Victoria Young, MURP StudentI applied to PSU because I wanted to help shape cities. My undergraduate degree is in anthropology with a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies from Georgia State University in Atlanta. I come from a small town and grew to love cities while living in Atlanta, especially through exploring the city, using transit, and working in archival spaces. I realized I wanted to make a career around helping cities become better.
There was something about Portland and the MURP degree. I looked at a lot of programs, but Portland State really shined through. When I was taking my first urban studies class at Georgia State, the professor kept on talking about Portland State, and I was like, “I’ve already applied!” Since then, I’ve learned much more about how the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning is known nationally and internationally.
I am a second-year Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) student, graduating in June. Currently, I’m working at Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS), aiding the Age and Disability-Inclusive Neighborhoods Initiative. Last year, I worked with Unite Oregon, helping the Southwest Corridor Equity Coalition with their work regarding small businesses, especially BIPOC businesses. Besides my MURP degree, I’m also getting a graduate certificate in Emergency Management and Community Resilience at PSU. My interests include environmental planning, community development, and anything that involves community engagement.
I am the first Tony Lamb Racial Justice Fellow. Tony Lamb did a lot in the community regarding racial justice. Working at BPS and at my previous internship at Unite Oregon, I’ve heard how Tony did so much for the community. The fellowship continues Tony’s work promoting racial equity. It feels good to carry on his legacy.
I told my mom, “My soul feels full right now.” It’s meaningful, the conversations around different things you can do with community, with planning.
Unite Oregon was a beautiful workplace of learning and knowledge. It was my first time working at a nonprofit, and I adored that environment. Nuhamin Eiden, my supervisor, nurtured me by checking in with me and making sure I was okay. I remember Nuhamin saying, “I understand it is finals week; take care of yourself.” And that made all the difference with everything. My other supervisor, Mohanad Alnajjar, guided me, too, teaching me important professional skills.
My work at Unite Oregon was foundational for the city. Metro and BPS are trying to build up the West Portland Town Center and the Southwest Corridor, but there wasn’t much documentation and representation of small businesses in the regional planning process. Being from somewhere that wasn’t Portland challenged me in the work, but I learned a lot. I tried to talk to as many agencies as I could in the city—Prosper Portland, Metro, etc. I created a survey that targeted BIPOC businesses. This process was a big lesson in how to conduct survey work and engagement, especially with small businesses, considering the demands on their time and sometimes their wariness of government. Unite Oregon was my first experience of seeing some of the politics regarding planning (which was good) and understanding some of the relationships and how things coalesce with the help of nonprofits.
I’ve worked with the age-friendly Portland project at BPS since September 2022. I asked for a project in the beginning stages because I wanted to see how something not fully formed finds its way through a process. Potentially, it may grow into a government-wide initiative. We’re about to do some ground truthing—going out to folks and seeing how identified priorities align with folks in the city. It’s been rewarding to look at another aspect of planning I don’t think is necessarily talked about enough—accessibility—and to see how little changes can make public spaces better for everyone. I’m learning the power of building relationships and coalitions.
Last year, on my birthday, we had a guest speaker in one of my classes, and she was talking about working with Indigenous tribes. It was kind of a churchy moment. She said, “What do you see for yourself? What do you envision for the world? What work do you want to be a part of?” That moment stood out to me. My parents were in town from Georgia, and I told my mom, “My soul feels full right now.” It’s meaningful, the conversations around different things you can do with community, with planning.
That’s been a big thing of the MURP program—seeing the different avenues where planning can go. There are some cool folks in the program. I’m constantly amazed at hearing people’s stories about their work. A lot of alumni have been connecting with folks through different school engagements. With the BIPOC planners’ group, we’ve had a couple of activities and frank conversations about what planning is as a BIPOC person, which has been powerful and touching.
Discussions with faculty, too, have been critical for me and my personal development. I’m always going to be a learner and a researcher. I’m thinking of the academy and realizing there are issues, but what can you take from the academy to nourish yourself? To grow as a person?
I feel like I’ve grown so much in the MURP program. I came here fresh out of undergraduate school with very limited knowledge about urban planning, and I’m leaving with so much understanding of it. I’m twenty-two now, and I’m learning I have new interests.
Regarding my future in urban planning, recreation is something I’m interested in. I worked in the parks this summer with the free lunch and play program and learned how much I love working with kids and hearing kids’ thoughts about the world. At BPS, I’m doing some youth planning and engagement, which is fun. Additionally, I’m interested in promoting the growth and longevity of communities, making them better for folks.
I’m deeply interested in people within cities, people’s relationships, and people’s lives from a cultural anthropological viewpoint. What do you do, how do you live, and what are your thoughts on things around you? What’s going on? What do you see people doing? I’m taking Professor Corbin’s course USP 589: Theorizing Urban Natures, which covers multiple theoretical backgrounds. I hope to use that theoretical approach in my future work.
I’m creative at heart, and I’m also a very spiritual person. I’m thankful to be here. I also think being away from family and taking that chance to go away has made me look within to ask myself, what do I really want to do with my life? What do I see as a future thing? Just knowing the world we have now doesn’t have to be the world in the future—there’s so much excitement between speculative fiction and cities and youth. There’s a lot of energy in that space of what could be.
I’m making sure I have boundaries with school because I know it can get overwhelming. It’s okay to have moments for yourself. Make sure you have at least one day of your weekend for yourself. I think about the things I feel I’ve lost in the pursuit of being what I thought was an adult and, like, I’m trying to bring back play. It’s easy to be disheartened by the world. You need optimism and joy, and I think urban planning can give that. Looking at community resilience, especially from the viewpoint that we all have our individual gifts, invites us to ask: How can we hone our gifts to make our communities better?