Regional + City Planning alumnus Joseph Laws was recently interviewed by The Oklahoman about new COVID-19 relief funds available to Oklahoma businesses through the American Rescue Plan Act. Joseph is the OKC Rescue Program manager at the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City. In this position, he supports local businesses and neighborhoods through equitable economic recovery around technical assistance, improvements, and physical changes related to pandemic mitigation.
About $20 million in federal relief funds will be distributed by the Alliance through the OKC Rescue Program that Joseph manages. The American Rescue Plan Act requires certain funds to be reserved for businesses located in qualifying census tracts, where at least half of the household incomes are less than 60% of the area median income. The Alliance is also including minority-owned businesses in their funding distribution.
"There are a lot of minority and disadvantaged groups that live within qualified census tracts, but there are some that are outside of it," Joseph said to The Oklahoman. "So that gives us a bit more flexibility to serve those who are most in need, and help ensure that we have an equitable economic recovery coming out of the pandemic."
Robert L. Wesley, a pioneering architect and beloved mentor, has died at age 88. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Wesley joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1964 and became the firm's first Black partner in 1984. Throughout his career, he contributed to significant architectural projects while maintaining a strong commitment to civic engagement and professional mentorship.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to celebrate a series of recent accomplishments by Dr. Jim Collard, Professor of Practice in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, whose work continues to shape conversations around Indigenous economic development nationally and internationally.
University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Dean Hans E. [PA1.1]Butzer returned to one of his most significant works on December 15, joining survivors and past and present board members for the groundbreaking of a $15.8 million expansion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
