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Individualized Study Plan Community, Environment, and Planning

Matt Wildey 2013-2015

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 2

Letter of Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3

Autumn Quarter 2013................................................................................................................................. 5

Winter Quarter 2014 .................................................................................................................................. 6

Spring Quarter 2014 ................................................................................................................................... 7

Autumn Quarter 2014................................................................................................................................. 8

Winter Quarter 2015 .................................................................................................................................. 9

Spring Quarter 2015 ................................................................................................................................. 10

Courses to Include from Past Quarters ..................................................................................................... 12

Internship ................................................................................................................................................. 13

CEP Senior Project .................................................................................................................................... 14

Geography Honors Thesis ......................................................................................................................... 16

Extracurricular Activities ........................................................................................................................... 17

Visual Map of Individualized Study Plan ................................................................................................... 18

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Letter of Introduction

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading my Individualized Study Plan. CEP is a large part of who I am at the University and I want to be able to share my experiences with others. CEP has become my support community in which I am able to push myself to become a better leader, facilitator and team member. I really feel like Ive never been around so many positive thinkers who all want to see the world become a better place. And through CEP, I can do exactly that: change the world.

I thought, growing up, that I wanted to become an architect. I always found the idea of designing interesting. However, as I became more socially aware of the world, and my place in it, I realized that I wanted to do more. I wanted to have a direct impact in the lives of others. During high school, my academic and personal goals shifted more toward international development. I wanted to help people improve their lives, but I didnt know how I wanted to do this. During my final year of high school I stumbled upon this unique major in the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington called Community, Environment, and Planning. It would allow my educational path to be defined by me. It emphasized collective learning through discussion and deliberation. Real world skills were learned through practice. And most of all, there was a strong community in which to do these things. At the time, I thought I might be interested in urban planning as a way to more effectively impact peoples lives, rather than architecture. The combination of all of these qualities drew me to CEP and the moment I had my first experience, I knew it was a perfect fit for me. At this point, I still had no clue what my educational path within CEP would be. I was interested in so many different sectors of sustainable development that I was becoming overwhelmed with possibilities. It wasnt until I took a class on food systems that I realized where my true passion lies. During my two years of CEP, I will be focusing on community development through food system reinvention. As sustainable living becomes more ingrained in our popular culture, it is important that we push the creation of a new food system to the forefronts of these new ways of thinking. As we push for these changed livelihoods, we must realize the benefits of having strong communities and push even harder for the development of them. I believe that creating strong communities centered around food is a very viable way of creating a more enjoyable but still sustainable world. Though I used to be focused a bit more on the international level, more recently Ive become focused on a more local or regional scale because of the potential that still exists in the area. CEP is allowing me to be highly focused on my educational pathway so that I will be able to fulfill my future goals. I see myself working for some kind of community organization or NGO that focuses on community development, using food as the catalyst to helping these communities flourish. I would love to do work with urban agriculture and community engagement. To be able to do this, I need to have the following skills. I need to be able to communicate my ideas across to different types of people from community members to financial donors. I need to have a deep background of our food system, including knowledge of how to make it run sustainably. I need to have strong management skills to be able to lead others in a shared vision. Most of all, I need undying passion to be able to keep myself on track. I think that the CEP courses and my methods courses, along with my experiences outside the classroom will achieve these goals. I am very eager for all of the experiences that will come in CEP and the rest of my life. And I would love you to be a part of that. Connect with me and together we can change our food system. Eat Well, Matt Wildey

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Quarterly Plans

Special Designations M- This course is being taken as a methods credit for CEP D- This course is being taken as a diversity credit for CEP

