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As part of a collaboration with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG), the Institute for Quality Communities (IQC), the City of El Reno, Michael Höffner, and Emily Fitzsimmons formed a team to research and provide recommendations concerning Sunset Drive, a stretch of Route 66 west of downtown El Reno, Oklahoma.
This project is part of ACOG’s Community Economic Resiliency Iniative (CERI), which was created to help Oklahoma communities develop after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about CERI and the IQC’s involvement.
Michael Höffner is an affiliate faculty member in the Division of Architecture, a Community Engagement Fellow with the IQC, and principal at höffnerdesignstudio. Emily Fitzsimmons is a graduate student in the Division of Regional + City Planning and a Graduate Assistant with the IQC.
On Sunday December 5, the team hosted a public meeting for community members to share their perspective and hopes for key challenges and opportunities facing Sunset Drive. The meeting took place in the Red Barn of the Canadian County Historical Society Museum. Dozens of participants interacted with a large-format aerial photo of the corridor and held conversations or left notes about important topics.
Major themes from participants included walkability and safety, development and design focused on attracting tourism to El Reno, future projects and development types, and ways of honoring El Reno’s history in the corridor.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
