Two 2026 Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) Planning Workshop projects were recently recognized by the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (OAPA) at their annual meeting. Both teams were celebrated for their outstanding work developing flexible, broadly applicable tools to assess the sites' suitability for housing, commercial, and/or community development.
2026 OAPA Student Award for Excellence in Planning
Margot McNeely, Rebekah Markillie, Denise Torres. Not pictured: Autumn Fluetsch, David Archuleta, Dylan Giliberto
David Archuleta, Autumn Fluetsch, Dylan Giliberto, Rebekah Markillie, Margot McNeely, and Denise Torres, working together as Place-Based Collective, received the 2026 OAPA Student Award for Excellence in Planning for their project, “Oregon Metro's Regional Land Banking Site Selection Strategy.”
Place-Based Collective was charged with developing a structured system to support Metro’s use of land banking to increase the number of sites available for affordable housing development. While Metro had already acquired a number of sites for other programs that have been developed successfully, their selection process was not well documented. The client wanted a grounded decision-making tool to help them formalize their thinking.
Using best-practices research, data from surveys of affected community members conducted by Metro over the last few years, and interviews with developers and other stakeholders, the team identified multiple factors relevant to affordable housing site selection, then developed a customizable set of weighted criteria, questions, and data points to consider when evaluating sites. “[The] work was challenging and complex,” noted Autumn Fluetsch. “We had to really grapple with wanting to be somewhat idealistic… but also be practical and pragmatic and make sure it’s usable and applicable to the current systems we have in place. And that’s a good lesson… to keep both of those in mind and try to find a middle way.”
Their client agrees they struck the right balance. “They were able to take what was a pretty thorny set of criteria… and reflected things back to us in a really helpful way,” said Andrea Pastor, Senior Development Project Manager at Metro. “I’m really glad that we were able to have their capacity. It can’t be overstated how important it is to have six really smart, engaged people work for six months on a question.… that is an enormous asset. It is a great opportunity for any agency or organization that gets to work with them.”
2026 OAPA Student Award for Innovation in Planning
Julia Cruz-Jones, Rowan Anderson, Clara Lietz, Cal Storrs. Not pictured: Akasha Lawrence Spence
Rowan Anderson, Julia Cruz Jones, Akasha Lawrence Spence, Clara Lietz, and Cal Storrs, working together as Crescent Consulting, received the 2026 OAPA Student Award for Innovation in Planning for their project “Historic Parkrose: Planning for Vacant Properties.”
Historic Parkrose, a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing the Historic Parkrose Business District in Northeast Portland, initially sought assistance from Crescent out of concern that the large number of vacant and underutilized sites in the neighborhood could lead a cycle of disinvestment and further decline. They wanted to capitalize on a newly created tax-increment funding district to turn things around, beginning with one or two properties. Crescent Consulting saw a larger opportunity.
The team proposed pivoting to create a flexible tool, a “Development Compass,” that could be used to guide decisions across multiple sites and scenarios. Using an equity lens and anti-displacement strategies, the compass helps determine the best use for a given property – or, working from the other direction, to guide selection of the most suitable property for a specific community need.
“I thought that was very creative,” said Annette Stanhope, Historic Parkrose’s Outreach and Development Manager. “They did an amazing job…. I hope it has applications beyond this particular project. I really do think it has a lot of potential.
Team members were equally enthusiastic about the project and its potential. “One of the things that drew me to Historic Parkrose’s RFP in the first place was their emphasis on equity and anti-displacement in this process,” said Cal Storrs. “I really appreciated that they were both looking for a solution to real, impactful problems happening right now in their communities …. [while ensuring] they’re not pushing out the current residents. I think that is a consistent kind of tension that has been explored throughout various different case studies or cities or areas….and I was really excited to be a part of something that explored ways to try and find a solution.”
Find the complete reports for “Oregon Metro’s Regional Land Banking Site Selection Strategy,” and “Historic Parkrose: Planning for Vacant Properties,” on PDXScholar.