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Autumn Quarter 2013

CEP 301 The Idea of Community (5) By learning what motivates our actions towards specific end goals, and how justice and goodness relates, we are better able to take a critical perspective on the development of the ideal community/city. Since we are all working on developing something more ideal, we must have a strong basis of the fundamentals of such human nature. CEP 300 Fall Retreat (1) Retreats are an opportunity to build community within the CEP major and work on policy development and planning for the major. CEP 400 Governance Practicum (1) Governance allows all students of CEP to practice personal and collective leadership. By being self-governed, CEP students have a sense of ownership and responsibility for the major that is carried out in practical application through projects that continue the functions of the major. There is also an opportunity to self-evaluate our own personal efforts within the major. This quarter I worked with the Community Engagement Committee and started to develop plans for future engagement in the future. GEOG 478 Social Justice and the City (5) D This course provided a link between general theories of urban development and their specific manifestation in the U.S. It explored a series of themes related to contemporary urbanization processes, including urban segregation, gentrification, the rise of fortress cities, homelessness, and the loss of public space. As a diversity requirement, I was really pleased with how this course opened my eyes to the utilization of city spaces and how this use can limit access for certain communities. We took a deep look into marginalized communities and how the system reproduces such marginalization. ESRM 403 Forests and Economic Development in the Developing World (5) This course examined the relationship between forests and economic development in the tropics. Topics included the role of population growth, poverty, land tenure, and international trade on forest use as well as theories of economic development. I had originally planned on this course being a methods credit for CEP, but did not get what I was expecting out of the course. It was more focused on national forest use for economic development than on specific community use of forests, which was what I was hoping for.

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Winter Quarter 2014

CEP 302 Environmental Response (5) This course explores issues of environmental crisis and the response to them in society. I will broaden my understanding in ecological literacy and consciousness. This will be helpful to be more effective at achieving actual sustainability in the future. CEP 400 Governance Practicum (Waived Credit) Governance allows all students of CEP to practice personal and collective leadership. By being self-governed, CEP students have a sense of ownership and responsibility for the major that is carried out in practical application through projects that continue the functions of the major. There is also an opportunity to self-evaluate our own personal efforts within the major. CEP 498 Grant Proposal Practicum (3) M This course will develop my skills in grant-writing, project development, and project management for projects that target sustainability goals. This is an invaluable skill that I will definitely need in the future. During the class, I will be writing the grant proposal for the UW Student Food Cooperatives food cart plan. This course was invaluable for understanding grant writing on many scales and having the chance to practice writing a grant. The UW Student Food Cooperative ended up not being the focus of the grant, but it was still a very useful practice. GEOG 461 Urban Geographic Information Systems(5) M This course will investigate urban/regional issues such as transportation, land use and environmental issues through the lens of geographic information systems. It will include GIS data processing strategies, data collection, and geocoding. GIS skills can be very easily applied to future work. This course will build skills learned in the introductory GIS course taken Spring 2013 and deepen my understanding of how to make research understandable visually. This course was sort of a let down from the first GIS course I took because it didnt really require much more extensive learning and didnt push me to new exciting areas of GIS. I also had to complete a group project with members that did not want to stretch their learning very far. CHSTU 320 Food Sovereignty (5) M This course will examine agri-food system and food sovereignty movements in Mexico and the US. It will use methods and materials of ethnography, agroecology, and political ecology in concert with environmental history, rural sociology, deconstructive discourse analysis, eco-criticism, and predictive ecology. I hope to learn about effective food sovereignty movements so that I might be part of something equally or more effective later in my life involved with the agri-food system. I learned quite a bit about how the food sovereignty movement is fighting against corporate agri-food companies and some of the challenges they face at the small scale and at the large international and structural scale.

