Integrated Lincoln Heights Project a Success for CAUSES Students

Reprinted with permission from the Go Dutch Consortium.

On May 19 the first group of UDC students who did an integrated research project with Go Dutch presented their work titled “Raising the Heights” to representatives of the Deputy Mayors office for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) and DC Housing Authority. They analyzed data on health, education, crime, housing, economics and nutrition and came up with an integrated approach to address the needs of people living in Lincoln Heights, an underserved neighborhood in Ward 7. Lincoln Heights is part of the New Communities Initiative, a District government program designed to revitalize severely distressed subsidized housing and redevelop neighborhoods.

In appreciation of their work, the University was offered to continue working with the stakeholders on the community planning and design process and were offered internships.

Go Dutch Consortium serves as Consulting Faculty to the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) at the University of the District of Columbia to conduct workshops by integrating academics, research, land-grant programs and Dutch expertise to originate comprehensive solutions to a case study proposed by DC Government (Lincoln Heights). The purpose of this initiative is for students, faculty, and Dutch experts to exchange knowledge and use sustainability (economics, equity, and environment) in an applied case study scenario.

During the Spring 2014 semester Bart Mispelblom Beyer, Tess Broekmans and Eric Schlangen from GO DUTCH and participating classes in CAUSES collaborated on an applied, integrated research project. The project incorporated principles and practices learned in the traditional course curricula (e.g. Health, Urban Sustainability, Public Policy, Architecture, etc.) with an output being a presentation to the Mayor’s Office and the DC Housing Authority.

"The District of Columbia is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and this partnership reflects the global nature of interdisciplinary education in the modern age," explained Dr. Dwane Jones, director, Center for Sustainable Development.

The students who presented were:

• Oluwakemi (Kemi) Adeola (Nutrition and Food Science)
• Najlaa Almohmadi (Master's Program, Nutrition and Food Science)
• Wanda Briscoe (Master's Program- Architecture)

For more information on this project, contact Dr. Dwane Jones.