Alumni and Careers

Katie Kurtz

Class of: 2024

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Minor(s): Urban Studies

“Urban studies at �պ��ֲ� is incredible—it’s a department that studies everything through the lens of the city, allowing students to carve their own paths and constantly apply coursework to the world around them.”

What have you been up to since graduating from �պ��ֲ�?

After graduating from �պ��ֲ�, I spent a summer leading a seven-week backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail in Maine for 15-year-old girls (a great way to put life into perspective!) and then moved to Palermo, Sicily, on a Fulbright Study/Research Grant. My project focused on green-space management in Palermo, looking primarily at a few case studies around town. Using a mixed-methods social sciences approach, I studied an extremely successful community-run park and community association, a polluted river that has been the center of years of failed requalification efforts, and a museum dedicated to nature. While in Sicily, I also audited several classes at the University of Palermo and compared the ways in which young urban planners are thinking about cities and planning issues. After another summer running the wilderness trip program at a summer camp in Maine, I recently moved to Boston to work as an assistant director of admissions for School Year Abroad, a high school study-abroad program with campuses in Spain, France, and Italy.

Why urban studies?

Coming into �պ��ֲ�, I knew I wanted to be an environmental studies major. I didn’t realize urban studies was even a possible pathway until my sophomore year, when I signed up for Jill Pearlman’s Modern Architecture class to fulfill my visual and performing arts requirement. During that class, I fell in love with Professor Pearlman’s teaching and found the way the course used the evolution of architecture to tell the story of the world around us fascinating. After that semester, I eagerly enrolled in her next course, City and Landscape in Modern Europe, and realized urban studies was a perfect way to combine my interests. I had always wanted to study nature in cities and enjoyed thinking about how to better integrate greenery into urban spaces in ways that build community.

After discovering my love for urban studies, I was fortunate to have a series of professors guide me in making the most of the minor and �պ��ֲ�’s opportunities. Eileen Johnson helped me spend a summer in Italy conducting research on bottom-up greenspace management in Perugia, which resulted in my first academic publication in the international journal Land Use Policy. In my junior year, I completed an ambitious class project with Jill Pearlman, applying William Whyte’s public space principles to �պ��ֲ� (which included videoing campus public spaces for over forty hours). The capstone of my environmental studies and urban studies career was my senior thesis with Jill Pearlman, where I studied gentrification in Munjoy Hill, a neighborhood of Portland. When I return to academia for graduate school in a few years, I plan to continue researching gentrification and green spaces, building on the passion I discovered through my thesis.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

I was fortunate to have an all-star lineup of professors at �պ��ֲ�, and I carry their classes and advice with me every day. Now living in Boston, I think about Matt Klingle’s City as American History course whenever I pass the skyline. I ask questions at every small farm I visit thanks to Shana Starobin’s hands-on teaching and field experience. Eileen Johnson taught me the interviewing and data-analysis skills I used throughout my Fulbright year. Jill Pearlman fundamentally changed how I look at buildings, and I can’t see the name Le Corbusier without sending her a quick text message about the reference. Beyond these tangible examples, these professors pushed my writing and thinking and helped cultivate my confidence as an academic. I will always be grateful for their dedication and the lasting impact they had on my success.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

Try as many opportunities as you can, especially those overseas! Learning about urban planning in Italy completely changed how I view the United States, and I think cross-cultural comparisons are invaluable for understanding why things are the way they are. I also recommend embracing opportunities, big or small, to explore different parts of the field. There are many exciting jobs you might not even know exist yet, so don’t be afraid to continue exploring the vast world of urban studies.

Aidan Reid

Class of: 2024

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Major(s): Government and Legal Studies, Urban Studies

“Witnessing cultural, economic, and political shifts, my interest in urban studies grew from curiosity about how and why my community was changing.”

What have you been up to since graduating from �պ��ֲ�?

Since graduating in 2024, I have been based in greater Boston, working as a program assistant for the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS)/Humphrey Fellowship in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT.

Why urban studies?

I grew up in Portland, Maine, watching my hometown transform from a working port city into a top tourist destination. At �պ��ֲ�, I combined urban studies with government and legal studies to explore how urban environments develop under the influence of political structures.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

Absolutely; the small but dedicated urban studies team deeply enriched my �պ��ֲ� experience. I pursued an independent study with Professor Jill Pearlman to delve into The Power Broker by Robert Caro. That opportunity even took me to New York City to explore projects and exhibitions tied to Robert Moses. A �պ��ֲ� Public Service-supported internship with the city of Portland’s planning and urban development office offered hands-on municipal planning experience. And a semester studying abroad in Copenhagen immersed me in celebrated European architecture and innovative city design. All these experiences were supported by �պ��ֲ� through different programs and partnerships. Investing in relationships with faculty, staff, and community members, across all fields, is a cornerstone of the �պ��ֲ� experience.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

Connect your academic learning with real-world practice. Classroom theories are powerful, but pairing them with practical experience helps cement your expertise and opens doors to meaningful work

Lauren Caffe

Class of: 2022

Location: Portland, Maine

Major(s): Urban Studies

“I love how wide open the field is. There were so many different paths you could take, which makes it feel both exciting and full of possibility.”

What have you been up to since graduating from �պ��ֲ�?