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Spring Quarter 2014

CEP 303 Social Structures and Processes (5) This course investigates the use of formal and informal social structures and processes within context of community and environment. It will look at patterns and institutions of social organization and relationships among different sectors. This course gave me a base of knowledge of some urban planning concepts, which were practiced in our case neighborhood of the University District. CEP 400 Governance Practicum (1) Governance allows all students of CEP to practice personal and collective leadership. By being self-governed, CEP students have a sense of ownership and responsibility for the major that is carried out in practical application through projects that continue the functions of the major. There is also an opportunity to self-evaluate our own personal efforts within the major. This was my first quarter as point of the Community Engagement Committee and I specifically focused on planning and hosting CEPs Bike to Work Day station in May. CEP 300 Spring Retreat (1) Retreats are an opportunity to build community within the CEP major and work on policy development and planning for the major. I helped facilitate this retreat, which was a great learning experience and gave me my first opportunity to facilitate the entire major. GEOG 490 Field Research: The Seattle Region (6) M This course is an exploration of field methods for contemporary urban research. This includes survey designs used in analysis of transportation, land use, location of employment, shopping and housing, political fragmentation, and environmental degradation. A field report based on field work in the Seattle region will be required. This course will be helpful in learning more about a specific feature of the urban landscape within Seattle. I will learn how to develop my own research so that I am able to focus on issues that need further explanation. This course allowed me to practice individual (which ended up being a team) research. We focused on neoliberal structures within Seattles Central District, conducting multiple forms of field research regarding that. Specifically, we focused on gentrification through the application of critical race theory and relational poverty theory. ENVIR 495 The Urban Farm (5) M This course will develop my understanding of the ecological connections between food production, human health, and planetary sustainability. It will teach basic skills needed for food production in urban areas and the ethics behind sustainable agriculture. Though I have some experience with agriculture, this will deepen this experience, especially in the heart of the urban community. It will also allow me to work more directly on the UW Farm and receive credit for it. This course was really wonderful and allowed me to explore urban farming and gain hands on technical skills. This was a good segue into the Internship on the UW Farm I did the summer following.

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Autumn Quarter 2014

CEP 460 Planning in Context (5) This course examines theory for the practice of planning, critiquing different viewpoints. It allows for the development of a personalized history reflecting individual experience, professional experience, and philosophical heritage of the planning profession. This course allowed me to practice fieldwork for a client with a team of people. Specifically, the work we were assigned was rather nebulous, and we learned how to navigate that and do meaningful research for our client. CEP 400 Governance Practicum (1) Governance allows all students of CEP to practice personal and collective leadership. By being self-governed, CEP students have a sense of ownership and responsibility for the major that is carried out in practical application through projects that continue the functions of the major. There is also an opportunity to self-evaluate our own personal efforts within the major. This was my last quarter as point of Community Engagement Committee. I specifically focused on marketing Ride in the Rain to other majors, challenging them to a face off against CEP. It was challenging to get all of the new juniors on board with the CEC goals and process within CEP governance. CEP 300 Fall Retreat (1) Retreats are an opportunity to build community within the CEP major and work on policy development and planning for the major. CEP 490 Senior Project Prep Seminar: Research and Project Scoping (3) This courses purpose is conceptualizing and planning the senior project including beginning a literature review, finding a mentor, and developing a plan. This will allow me to more clearly define my senior project plans. I had a challenging time creating a plan for my senior project, but once I did, I was all-in and likely spent too much time on certain aspects of the project, when it may have been more beneficial to think big picture. CEP 446 Internship (5) This course will reflect on the Internship that I plan on doing during Summer 2014, connecting it to particular elements of community and environmental planning. GEOG 497 Tutorial in Geography (3) This is the required prep course for Geography Departmental Honors. It includes intensive directed study and tutoring, writing literature reviews, forming project outlines and research designs, and carrying out research within contemporary geographic thought and trends. It is important for me to be able to critically study past research and become active in the creation of new research in order to be more effective in future endeavors. This course ran similarly to CEPs senior project seminar, but had fewer people and less structure, making it even more challenging for me to figure out what I wanted to research.

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Winter Quarter 2015

CEP 461 Ethics and Identity (5) This course examines ethics within planning focusing on discourse of ethical foundations for public life. This will allow me to take a deeper look at my own personal belief and actions, specifically in planning. After having taken this course, I learned many different ways through which I can understand ethical decision making. I feel better prepared to dealing with hard questions in the future. CEP 400 Governance Practicum (1) Governance allows all students of CEP to practice personal and collective leadership. By being self-governed, CEP students have a sense of ownership and responsibility for the major that is carried out in practical application through projects that continue the functions of the major. There is also an opportunity to self-evaluate our own personal efforts within the major. This was the first quarter of the Alumni Relations Committee, and I was the point. We spent significant time trying to figure out how a new committee navigates the processes that have been built up within the other committees over the past few years, and ultimately produced an alumni newsletter and an alumni panel. There was a steep learning curve for being the founding group for a committee. CEP 491 Senior Project Prep Seminar: Methods and Actualization (1) This course focuses on implementing the senior project/capstone and will allow me to put the ideas Ive learned about methodology previously to work. GEOG 497 Tutorial in Geography (3) This is the required prep course for Geography Departmental Honors. It includes intensive directed study and tutoring, writing literature reviews, forming project outlines and research designs, and carrying out research within contemporary geographic thought and trends. It is important for me to be able to critically study past research and become active in the creation of new research in order to be more effective in future endeavors.

