
CAPLA students reimagine accessible architecture through Universal Design
Bachelor of Architecture students were recognized in the 2024 AGM Universal Design Student Awards for innovative projects that centered empathy, accessibility, and the human experience. Winning designs by Taranm Akbary and Sadey Bowles reimagined inclusive spaces in Bisbee, showcasing how Universal Design can elevate both creativity and community impact.

Lecture Recap | "DUST: Origins" by DUST Architects
DUST architects explored how the American Southwest’s desert landscape inspires their work, shaping memory, creativity, and a deep sense of belonging. Its beauty and isolation offer space for reflection and connection to broader human experiences.

Heritage Conservation Project Director Helen Erickson Discusses Buffalo Soldiers on the Arizona-Mexico Border for ASLA Blog
Helen Erickson published the essay “Buffalo Soldiers on the Southwest Border” in The Field, the blog of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Professional Practice Network. The essay explores the historic Black landscape of Camp Naco.

Keeping Homes and Cities Cool in Extreme Heat
Planning and Sustainable Built Environments Assistant Professor Ladd Keith, an expert on urban planning and climate change, offers tips to keep your home cool during a heat wave, and discusses how and why cities across the country are doing more to become heat resilient.

UArizona Launches Reinvigorated, Accessible Heritage Conservation Certificate Program
CAPLA's 15-unit, five-course Graduate Certificate in Heritage Conservation relaunched this summer, and students both on campus and off may complete the certificate, which prepares students from a variety of backgrounds for practice in fields such as heritage conservation, cultural resource management and historic preservation.

Tucson CBS Affiliate Turns to Sustainable Built Environments Professor for Insight on the Dangers of Hiking in Southern Arizona Heat
In a series covering "Monsoon 2021" broadcast June 14, Tucson CBS affiliate TV station KOLD News 13 interviewed Ladd Keith, assistant professor of planning and sustainable built environments, on how "hiking in heat can have deadly repercussions in Southern Arizona."

Planning Professor Arlie Adkins on Equitable Regionalism for Tucson’s Regional Transportation Authority
In an op-ed in the June 11, 2021 edition of the Arizona Daily Star, Arlie Adkins calls out the ongoing discussion about regional coordination in the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), an independent taxing district within Pima County that manages multimodal transportation projects.

Assistant Professor Jonathan Bean Named 2021 CUES Distinguished Fellow for ‘Climate Heroes’ Curriculum
Architecture and Sustainable Built Environments Assistant Professor Jonathan Bean has been named one of four 2021 CUES Distinguished Fellows by UArizona’s Center for University Education Scholarship. His project, Climate Heroes: Transforming the Built Environment, addresses the fundamental challenge of our time: climate change.

Planning and Sustainable Built Environments Professor Ladd Keith Discusses Heat’s Inequitable Impact on Low-Income and Communities of Color in The Washington Post
“Heat is the number-one weather-related killer,” says Ladd Keith in The Washington Post article, “Heat and Smog Hit Low-Income Communities and People of Color Hardest, Scientists Say,” published on May 25, 2021.

CAPLA’s Adriana Zuniga Discusses Importance of Urban Vegetation for Equity and Habitat Preservation
“Vegetation is linked to better air, lower temperatures and less stress,” says Adriana Zuniga in dual May 14, 2021 stories on Tucson’s plans to plant trees to combat climate change appearing in Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate.

Inspired Energies: Celebrating Nader Chalfoun, Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Environmental Sciences
In 2020, Nader Chalfoun retired after 36 years as a beloved, innovative University of Arizona professor. This profile celebrates his work at the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.