After �պ��ֲ�, I earned my master’s in city and regional planning with a certificate in natural hazards resilience from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I focused mainly on land use and environmental planning during my graduate studies. Afterward, I joined FB Environmental Associates (FBE) in Portland, Maine, as a planner, where I helped with community engagement and vulnerability assessments for coastal Maine communities. In May, 2025, I left FBE to join the city of Auburn, Maine, as their long-range planner. Currently, I am overseeing the city’s update to its comprehensive plan, a ten-year visionary plan for Auburn’s future. It has been very rewarding to immerse myself in municipal planning in Maine, especially as many communities like Auburn experience the effects of post-COVID growth and the opportunities and challenges that growth brings.

Why urban studies?

I was a government and legal studies and environmental studies coordinated major, and around the time �պ��ֲ� introduced the urban studies minor—probably during my sophomore year—I became very interested in how communities could become more resilient to climate change. I started working with Professor Eileen Johnson on research aimed at building connections between coastal communities experiencing the impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise and extreme weather events. Through this work, I learned about the importance of local government and the need to engage communities effectively when planning for an uncertain future.

During the fall of my junior year, a �պ��ֲ� alum with a master’s degree in planning visited one of my classes. Until then, I hadn’t realized planning was a graduate field of study, so that conversation was a lightbulb moment for me. I began to understand that urban studies doesn’t mean working only in big cities. Planning touches many aspects of daily life. My interest then was in community engagement and helping places prepare for climate change impacts, but others might focus on transportation, housing, or economic development. I love how broad the field is. There are many paths to take, which makes it feel both exciting and full of possibilities.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

All my professors at �պ��ֲ� influenced me in meaningful ways. They taught me to ask questions, to be comfortable saying "I don’t know" and then seeking the answer, and to ensure that diverse viewpoints are considered before making decisions. In particular, Professors Eileen Johnson, Shana Starobin, and Jill Pearlman had a significant and positive impact on my journey at �պ��ֲ� and beyond. I continue to draw on their lessons every day and remain deeply grateful to them.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

Say yes to opportunities! Trying a wide range of job types is the best way to figure out what you enjoy and what you don’t within the profession. Talk to people working in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors because planners are everywhere, not just in government roles.

Rubin Jones

Class of: 2022

Location: Northwest Arkansas

Minor(s): Urban Studies

“Go work in the communities you care about.”

What have you been up to since graduating from �պ��ֲ�?

After �պ��ֲ�, I spent a year back home in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) working as a city planner. The experience taught me how to balance the inertia of local government with the urgency of private development, both frustrating and inspiring, and how to operate under the hood of city planning. Much of my time was spent on everyday permits, like temporary signs, right-of-way installations, and minor variance requests. In the background of this work, however, were much larger issues that grew as the region’s population ballooned. Housing inequality, limited transit, and sprawling development metastasized into a big, wicked problem that felt impossible to solve. I realized I needed more skills for the work ahead, so I went back to graduate school and received a master's in city planning from MIT.

At MIT, I gained urban design skills with the hope of shepherding more equitable, beautiful growth in NWA. But after completing a site-planning project in Mexico City, I grew more interested in the role of public health and multimodal mobility. My thesis ultimately pivoted away from the visual bias of urban design as I focused more on the spatial and social conditions that cultivate belonging, identity, and a sense of place. I’ve since returned to NWA, where I continue to work as a planner.

Why urban studies?

I arrived at �պ��ֲ� unsure of what I wanted to study, except that I wanted to study a lot. I was interested in environmental studies, government, cinema studies, French, and history, a common problem for a liberal arts student! I struggled to find something that captured the breadth of the curriculum and the ideals of the common good until I took my first urban studies course, City, Anti-City, Utopia: Building Urban America, with Professor Pearlman, my freshman spring. The class surveyed the major themes from my other coursework, distilling interdisciplinary ideas into capsule lessons about art, history, technology, justice, politics, power, and culture. I quickly became a “Pearlman minor” and enrolled in almost every course she offered afterward.

What’s special about urban studies is its proactive engagement with the material. Lectures and assignments often blossom into salient discussions about policy and practice. Those conversations have led me to a career that I love.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

My time at �պ��ֲ� was shaped by many hands. Professors Pearlman, Briefel, Johnson, and Franco were particularly influential, and it is impossible to overstate their impact on my post-�պ��ֲ� trajectory. Their incandescent insight drove me to work harder, and they taught me not just how to think but how to enjoy the learning process as well. I am especially grateful for Professor Pearlman’s aggressive compassion. Her guidance is the common denominator behind my best work at �պ��ֲ�, and I am thankful for all the energy she poured into me.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

It doesn’t matter if the project is perfect or if the title is exactly right. What matters is that you care about wherever you are. Your compassion for a place, and most importantly the people who live there, will inevitably teach you how to listen well, communicate with diverse audiences, and elevate community agency. These are the very best traits you can gain as a planner.

And most importantly, none of this work has to happen within the constraints of a formal job; sometimes it is even better outside of one. It can be as simple as walking around your neighborhood, studying your surroundings, listening to what people have to say, and noticing what and who is absent. Take note and keep going. As a �պ��ֲ� student, you are more than qualified to do this work. You know how to evaluate a situation, study its systems and institutions, ask tough questions, and work with others toward common solutions.

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Urban Studies