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Spring Quarter 2015

CEP 462 Community and the Environment (5) This course serves as the capstone to bring together all of the ideas learned in CEP, including reflection and synthesis of themes of the major. This course focused on wrapping up CEP, mostly in the form of our senior projects, but also in reflecting on our CEP experience and preparing our final documents of reflective essay, senior project posters, and E-Portfolios. CEP 400 Governance Practicum (1) Governance allows all students of CEP to practice personal and collective leadership. By being self-governed, CEP students have a sense of ownership and responsibility for the major that is carried out in practical application through projects that continue the functions of the major. There is also an opportunity to self-evaluate our own personal efforts within the major. This quarter of governance I was a team member in the Alumni Relations Committee and worked on creating an alumni newsletter, hosting an alumni panel, and creating a base of knowledge from which students in the future can build. It was a challenge because not all of our committee was on the same page with goals. CEP 300 Spring Retreat (1) Retreats are an opportunity to build community within the CEP major and work on policy development and planning for the major. This retreat was a great way to see the leaders from the junior class step into the role of facilitator I took at Spring Retreat 2014. It was a great opportunity to look back at CEP and our experiences and think about moving forward after graduation. CEP 499 Independent Study (2) M During Winter 2015 I was a teaching assistant for the CEP 200 course. I participated in grading coursework, facilitating classes, building relationships with my students, and mentoring the students towards their preparations to facilitate class. It was a very valuable learning experience and brought my CEP experience full circle as I had been a student in that course three years prior. I received credits this quarter for that. GEOG 431 Geography of Gender Perspective (5) This course examines theories and case studies across international, national, and regional scales in order to illustrate the impacts of social and economic processes upon the construction of gender in particular places. This is a fulfillment for the Geography major, but will also develop a base of understanding about gender, allowing me to become more of an ally to marginalized populations. After taking this course, I have become much more aware of my privileges and have a better understanding of how intersectionality plays a major role in the experiences of different marginalized people in the world. GEOG 497 Tutorial in Geography (3) This is the required prep course for Geography Departmental Honors. It includes intensive directed study and tutoring, writing literature reviews, forming project outlines and research designs, and carrying out research within contemporary geographic thought and trends.

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It is important for me to be able to critically study past research and become active in the creation of new research in order to be more effective in future endeavors. The final quarter of the Geography seminar was mostly focused on writing the thesis, which turned out to be quite a struggle, but worked out in the end.

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Courses to Include from Past Quarters Winter 2012 GEN ST 348 Community-Based Leadership Seminar (3) M This course allowed me to develop a more critical understanding of public service, including much of the theory surrounding it. It was paired with a service learning experience in which I was able to apply the theory from class to a real world experience. It was important because it taught necessary leadership skills specifically for community service. Winter 2013 CEP 498 Shaping your Urban Future: Local, Planning, Governance, and Leadership (3) M This course examined theories of governance, focusing on how local governance requires cooperation between different players. It included a group case study of a regional project that required cooperation and some form of governance. My groups case study was on the inception and development of the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands. Through this course, it became clear how many different leadership styles exist and how different types of cooperation might work differently in different contexts.

