COEH’s Linda Delp and Katy McNamara co-taught the UCLA Luskin Community Scholars course which recently received national recognition in the applied research category from the American Planning Association’s professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, for a 2015-16 study the scholars did on the distribution of goods in Southern California.
Chosen from a nationwide field of candidates, the project was one of two selected to receive the AICP award for applied research. UCLA shares the award with the University of Virginia.
Goetz Wolff, a lecturer in urban planning, was the faculty adviser for the project. He has been a part of the community scholars program since its founding in 1991. Each year since, scholars and students from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs have worked together with community stakeholders to focus on timely and important Los Angeles regional issues and have published their findings and recommendations.
The program is a joint initiative of the Luskin school’s Department of Urban Planning and the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education and was co-sponsored by UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health.
The winning project was focused on the movement and distribution of goods through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and its disproportional negative impact on local communities, labor and the environment.
“The combination of perspectives and skills resulted in a powerful mix with our community scholars,” Wolff said. The program also benefited from the expertise of Linda Delp, who heads UCLA’s Labor and Occupational Safety and Health program and the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, as a co-instructor.