University of Washington students have been working with city of Auburn staff and community members throughout the past year on a wide range of projects tackling challenges around livability and sustainability in the city.
These projects were part of the UW Livable City Year program, which connects one Washington community with UW faculty each year. The faculty incorporate projects identified by that community into their classes, giving their students opportunities to tackle real-world challenges, produce deliverables to a city client and communicate their findings. The partnership with Auburn during the 2016-2017 school year was the program’s first, with more than 160 students working on 17 projects throughout the year.
“This was a tremendous opportunity for our students to partner with residents in Auburn and to put what they’re learning in the classroom to the test out in the world,” UW President Ana Mari Cauce said. “That sort of experiential learning is central to the Husky student experience, and it’s a key part of the UW’s public mission. We greatly appreciate the partnership with the city of Auburn and the entire community, and look forward to seeing the fruits of that partnership continue to blossom.”
The Livable City Year program coordinates student teams from a variety of disciplines who work on projects and programs identified by the community partner. Faculty who led projects for this inaugural year include LCY co-directors Otten and Branden Born of urban design and planning, along with Kyle Crowder, sociology; John Scott Meschke, Amy Hagopian and India Ornelas, public health; Ashley Blazina and Sara Brostrom, environmental studies; Kim Perdue, Foster School of Business; and Richard Conlin, urban design and planning.