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Internship My internship was with the UW Farm between June 2014 and March 2015. I worked weekly during the summer on the Farm, practicing techniques of organic farming and volunteer management. I also built the new UW Farm website through a wordpress platform. During the winter I was part of a core team that managed a crowdfunding campaign that raised over $10,000 for infrastructural improvements to the Farm. I learned quite a few different things since I had the opportunity to do such a variety of tasks for the Farm. I learned that only farming one day a week does not allow for a very extensive connection and understanding of the land and the farming processes. I learned about the challenges the UW faces of getting students involved throughout the year, specifically during the summer. I learned how to create a website on wordpress under constrictions from a larger entity, while still maintaining user efficiency. I learned valuable skills in crowdfunding, which has become a very visible form of raising funds for community-oriented projects. We worked with the Universitys contracted crowdfunding platform, USEED, which helped us out as we prepared for our campaign. I learned a lot about how to get buy-in for a project, in order to get people to donate. I also learned about how important it is to build a large team that will be asking for donations, and about how necessary it is to continually communicate with this team to ensure consistency during the campaign. Most importantly, I used a jackhammer for the first time!

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CEP Senior Project Title:

Learning Communities in Higher Education: An exploration and deep analysis of the Community,

Environment, and Plannning undergraduate major as a case study of learning in community

Abstract:

The learning community has gained recognition in recent years as an educational method offering a

sharp contrast to the standardized traditional education system. In principle, learning communities

more effectively educate students by applying theories of community to the learning environment,

creating an important bridge in student experience. Their impact on student learning can be better

understood through deep analyses of learning community case studies. The Community, Environment,

and Planning (CEP) major at the University of Washington is a unique, intentional, student-designed and

student-governed learning community that has existed in a state of constant evolution since its

inception in 1993. In this research project, I draw on Mitchel and Sackneys framework of learning

community capacities to analyze the programs efficacy and develop a base of informed practices.

Specifically, I ask first, how well has CEP developed its capacity as an effective learning community, and,

second, how can CEPs informed practices be more broadly applied in a higher educational context? As

part of this research, I also develop a history of CEP, drawing from a review of historical documents and

key informant interviews. This history gives context to two years of participant observation in the

program. My results show that CEP is performing at a high capacity, though like any learning community

living system it has room for growth and improvement. A deeper analysis allows me to conclude that the

process of learning is vital and should be given equal weight to learning outcomes, which has direct

implications for the future of structure and pedagogy in CEP, other higher education learning

communities and even the standard educational system.

Reflection:

I started this project hoping to create a comprehensive history by interviewing past staff, faculty, and students. I wanted to learn more about the program for both myself and for the rest of the major. I wanted to give everyone more context for why we do certain things, and I wanted to help us progress in those things. I was really interested in connecting with the amazing network of people that CEP has built in the past 20 years. Some of these hopes I was able to achieve, and others fell by the wayside when some challenges stood in the way. As I mentioned, this research was a process of finding my pathway through emerging information. This process was rather time intensive and required me to constantly question what exactly my project was and what I was learning from it. The sheer amount of history that exists had almost a crippling effect as I felt like there was so much I couldnt do. There were too many different ways of looking at the major, too many different components, too many ways to analyze it. I finally chose one way, but it doesnt necessarily reflect the breadth of information I am still curious about. I started this project with a few questions and have finished with more questions, but also some partial answers.

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An additional challenge regarding time was that I have also been involved in another thesis project through the department of Geography regarding worker cooperative businesses in Seattles community economy. Ultimately, I took on too many different projects and was not able to give my whole self to one project. Despite this, I learned so much about CEP and about myself through this project and am grateful for this. I am surprised by how much I was able to achieve given my situation. I am also surprised by the direction this project pushes me towards. I didnt realize I was so interested in educational systems, but through this research and through being in CEP, Ive come to realize how transformative this form of education can be. I would love to be able to share it with others and the world. And now, after this research, I feel more equipped to do so.

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Geography Honors Thesis Title: Democracy at Work: Exploring Seattles Worker Cooperative Economy Abstract: The U.S. economy is usually associated with free-market capitalism, which has been widely criticized for creating extreme inequalities in society and reinforcing an unsustainable global system. Capitalisms grasp on the economy often seems so all-encompassing that alternatives to its economic model are met with scrutiny of their impossibility. This research draws upon the work of J.K. Gibson-Graham to contribute to the more realistic alternative of creating diverse economies through the Marxist and feminist lens of postcapitalism. This research contributes to dialogue surrounding diverse community economies, highlighting worker cooperatives as a sector of the economy that gives the highest level of empowerment to workers in a business. This is part of an effort to dislodge the hegemony of global capitalism in the economy in search of a politics of possibility. Specifically, this research focuses on the state of and capacity for development of the worker cooperative sector of a community economy in Seattle. The economy in Seattle is in a unique dualist state between rampant neoliberal economic politics and progressive, community focused politics. This research explores three worker cooperatives in Seattle as case studies to better understand Seattles community economy. I conducted a mixture of interviews and participant observation in order to be able to describe and analyze each individual co-op. Separate, these co-ops are worker empowering businesses but together, these co-ops represent a growing (worker) cooperative movement within Seattles community economy. Reflection: This research began with an intense desire to learn and contribute to research that would have direct

