Vieques Initiative

The Urban Design Lab is continuing its post-Maria initiative in Vieques, Puerto Rico studying options for resilient short-term development projects with longer-term implications for scaling-up economic development. The team is headed by UDL Director Richard Plunz, with Vilma Rivera Gallagher, Maria Paola Sutto and Urban Planner Douglas Woodward, faculty member of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Puerto Rico collaborators are the Municipal Government of Vieques, the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust, Hope Builders, and the Institute for Puerto Rican Culture.  On March 7, thirteen graduate architecture and urban planning students presented preliminary research in New York, followed by a week of field study culminating in a presentation for collaborators and other community stakeholders.