Fernando Costa, a professor of practice in the Regional + City Planning program, recently chaired a seven-member Urban Land Institute (ULI) advisory services panel in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
ULI is a global, multidisciplinary research and education organization that promotes best practices in real estate development. Professor Costa, who has taught courses in public finance and planning management within Gibbs College for the past fifteen years, currently serves ULI as a Global Governing Trustee, Americas Executive Committee member, and member of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) Committee.
Invited by Ancora Partners and the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, Costa joined a team of panelists to study the Electric Works redevelopment project in the city. The panel took place from April 30 through May 5, where the team toured the historic site, interviewed dozens of local stakeholders, and explored opportunities for involving underrepresented businesses and communities in the project.
This research guided the team in creating an equitable development model that real estate developers and public officials can apply to similar projects in other American cities. The model applies DEI principles to large-scale urban development projects, and emphasizes market analysis, inclusive planning, business equity, and off-site community improvements.
Telesis, a journal produced by students in the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, has earned first place in the 2026 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals for its seventh volume, “Unfold.” This marks the fourth time the publication has earned recognition for excellence in student architectural journalism. It shares the honor with student journals from Columbia University, University of Michigan, and Cal Poly.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
