A team of students in Portland State University's Master of Urban & Regional Planning (MURP) program has won an award from the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC). CUTC presents its National Student Awards at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), which takes place next week in Washington D.C. This year is the first year that CUTC has included an award category for group projects, and the PSU team is the first to win the new CUTC Graduate-Level Student Group Award.
Team members Owen Christofferson, Sara Goldstein, Nick Hadfield, Zhouheng (Brian) Liu, Jenny Mazzella and Victoria Young won the award for the MURP workshop project, Nixyáawii Watikš.
The student team partnered with the planning office of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to plan a multi-use trail to improve walkability and connectivity in the community.
"We consulted with the tribal government to build a multi-use path that would connect a neighborhood in the reservation called "Mission" where there is commercial activity as well as a government center, a health center, educational facilities and a neighborhood being planned. Our job is find the best alignment to connect it to the Pendleton Riverwalk to allow walking, biking, and equestrian use for the tribal community to be able to access, in a much more safe and comfortable manager, all the opportunities in the town of Pendleton as well as allow folks in Pendleton access to the reservation," team member Owen Christofferson said.
Learn more about the students' project in this YouTube video:
Read East Oregonian coverage of the project: Portland State University students partner with tribes to plan trail.
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, known as "the MURP workshop." See more recent MURP workshop projects here.
Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is home to the U.S. DOT funded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), PORTAL, BikePed Portal and other transportation grants and programs. We produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education and participation in research.