In 2020, a student team from the University of Oklahoma participated in the EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge. This competition is a green infrastructure design competition for American colleges and universities. It aims to engage with the next generation of environmental professionals, foster a dialogue about the need for innovative stormwater management techniques, and showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure practices.
The OU team, led by faculty advisor Bret Betnar (former Adjunct Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture), developed a series of design interventions with the goal of solving the flooding problem on OU’s campus. Their interventions would improve stormwater management on campus which would conserve water as well as improve campus walkability and accessibility.
The student team included Aman Golshan (MLA alumnus 2021), Yi-Wen Yeh (MLA alumnus 2021), Bradley Andersen (current MLA student), and Samin Shokoohi (MLA alumnus 2021). They competed against fifty-seven other student teams and were awarded an Honorable Mention in Community Engagement in the Master Plan Category.
The team was also advised by Leehu Loon (Director of Landscape Architecture), Dr. Sarah Little (Professor of Landscape Architecture), Carrie Evenson (City of Norman), and Dr. Robert Nairn (Division of Engineering WaTER Center). They were also assisted by Brandon Cox, Kyle McGhee, and Jason Reeves from OU Facilities and Landscape Services.
Bradley Andersen wrote, “This competition is an excellent chance to test your abilities while working with a team to solve complex community issues. It also allows the student to interact with municipal agencies and various specialties that you don’t typically work with.”
Another team member, Yi-Wen Yeh, wrote, “I hope that more of these competitions can be held so that students can have constant opportunities to challenge themselves, not only to increase their knowledge in various aspects, but also to learn the opportunity to cooperate with each other, because when we enter the workplace, we need to cooperate with others often.”
Explore the team’s proposal below!
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.
