Jul 06, 2026

Introduction from the Chair

The GCPE graduating class of 2026 is making its mark! From designing infrastructure; to conceptualizing new types of spaces for shelter, culture, commerce, services, and social connection; to inclusion of the natural world into built environments; to the elevation, celebration, and preservation of diverse forms of heritage — how we create, and for whom we create —  sit at the heart of student inquiries at the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment. 

Join us in welcoming 42 practitioners to the fields of preservation, placemaking, environmental sustainability, and urban planning, whose research and commitment to community-based work expands and redefine our disciplines. We encourage you to connect with our graduates to learn more about their research and professional pursuits. Congratulations to the Class of 2026!

– Courtney Knapp, Chair, Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment (GCPE)

HPCohort_GCPE_GradParty.jpg — A group of eight students standing outside a brick manor.

Historic Preservation, M.S.

Congratulations to the 2026 graduating class of the Historic Preservation program at Pratt Institute! This extraordinary cohort has challenged the preservation field through bold scholarship, critical thinking, and innovative ideas that push us to rethink whose stories are preserved, how we define significance, and how preservation must respond to the urgent realities of climate change. Their work has reimagined interior spaces, elevated overlooked histories, and developed meaningful strategies to protect historic fabric while strengthening communities. These graduates have demonstrated that preservation is not only about protecting the past—it is a powerful tool for justice, resilience, and transformative change. We are thrilled to welcome these exceptional professionals into the field.

– Monica T. Davis, Academic Director

A group of eight students wearing caps and gowns and a woman wearing a floral blouse stand against a background of plants.
HP_IreineLe_ROH26.jpg — A smiling student standing in front of a research poster.
TatianaMurat_NM_Limewash.jpg — A student wearing protective equipment limewashes an adobe building.
roup of fourteen people poses together for a photo on the porch of an adobe building.
A student wearing protective equipment uses a circular saw to cut a board as other students and an instructor look on.
A group of eighteen people poses together for a photo outside a light-colored house on a sunny day.
Images (Top-Bottom, L-R): HP graduating cohort at the GCPE Grad Party; graduates with Academic Director Monica T. Davis; Irene Le at the 2026 Pratt Institute Research Open House; Tatiana Murat limewashing an adobe house in New Mexico; HP students and faculty with community members in New Mexico during a Spring Break trip to learn about adobe construction; HP students learn how to restore shotgun homes from community members in East Wilson, NC during Spring Break; HP students and faculty with community members in East Wilson, NC. Historic Preservation, M.S.

Julia C. Bucci — GCPE (M.S. in HP) Applied Research Award

Homefield Heritage: Preservation of Place for Negro League Baseball

Andrea Victoria Barreto Lagesse

Layered Histories, Living Communities: Preserving Pelourihno

Elise Marie LaGraize

Beyond the Facade: Preserving Industrial Memory at the Lidgerwood Site

Irine Le 

New York is a Woman: The Case for Architecture in Riot Grrrl & DIY Music Venues

Fabio Lima — Excellence in Academic Achievement Award

Passing Documents: Queer Preservation Documentation and the Experimental Politics of Paperwork

Zoha Masood — Outstanding Community Service Award

Preserving Affective Domesticity: South Asian Diaspora Interiors in NYC

Tatiana Murat — Outstanding Merit Award

In the Floodlights: A Water Resiliency Strategy for a Historic Theatre

Macarena Olivares Alvarez — Outstanding Community Service Award

Commoning the City: Community Gardens in New York as Sites of Cultural Continuity

Judy Walsh — Commitment to the Profession Award

Fugitive Archives: Documenting Heritage in a Climate Vulnerable Coastal Landscape

A group of eight students wearing caps and gowns poses with two faculty members against a background of plants.

Sustainable Environmental Systems, M.S.

We are proud of the 12 Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 M.S. in Sustainable Environmental Systems graduates! Throughout their time at Pratt and in their Capstone projects, these emerging sustainability professionals demonstrated their ability to transcend disciplinary boundaries and propose creative solutions to intractable socio-environmental challenges. Graduates have produced projects that respond to the urgency of the climate crisis, include actionable outcomes for clients and stakeholders, and envision a more resilient, adaptive, inclusive, and just future. We look forward to their future work and contributions!

