia Conservancy website\u003C\/a\u003E, or stop by the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.coa.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECollege of Architecture\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech professors and students created 33 \u201cBlueprints for Successful Communities\u201d \u2013 strategic plans based on architecture and city planning that address specific community concerns -- through a signature collaboration with the Georgia Conservancy.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech professors and students created 33 \u201cBlueprints for Successful Communities\u201d through a signature collaboration with the Georgia Conservancy."}],"uid":"27803","created_gmt":"2015-09-29 09:02:19","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:40","author":"Ann Hoevel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"453211":{"id":"453211","type":"image","title":"Georgia Conservancy Award","body":null,"created":"1449256297","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:11:37","changed":"1475895197","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:17","alt":"Georgia Conservancy Award","file":{"fid":"203405","name":"cropped.gac_.award_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cropped.gac_.award__0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cropped.gac_.award__0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":84073,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cropped.gac_.award__0.jpg?itok=_A6FfSSe"}},"453221":{"id":"453221","type":"image","title":"ecoBenefete","body":null,"created":"1449256297","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:11:37","changed":"1475895197","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:17","alt":"ecoBenefete","file":{"fid":"203406","name":"ecobenefete.jpb_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ecobenefete.jpb__0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ecobenefete.jpb__0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":923848,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ecobenefete.jpb__0.jpg?itok=KcQgKD16"}}},"media_ids":["453211","453221"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}