Field Projects: Planning and Practice integrates theory and practice by providing students with an opportunity to work intensely on real- world challenges in their areas of interest, while offering community organizations and agencies the opportunity to gain insight into priority issues and advance strategic objectives through expert analysis and advice. The course is required of all first-year UEP master's candidates during the spring semester. Students operate as consultants, usually in teams of four, on behalf of their chosen client-performing background research, gathering critical data, providing a neutral assessment of a proposed course of action, addressing high-priority concerns or revising a strategic plan. Field Projects covers many required competencies and offers a rich opportunity to test existing theory, while honing problem-solving and other skills. Students generally spend 10-12 hours a week on their project. The work culminates at the end of April with a team presentation to the class, the client and the community. Here are examples of recent Field Projects reports and clients:

Project Title	Client	Year
Team #1:Alternative for Community & Environment (ACE) For Dudley, By Dudley: An analysis of gentrification in the Dudley Square area of Roxbury, Boston	Alternative for Community & Environment (ACE) Boston, MA	Spring 2009
Team #2:Boston Environment Department Wind and Waste: Diversifying Boston's Renewable Energies	City of Boston Environment Department Boston, MA	Spring 2009
Team #3:Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) Pathways to Green Jobs: An Analysis of the Opportunities and Obstacles in the Green Jobs Market for Boston’s Chinese Community	Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) Boston, MA	Spring 2009
Team #4:Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association On the Ground: 40B Developments Before and After	Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association Boston, MA	Spring 2009
Team #5:College of the Bahamas The Coastal Water Quality of Elbow Cay	College of the Bahamas Nassau, The Bahamas	Spring 2009
Team #6:Groundwork Somerville Back on Track: Talking Transit in Somerville (Video)	Groundwork Somerville Somerville, MA	Spring 2009
Team #7:Marlborough 2010 Marlborough 2010: Policy Action Plan, Downtown: In Focus Marlborough 2010: Business Action Plan, Downtown: In Focus Marlborough 2010: Community Action Plan, Downtown: In Focus	Marlborough 2010 Marlborough, MA	Spring 2009
Team #8:Medford Climate Action Network Inspiring the Local Response to Climate Change: An Examination of Barriers and Incentives in Medford Mass.	Medford Climate Action Network Medford, MA	Spring 2009
Team #9:United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area, Success By 6 Retaining Talent: Quality Rating Systems as a Workforce Stabilization Strategy in Post-Katrina New Orleans	United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area, Success By 6 New Orleans, LA	Spring 2009
Team #10:The Nature Conservancy An Evaluation of Dam Removal Policy and Practices In The Nature Conservancy’s Eastern Region	The Nature Conservancy Boston, MA	Spring 2009

Project Title	Client	Year
Team #1:College of The Bahamas (COB) Enhancing Local Capacities for Stormwater Management in Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas	College of The Bahamas Nassau, The Bahamas	Spring 2008
Team #2:Community Labor United (CLU) The Planning Impact of Boston Nonprofits on Neighborhoods and the Democratic Process	Community Labor United Boston, MA	Spring 2008
Team #3:Devens Enterprise Commission Power Down Devens: Revolving Loans	Devens Enterprise Commission Devens, MA	Spring 2008
Team #4:Institute for Community Health (ICH) Report: The Path to Active Living Video: The Somerville Community Path	Institute for Community Health Somerville, MA	Spring 2008
Team #5:Lawrence Community Development Department Strengthening the Sense of Place – Strategies for Well-Being in the Arlington Neighborhood	Lawrence Community Development Department Lawrence, MA	Spring 2008
Team #6:Massachusetts Audubon Society Nature’s New Curriculum: Creating Educational Opportunities in Urban and Diverse Communities	Massachusetts Audubon Society Lincoln, MA	Spring 2008
Team #7:Mattapan Community Development Corp. Is a Main Street Program Appropriate for Mattapan? An Analysis of the Key Factors	Mattapan Community Development Corp. Mattapan, MA	Spring 2008
Team #8:Medford Office of Community Development Sophisticated Matchmaking: Identifying Opportunities for Affordable Housing Development in Medford, Massachusetts	Medford Office of Community Development Medford, MA	Spring 2008
Team #9:Salem Sound Coastwatch (SSCW) Climate Change: Ready or Not – Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability, Risk and Adaptation Strategies for the Salem Sound Area of Massachusetts	Salem Sound Coastwatch Salem, MA	Spring 2008
Team #10:Success By 6 Providing for Providers: Health Care Benefits as a Retention Solution in Louisiana’s Child Care Crisis	Success By 6 New Orleans, LA	Spring 2008
Team #11:Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) Creating a Model Village Center: Strategies for Success	Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Watertown, MA	Spring 2008