implications to the surrounding community and it is rooted in values of sustainability and

social/economic justice. It also began as a critique of our current political economic systems in an

attempt to find alternatives. It allowed me to blend together many of my interests, into one project, and

begin to build meaningful relationship in the worker cooperative world in Seattle. I am excited to

continue to explore this form of economy post-graduation.

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Extracurricular Activities UW Student Food Cooperative I originally got involved in the co-op as a service learning opportunity, but stayed because of my passion for food systems, engaging myself and other students on campus, building a community, and because I love eating good food with great people. I was the director of the co-op for the 2013-2014 academic year. This has proved to be an invaluable learning experience and a strongly formative experience. I have learned how to be a better facilitator, deliberator, delegator, and manager. Under my leadership, I believe the co-op will have strong results in increasing student autonomy of the food system on campus. I was also instrumental in establishing a relationship with the ASUW and established the UWSFC as an entity of the ASUW. Following my role as the Director, I played the role of longest standing member with most historical knowledge. I was able to give historical context to the current practices and guide the new group towards new goals. I also helped in the creation of the first ever ASUWSFC Cookbook. Seattle Worlds School Tutor I started volunteering at the Seattle Worlds School my first quarter at UW as a service learning component to a class but have remained over the years because of the bonds I have formed with the students and other volunteers. I have learned how better to help others learn. The students at the Worlds School are transitional bilingual and this has allowed me to challenge my skills as a native English speaker. I have also worked with curriculum development and implementation and become aware of the necessity of a strong discipline program. I ended up having to step away from this volunteering because I could no longer commit to the time requirement and I didnt feel like I was able to build a close enough relationship with the students. First Year Programs Student Coordinator Coming off of working at UWs Bay Laurel Catering To-Go Kitchen, I worked at FYP. I worked in administrative programming of the various programs of FYP including all incoming student orientations. I did this for a year and half, gaining valuable office and organizational leadership skills. I decided to move on to a new job that would continue post graduation. Back of House Staff at Chaco Canyon Caf After moving on from FYP, I became a dishwasher and prep cook at Chaco, and was able to get back into the working world of food, where I feel I thrive. I have enjoyed being part of a very positive team that creates the best organic vegan food in Seattle.

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Visual Map of Individualized Study Plan Last Reviewed: June 2015

Year 3 2013-2014 Autumn Winter Spring Summer

Course Cred. Course Cred. Course Cred Course Cred

CEP 301 5 CEP 302 5 CEP 303 5 Intern

CEP 400 1 CEP 400 0 CEP 400 1 CEP 300 1 CEP 498 3 CEP 300 1 ESRM 403 4 GEOG 461 5 GEOG 490 6 GEOG 478 5 CHSTU 320 5 ENVIR 495 5 Total 16 18 18

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Year 4 2014-2015 Autumn Winter Spring Previous Courses

Course Cred. Course Cred. Course Cred Course Cred

CEP 460 5 CEP 461 5 CEP 462 5 GEN ST 348 3

CEP 400 1 CEP 400 1 CEP 400 1 CEP 498 3

CEP 300 1 CEP 491 3 CEP 300 1 CEP 490 3 CEP 499 2 CEP 446 5 GEOG 431 5 GEOG 497 3 GEOG 497 3 GEOG 497 3 Total 18 12 17

Total UW Credits 241

GEOG Overlap

Course Cred

Key

GEOG 478 5

CEP Methods Course

GEOG 461 5

CEP Diversity Course

GEOG 490 5

CEP Core GEOG Major