Environmental Design student Anthony Rodriguez recently published an op-ed in the Oklahoma City Free Press. His article, “Changing Attitudes Over Urban Sprawl Have Taken Hold In OKC,” focuses on the need for social interactions during the pandemic and how mixed-used developments can help foster more social interactions.
His op-ed was written as part of a Regional and City Planning course, “Planning with Diverse Communities,” which is taught by Dr. C. Aujean Lee. For this class, Rodriguez conducted a case study about 20th century discriminatory housing practices in New York. During his research, he learned about exclusionary zoning laws that restricted land development to single family homes.
In addition to this case study, he participated in a discussion of Jane Jacob’s The Death and Life of Great American Cities for his Architectural Theory and Criticism class. Rodriguez explained, “It was that assignment, that discussion, and the pandemic that had me think about the effect suburbs had on the social life of the country.” In his Op-Ed, Rodriguez discusses how the pandemic magnified major issues with suburban neighborhoods, including the lack of walkability, communal spaces, and diversity.
According to Rodriguez, “My goal for this op-ed was to express my optimism that cities like OKC are acknowledging that these zoning laws are at least partially responsible for continued racial segregation, missed economic opportunities, and low quality of life. The pandemic presented cities with an opportunity to improve the health and well-being of their residents in the long term. Time will tell if they ultimately took it.”
This was Rodriguez’s first time publishing an article on a professional journalism platform. Read his full Op-Ed in the Oklahoma City Free Press.
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.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
