Planning students win second place in international APA competition

A team of five Master of Urban and Regional Planning students was awarded second place in the American Planning Association’s Student Planning and Design Competition in April. Jeremy Kailing, M.U.R.P. ’27, Renee Magyar, M.U.R.P. ’26, Kristin Hollenbeck, M.U.R.P. ’26, Irene Nguyen, M.U.R.P. ’26, and Alisa Sehgal, M.U.R.P. ’26, made up Team Joe Cool, which won for its small area plan of a part of Detroit’s Joe Louis Greenway. 

Now in its ninth year, the Student Planning and Design Competition allows students to contribute to real-world planning solutions. Award winners contribute to excellence in planning, promote planning education, and empower citizens. This year, the competition focused on Detroit, the APA conference’s host city. Team Joe Cool was one of three finalists from 35 entries from around the world, alongside teams from Harvard University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The team’s plan, titled “canopy[detroit],” proposes redeveloping parts of the Davison-Schoolcraft neighborhood. The proposal emphasizes mixed-use zoning, sustainability, and new forms of micromobility to transform the area from a former industrial hub. Rehabilitation of existing homes would provide new affordable housing, and creative financing would facilitate greater connectivity to the Joe Louis Greenway and improved community spaces.