– Leonel Lima Ponce, Academic Director

A group of seven people picking up trash along a nature trail.
A student points a heat sensor at the sidewalk as two individuals watch.
A student testing soil samples collected in a campus garden as a participant in the workshop watches.
A group of ten students poses in front of an exhibit of research findings.
A group of people reading the exhibit materials.
A smiling student standing in front of their research poster.
Images (Top-Bottom, L-R): Graduates of the Urban and Community Planning M.S. program with GCPE Chair Courtney Knapp; graduates with former chair Eve Baron and current chair Courtney Knapp; Juan Camilo Osorio and Max Scott at the 2026 Pratt Institute Research Open House; Planning students, alumni, and faculty at the 2026 APA Conference; Dasia Jenkins talks about her research at the Graduating Students Research Poster Showcase; Andrew Leung and Aurelie Barbier at the Graduating Students Research Poster Showcase; Phillip Vernon during a student presentation for the interdisciplinary PLAN-810 Advanced Studio — Sustainable Communities course.

Sam Asher — Eva Hanhardt Environmental Advocacy Award

From the Ground Up: Centering Soils in NYC’s Street Tree Canopy Growth

Anthony Cowell

A Pitch for a Pitch: Resilient Design and Equitable Engagement for Community Ballfields

Sher Gallo Netto

Rethinking Environmental Review in New York City: A Co-Governance Approach to Equitable Waterfront Climate Resilience

Christopher Hauserman (Fall 2025) — Outstanding Merit Award

A Store is Coming: The Retrofit Imperative Facing New York City’s Stormwater Policy

Jen Hung — M.S. in SES Capstone Impact Award

Sustaining Solar Investment: A Foundation for Energy and Housing Affordability in NYC Communities

Sanya Jain — Jaime Stein Innovation in Sustainability Award

With Rising Water: Reimagining Barges as Community Hubs and Post-Emergency Support in Red Hook

Jasmin Malhotra (Fall 2025)

From Policy to Parks: A Scalable Framework for Revitalizing Southern Brooklyn’s Parks

Angela Muoio Neefus (Fall 2025)

From Policy to Parks: A Scalable Framework for Revitalizing Southern Brooklyn’s Parks

Kasturi Salvi (Fall 2025) — Advancement of Sustainability on Campus Award

Urban Heat and Transit Equity: Assessing Microclimate and Shade Access at Bus Stops in NYC’s High-Heat Vulnerability Neighborhoods

Riya Shah — GCPE (M.S. in SES) Applied Research Award

The Green Web Framework: Rethinking Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management in Red Hook, a Shallow-Groundwater Neighborhood

Dhruvin Thakkar — Excellence in Academic Achievement Award

Keeping Communities in Place: Displacement Mitigation in the QueensWay Corridor

Ana Paula Viana Hirasawa (Fall 2025)

The Hidden Costs of Delivery: Environmental Injustices in the Hunts Point Freight Landscape

A group of eleven students in cap and gowns pose with a faculty member also wearing regalia.


Urban and Community Planning / City and Regional Planning, M.S.

Spring 2026 UCP/CRP graduates, welcome to the wonderful world of Pratt alums! You worked so hard to get to this point, and we know that you are bound to do great things with your new skills and experiences. Keep in mind that we’ll always be a professional and academic home for you. Please do keep in touch with us about your accomplishments in the future. We are sure there will be many opportunities to celebrate your excellent work long into the future.

– Courtney Knapp, Chair

A group of eleven students in cap and gowns pose with a faculty member also wearing regalia.
A faculty member and students standing in front of the student’s research posters.
A group of ten individuals sitting at a restaurant table.
A student standing in front of their research poster, talking to a group of fellow students.
Two students are discussing research outlined in a poster display.
A student presenting research findings from a studio course.
Images (Top-Bottom, L-R): Graduates of the Urban and Community Planning M.S. program with GCPE Chair Courtney Knapp; graduates with former chair Eve Baron and current chair Courtney Knapp; Juan Camilo Osorio and Max Scott at the 2026 Pratt Institute Research Open House; Planning students, alumni, and faculty at the 2026 APA Conference; Dasia Jenkins talks about her research at the Graduating Students Research Poster Showcase; Andrew Leung and Aurelie Barbier at the Graduating Students Research Poster Showcase; Phillip Vernon during a student presentation for the interdisciplinary PLAN-810 Advanced Studio — Sustainable Communities course.

