NEXOPOLIS
The Master of City Planning Program is partnering with the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington in Seattle on a student travel program in Mexico or Canada for Graduate Students in City or Urban Planning. The theme of the grant is “Central City Revitalization.” The University of Washington’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning is the recipient of a FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) grant, perhaps the most competitive grant-making process in the Federal government. The 4-year grant encourages graduate student and faculty mobility to consortium partners in Mexico and Canada. The six universities of this trilateral consortium are the following: Universite Laval in Quebec City, Canada and Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada; Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo in Morelia, Mexico and Universidad de Guanajuato in Guanajuato, Mexico; San Diego State University and the University of Washington in Seattle. The three federal governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico fund Nexopolis.
The broader purpose of this multilateral project is to promote a student-centered North American dimension to educational and training in city planning. It aims to improve the quality of human resource development in the three countries and to better prepare students to work throughout North America by acquiring an international academic profile. Some of the outcomes of this program should include language proficiency in Spanish or French; broaden cultural awareness and understanding as well as being more conversant in comparative urban studies. Selected students have the opportunity to spend one or two semester(s) abroad, enrolled as full time students in one of the Nexopolis consortium universities in Mexico or Canada. One course (3 credits), is devoted, under the supervision of a local professor, to the study of one specific aspect related to central city revitalization in the city where the student resides. Credits earned abroad are recognized by San Diego State University, and financial assistance is available to the candidates selected.
In addition, Nexopolis organizes annual seminars devoted to one specific topic of central city revitalization. These seminars involve selected professors and students from the six universities and last eight days. Students receive credits for their work. The first seminar was in Seattle on May 14 – June 1, 2006. Topic: Actors and Roles in Central City Revitalization. The second seminar is in Mexico in May 2007. Topic: Saving the Downtown through Heritage Preservation. The third seminar is in Canada in May 2008. Topic: Economic and Social Impacts of Central City Revitalization.
Three SDSU MCP students participated in the recent NEXOPOLIS Seminar in Seattle: Michael D’Alessandro, Carla Blackmar, and Naomi Trejo. The students toured Seattle, heard a number of presentations on central city revitalization, provided a presentation on various aspects of central city revitalization in San Diego, and participated in a group project with other students from Mexico and Canada on an aspect of central city revitalization in Seattle.
In order to participate in a NEXOPOLIS seminar or semester exchange in Canada or Mexico, you must be a full time MCP student at San Diego State University. If you want to pursue a semester abroad in either Mexico or Canada you should be fluent or motivated to learn French (Universite Laval in Quebec City) or Spanish (Universidad Michoacana de San Nicholas de Hidalgo in Morelia or the Universidad de Guanajuato) and, above all, be committed to pursue your education in a different intellectual, social and cultural environment.
The next summer NEXOPOLIS Seminar will be held in Guanajuato, Mexico, May 23-31, 2007. If you are interested in participating, contact Dr. Caves at 619-594-6472 or rcaves@mail.sdsu.edu.