Entries by Global Luskin
Education amidst fragility, conflict and violence
By Steve Commins, Associate Director, Global Public Affairs @ UCLA Luskin Director, International Practice Pathway Faculty Cluster Leader, Global Environment and Resources, Lecturer in Urban Planning Access to schooling and quality learning can be undermined by various manifestations of fragility, conflict and violence (FCV). The effect of different elements of FCV on education has both […]
Open and closed: Walking around Fortress Coyoacán
By Thomas Abbot, MURP ’18 The experience of walking in Mexico City can run the gamut from serene and calming to white-knuckle stressful. The parks seem made for the casual stroll, with no shortage of things to admire and an easy flow of people. By contrast, some streets present forbidding walls and hair-thin sidewalks, forcing […]
Violence prevention efforts in Kampala, Uganda
By Nikki Lewis, MPP, MSW ’19 My time at Kampala is one of contrast. I work for an organization dedicated to preventing violence against women and children in a culture that has deep patriarchal roots. I spend my days crafting material that will help organizations across Africa implement Violence Against Women (VAW) prevention programming. I […]
New Connections, New Horizons: Spring Break in D.C.
By Susan Oh, MPP ’17 For the final spring break of my MPP program, I was incredibly lucky to travel to Washington D.C. with Professor Steve Commins and five other Luskin students to visit a number of NGOs, international aid and development organizations, and research institutions, including the World Bank, USAID, Aspen Institute and Mathematica, […]
Reflexive Use of Urban Space: from Los Angeles to Mexico City
By Alejandro Mercado, PhD Urban Planning ’04 I moved to Los Angeles more than twenty years ago and lived there for five years during my PhD studies at UCLA. The impact that my stay in Los Angeles had on my personal life and professional career is still present to this day. Certainly, Los Angeles and […]
Japan: Breaking Urban Expectations
By Paola Mendez, MURP ’17 Whenever I visit a new city, I try not to have many, if any, expectations of what I’ll find. I don’t want any expectations or preconceptions about the city to interfere with the way I actually experience it on the ground. In the case of Tokyo, notoriously the biggest city […]
Exploring International Work in Washington D.C.
By Julie Wedig, MURP ’17 From the moment I stepped onto the sidewalk heading to my first meeting Monday morning over spring break in Washington, I could feel the activity of the city swirling around me. When stoplights turned to green at every intersection, it felt as though the crowd might carry me to […]
My Experience in the Capital of International Development
By Dennis Avila, MPP ’17 I had the great opportunity to visit Washington D.C. with five other classmates this past Spring Break. The trip was a unique opportunity for all of us to visit several organizations, NGOs, think tanks, etc. We also met with researchers and international development workers who shared with us their work, […]
Transit Tourism: Visiting Japan with Luskin’s Transportation and Urban Reform Study Group
By Tony Castelletto, MPP ’17 Not so long ago, I would not have considered myself a world traveler. This despite trips to Canada, Mexico, Scotland, and Greece. In all of these places, I’ve had at least one language in common with the locals. I don’t speak Greek, but most Greeks actually speak English quite well […]