Aurelie Barbier

Air Quality Sensing: a Citizen Science Experiment

Brianna Buford — Community Planning Award

Cadence of Resilience: Tracing Ancestral City Lines as Means for Equitable Historic Preservation

Dasia Jenkins — GCPE (M.S. in UCP) Applied Research Award, Commitment to the Profession Award

Boarded Up: The Conditions of Access, Skateboarding, and Recreational Infrastructure in East Brooklyn

Isabel Lane — American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student Award

Build It & They Will Shop? Grocery Stores & Food Insecurity in New York City’s FRESH Zones

Abigail Lawrence

The Tibbetts Brook Daylighting Project: The Memory of Water and the Future of Urban Climate Adaptation

Claire Lazes

Hostile by Design: Exclusionary Architecture and the Right to Public Space in Manhattan Community Board 3

Andrew Leung

Sensory Urbanism: The Value of Embodied Knowledge in the Planning Process

Christina Lok — American Planning Association Metro Chapter Outstanding Student Award

Betting on Queens: Evaluating the Community Impacts of the Metropolitan Park Casino Proposal on Flushing and Corona

Wayne Mok

One for All or All for One — The Dynamics of Controversial Participatory Planning Processes in NYC

Mackenzie Quenneville – Excellence in Academic Achievement

Beyond Reconnection: Evaluating Urban Highway Interventions through Public Health and Equity

Adriana Torres Plaza — Community Service Award

Kids are Designers Too: Co-Designing a Public Realm Intervention with Children

Max Scott — Outstanding Merit Award

Inclusionary Housing Policy in New York City: A History and Current Loopholes

Phillip Vernon – Excellence in Academic Achievement

A Seat & A Game: The Vitality and Impact of Street Chess in New York City’s Public Realm

Lin Yu

Improving Wayfinding in the New York City Subway: Lessons from International Metro Systems

A group of six students poses together in front of a poster in a classroom.

Urban Placemaking and Management, M.S.

Congratulations to the 2026 graduates of the Master of Science in Urban Placemaking and Management (UPM) program! This year’s graduates joined us from backgrounds in American studies, anthropology, art history, architecture, community development, and communications. These thoughtful and emerging placemaking and placekeeping professionals produced a wide variety of topics for their final degree projects, showing the depth of intellectual diversity within transdisciplinary praxis. We are thrilled to continue to support them as they embark on their future career paths in our growing field!

– Emily Ahn Levy, Interim Academic Director

A group of four students wearing caps and gowns poses with their academic director against a background of plants.
A group of thirteen individuals poses together in front of a slide presentation for a studio class.
A diverse group of eleven people sits around tables in a casual setting, sharing a meal. Some are enjoying drinks and food, while a woman stands conversing with them. The background includes shelves with various items.
A group of twelve people sit and stand around tables in a casual setting, smiling for the camera. The background includes shelves with various items.
A group of fifteen people holding a publication up, pose together for a photo in a classroom.
A group of twelve smiling people poses together outside a restaurant.
Images (Top-Bottom, L-R): 2026 UPM graduates; UPM cohort and Interim Director Emily Ahn Levy at the 2026 Pratt Commencement Ceremony; UPM-609 Lab Analysis of Public Space students, faculty, and community partners; GCPE students during a visit to Street Lab; GCPE students during a visit to Street Lab; former UPM Academic Director and current faculty member David Burney and Interim Academic Director Emily Ahn Levy celebrate the release of Place Dialogues with students and alums; a UPM 1st and 2nd year students’ night out in Queens.

Dakota Billops-Breaux, M.S. Urban Placemaking and Management (UPM) — Outstanding Merit Award

Power Map Place: Mapping Relationality and the Power of Place Attachment

Nicole Haas – Advanced Certificate in Urban Placemaking

Ivana Kurak, M.S. in UPM

Democracy in Disaster: A Disaster Management Framework for Democratic Public Space

Ritika Purohit — GCPE (M.S. in UPM) Applied Research Award; Advanced Certificate in SES

Resourceful and Responsive Recovery: Placemaking in Post-disaster Recovery and Management

Carter Rumph, M.S. in UPM  

Visual Language, Belonging, and the Politics of Placemaking: Implications of a Semiotic Understanding of the Built Environment

Alima Temirbek, M.S. in UPM — Stuart K. Pertz Award

Invisible Human Infrastructure: Deliberty: Placemaking and Spatial Justice for NYC’s Delivery Workers

Talisha Ward, M.S. in UPM — Excellence in Academic Achievement Award; Advanced Certificate in HP 

“I Lived, Therefore I Am”: Race, Space, and Community Connections at Green-Wood Cemetery’s Freedom Lots

A group of four individuals poses for a photo outdoors against a backdrop of plants.
Image: Leonel Ponce, Emily Ahn Levy, Monica T. Davis, Courtney Knapp