MUEP Spring 2024 Planning Workshop: City of Phoenix Active Transportation Team

Join us as we introduce Re-imagining Active Transportation for Phoenix’s North Mountain Village: Strategies for Improvements Along the Arizona Canal. This innovative project received a 2024 Honorable Mention Award from the American Planning Association Arizona in the Best Student Project category. The City of Phoenix team members included ASU students Grace Doerhing, Hannah Johnson, Komal Macwan and Jheng Wu.

📅 Project Overview
This student Planning Workshop team worked for the City of Phoenix to develop and refine strategies for improving Active Transportation along the Arizona Canal within Phoenix’s North Mountain Village. The student team employed a comprehensive array of planning skills, including existing conditions study, community and stakeholder engagement, comparative analysis and best practices research, data-driven analysis, and design solutions. At the culmination of the Spring 2024 semester, the student team presented a robust planning document to the City of Phoenix, aimed at enhancing the area’s active transportation infrastructure and supporting future planning efforts as part of the larger Transit Oriented Development (TOD) initiatives. This project was a collaborative effort between ASU and the City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department.

🌍 Community Impact
During the Spring 2024 semester, students worked directly with city planners to support the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) efforts in the Northwest Extension II area. This project centered on enhancing the Arizona Canal as a key feature of active transportation, designed to link the redevelopment of the Metro Center Mall and its vicinity to broader community networks. The project's guidelines aimed to bolster the TOD initiative by improving accessibility, increasing public safety, and promoting economic vitality through well- integrated transportation options. These efforts were intended to attract further investment, support sustainable development, and foster a cohesive community identity that aligns with Phoenix’s strategic goals for the Northwest Extension area. The students' work and deliverables provided valuable guidelines and strategies to city planners, officials, and local stakeholders, ensuring that the enhancements made to active transportation infrastructures would be sustainable, inclusive, and reflective of the community’s needs and aspirations.

🎓 ASU’s Master of Urban and Environmental Planning Program
This project is part of the capstone requirement for ASU’s Master of Urban and Environmental Planning (MUEP) program. Students can complete their capstone through a group-based Planning Workshop or an individual project, addressing real-world planning challenges. In the Planning Workshop, students function like a planning firm, guided by faculty as they create impactful analyses and recommendations for public-sector clients.

🔗 Curious about how the MUEP program prepares students for careers in urban and environmental planning? Check it out here: https://sgsup.asu.edu/degree/graduate...