Global Urban Development Program

Some of the U.S. team members on a site visit in District 6 with Glenn Katz of Stanford, Fred Sheil of STAND, and Lange Luntao of Reinvent South Stockton Coalition, surveying the vacant lots along Airport Way and adjacent neighborhoods.

Our kickoff meeting on October 18 was the first time that the twenty-one selected students (11 from California, 10 from Slovenia) met each other. They heard from Fred Sheil of STAND and Glenn Katz from Stanford as keynotes and then received the project briefing.

Following the 2008 economic crisis, in 2012 Stockton became the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy (surpassed by Detroit in 2013). The city has recently come out of bankruptcy and is undergoing positive change through young new leadership like District 6 Councilmember Michael Tubbs (Stanford ‘12), but deeply-ridden problems such as drugs, crime, unemployment, and dilapidated infrastructure still hinder large-scale improvements to urban life. The city was recently sued by the State Attorney General and the Sierra Club over its master development plan for excessive growth and is currently undergoing revision, having been required to focus less on urban sprawl and more on urban infill, industrial and commercial revitalization, energy-efficiency, and sustainability. Specific empty parcels in District 6 present concrete opportunities for urban and architectural intervention.

Check out Team Hong Kong's final presentation from the 2012 Global Urban Design Course.

Check out Team New York's final presentation slides from the 2012 Global Urban Design course.