Overview
Graduate students in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program at Portland State University work in teams of 4-6 members to complete applied planning projects, as part of a required course - and the culminating experience of this graduate program- known as "the MURP workshop." This course is intended to give our students hands-on experience in conceiving, planning, and implementing a community-based planning project in close consultation with a committed client/partner. In past years, workshop groups have completed projects for a wide range of public agencies and community groups. Clients have included planning staff at large and very small cities as well as non-profit and community-based groups/organizations who do planning-type work from an advocacy or community perspective.
MURP Workshop is a meaningful experience for students and clients alike. Here is a quote from a MURP alumna (2019):
“The MURP workshop was an intense, fulfilling, and extremely meaningful experience that helped launch me into my career. As our team’s project manager, I was able to learn and practice real team building and project management concepts that helped us produce a plan we could be proud of for our client and community members. I use the tools and concepts I learned during the MURP workshop project every day in my work in the Metro Council Office.”
2024 Key dates and information:
2024 RFP Deadline has passed. Stay tuned for more about the 20204 projects!
High Impact Projects
Many past clients have found their Workshop projects to be helpful in advocating for and changing real-world planning practice and decisions. As one example, what started as a Planning Workshop project in 2011 has now turned into Portland Mercado, a Latino public market place which opened in 2015. The MURP student group, Adelante Planning, did the feasibility study, which outlined strategies based on research and case studies to successfully implement a Mercado as an economic development and business incubation strategy for Portland’s Latino community. It won an American Planning Association award in 2012.
Our MURP Planning Workshop projects have won state and national awards. As a recent example, in 2023, the Oregon American Planning Association awarded the project Nixyáawii Watikš the Student Achievement Award. The OAPA Awards committee felt that this was an excellent example of community engagement with a tribal community and included a thoughtful and useful set of specific recommendations to guide implementation. See other award-winning projects over on our Program Metrics page.
Check out these student-made short films featuring 2023 MURP Workshop projects!
Nixyáawii Watikš Multi-Use Trail Planning
Prioritizing Land for Housing in Warrenton, Oregon
Gorge and Mt. Hood Regional Park and Ride Assessment
Food for All in Clackamas County
Past Years Projects
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 and before
Planning Workshop Projects 2023
Faculty advisors: Dr. Megan Horst and Stephanie Wright
Repurposing Retail to Bring Downtown Back: A Recovery Plan for Portland's South Downtown, Jamie Arnau, Luis Caro, Matthew Flodin, Amy Ly, Thiery Nanetangar, and Valeria Tapia
Prioritizing Land for Housing in Warrenton, Anis Boughanmi, James Dingwell, Maddy Knickerbocker, Jovan Merceron, Miranda Seekins, and Amanda Ufheil-Sommers
Nixyáawii Watikš, Owen Christofferson, Sara Goldstein, Nick Hadfield, Zhuoheng (Brian) Liu, Jenny Mazzella, and Victoria Young
Food for All in Clackamas County, Jean Dahlquist, Katie Stringer, Alexander Scott Morgan, Marwa Zidi, and Kim Hack-Davidson
Fremont Bridgehead Reclamation Project, Ananda Gordon-Peabody, Meg Grzybowski, Ian Meisner, Grace Dudley, and Paul Ahrns
82nd Avenue Tree Canopy Development, Amber Shackelford, Alvin Dimalanta, Caleb Susuras, Darby O'Brien, and Eiji Toda
Gorge and Mt. Hood Regional Park and Ride Assessment, Aidan Simpson, Beth Whitener, Emily D'Antonio, Harrison Husting, Jessa Miller, and Kadin Mangalik
Planning Workshop Projects 2022
Faculty advisors: Dr. Aaron Golub and Stephanie Wright
Newberg Car Camping Initiative, Katie Carroll, Ryan Haight, Mary Hendricks, Scott Sharba, Anthony Tortorici, and Paul Vickers
Legalizing Mobile Dwellings : A Guide for Expanding a Unique Affordable Housing Option in your City, Grace Coffey, Scott Goodman, Matthew Hall, Sam Huck, and Andrew Oliver
Safety Interventions For Houseless Pedestrians, Peter Domine, Sean Doyle, Asif Haque, Angie Martínez Sulvarán, Nick Meusch, and Meisha Whyte
Vancouver Climate Adaptation Strategy, Jodi Mescher, Jenna Cangialosi, Jai Daniels, Trevor Luu, Ellen Mickle, and Jamie Shavley
Envisioning An Equitable Central City, Tanja Olson, Caroline Crisp, Heidi Hinshaw, Sarah Pearlman, Laurel Priest, and Jacob Storm
East Portland Resilient Island Vision Plan, Blair Vallie, Mary Chase, Mirna Ali, Journie Gering, Rica Perez, and Allan Wilson
Planning Workshop Projects 2021
Faculty advisors: Dr. Megan Horst and Irene Kim
Equity and Sustainability Planning for Employment Zones in Tigard, Mac Cunningham, Gregory Mallon, Rob Hemphill, Rebecca Rockom, and Paul Runge
Friends of Green Loop: Food Cartology, Andrew Wester, Nora Stoelting, Ben Acord-Becker, Kenny Werth, Laura Shumway, and Andrew Reyna
Rockwood Identity Project, Phil Longenecker, Ana Navia, Natalie Chavez, Francisco Ibarra, Max Nonnamaker, and Eric Trinh
Oregon Agricultural Trust: Mid-Columbia Research and Engagement Report, Nicole Underwood, Bryan Bruckman, Josh Linden, Briana Orr, Taylor Potter, and Lisa Wasson-Seilo
Parking Spaces to People Places, Shawn Canny, Natalie Knowles, Arva Hussain, Ann Le, Megan Doherty, and Elizabeth Cox
Reclamation Towards the Futurity of Central Albina, Ariel Kane, Aubrey Carlsen, Stephen Greenslade, Jude Thaddaeus, and Zachary Mettler
Planning Workshop Projects 2020
Faculty advisors: Dr. Marisa Zapata and Deborah Stein
Caritas Housing, Julianne Reno, Ryan Dyar, N. Janine Gates, Hugo Hamblin-Agosto Joshua Ollinger
Clackamas Community College Shuttle Service and Access Plan, Shiori Azumaya, Ryan McKinnon, Christina Winberry, Daisy Quinonez, Baxter Shandobil, Andre Lightsey-Walker
Cascade 30. Jeff Broderick, Timothy DuBois, Seth Healy, Henry Miller, Elisha Ransom, Justin Sherrill
Hamlet Futures, Hannah Anderson, Heide Camarata, Hillary Harris, Kate Harbour, Sebrina Mortenson, Lydia Ness
Roses from Concrete, Timothy Martinez, Shreya Jain, Matthew Cramer, Gwynn Mackellan, Sarah Bermudez, Walle Brown