Project Title	Client	Year
Team #1:The Alliance Leading the Way or Not: Racial Diversity of Leadership in Community Development Organizations	The Alliance - Advancing Community Development by Confronting Racism, Boston, MA	Spring 2007
Team #2:Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE) Making the Grade: A Performance Analysis of Five Key Bus Routes in the Greater Boston Area	Alternatives for Community & Environment, Roxbury, MA	Spring 2007
Team #3:Casey Family Services (CFS) Poverty and Child Neglect: Exploring Solutions through Differential Response	Casey Family Services, New Haven, CT	Spring 2007
Team #4:The Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) Housing in Chinatown: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow	The Chinese Progressive Association, Boston, MA	Spring 2007
Team #5:Ipswich, Town of Chapter 40R: An Initial Report for the Town of Ipswich	Ipswich, Town of - Planning Department, Ipswich, MA	Spring 2007
Team #6:Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) Redeveloping the Lower Mystic River: Case Studies and Best Practices	Mystic River Watershed Association, Arlington, MA	Spring 2007
Team #7:Salem Sound Coastwatch (SSCW) Creating a New Place: A Concept Plan for 15 Peabody Street	Salem Sound Coastwatch, Salem, MA	Spring 2007
Team #8:Somerville, City of Expanding Access to Transit: Integrating a Green Line Station into Ball Square	Somerville, Mass., City of, Mayor's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Somerville, MA	Spring 2007
Team #9:Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) Small Businesses and Local Food: Challenges and Opportunities for Eastern Somerville	Somerville Community Corporation, Somerville, MA	Spring 2007
Team #10:The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Conserving Freshwater and Coastal Resources in a Changing Climate	The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA	Spring 2007

Project Title	Client	Year
Chinatown 2006: Initiating a Grassroots Planning Dialog	Asian Community Development Corporation, Boston, MA	Spring 2006
The Middlesex Fells Reservation: The Case for a Resource Management and Maintenance Plan	The Friends of the Middlesex Fells, Stoneham, MA	Spring 2006
Subsidized Guardianship in New England: An Analysis for Casey Family Services	Casey Family Services, New Haven, CT	Spring 2006
Doing More by Doing Less: A High-Value Action Plan for Implementing Sustainable Flood Control	The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA	Spring 2006
Chinatown: A Toolkit for Community Empowerment	The Chinese Progressive Association, Boston, MA	Spring 2006
Nurturing the Recovery of the North River: A Practical Vision	Salem Sound Coastwatch, Salem, MA	Spring 2006
In the Face of Growth: An Assessment of Community Impacts of Economic Development Projects in Chelsea, MA	Community Labor United, Boston, MA	Spring 2006
Sasaki Green: A Sustainable Planning Guide	Sasaki Associates, Watertown, MA	Spring 2006
East Broadway Main Street: A Strategic Plan for Startup and Stakeholder Engagement	Somerville Main Streets, Somerville, MA	Spring 2006
Belmont Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reduction Strategies	Sustainable Belmont, Belmont, MA	Spring 2006

Project Title	Client	Year
Bringing a Public Library to Boston's Chinatown: How to build the Political Will	The Chinese Progressive Association, Boston, MA	Spring 2005
An Environmental Justice Inventory for Ten Communities in the Greater Boston Area	Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Boston, MA	Spring 2005
Thinking Outside the Box in Boston: The Impact of Green Building on Urban Systems and Municipal Infrastructure	The Green Roundtable, Cambridge, MA	Spring 2005
Securing Non-Citizen Voting Rights - Determining the Feasibility of Enabling Legislation in Massachusetts	Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and Cambridge Immigrant Voting Rights Campaign, Boston and Cambridge, MA	Spring 2005
Evaluation and Management in the Upper Great Marsh: Emergent Phragmites Australis	Eight Towns & the Bay/Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, Haverhill, MA	Spring 2005
A Drop of Protection is Worth a Gallon of Cure: Making the Case for Source Water Protection	The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA	Spring 2005
Success Despite Barriers: Innovative Housing Options for Homeless Young Adults	New England Network for Child, Youth & Family Services, Burlington, VT	Spring 2005
Arlington Sustainability Action Plan, Vol. I	Sustainable Arlington, Arlington, MA	Spring 2005
Developing Affordable Housing Along Somerville's Rail Corridors	Somerville Community Corporation, Somerville, MA.	Spring 2005
Understanding the State Budget and Its Effect on Communities of Color: The Importance of Civic Participation in the Budget Process	Union of Minority Neighborhoods, Roxbury, MA	Spring 2005

Project Title	Client	Year
Waterways Ordinances and Public Access Policies	Everett Police Marine Division/Office of the Harbormaster, Everett, MA	Spring 2004
Beyond the Minimum: Stormwater Management in Ipswich, Massachusetts	Town of Ipswich, Massachusetts	Spring 2004
Conserving Biodiversity in the Northeast: Atmospheric Deposition and Invasive Species	The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA	Spring 2004
Boston University's National Biocontainment Lab: Economic Opportunity or Environmental Injustice?	Alternatives for Community and Environment, Roxbury, MA	Spring 2004
Urban Community Gardens and Orchards: A Maintenance Guide for Dudley Neighbors, Inc.	Dudley Neighbors, Inc., Roxbury, MA	Spring 2004
Tent City Apartments: Considerations for Cooperative Ownership	Tent City Corporation, Boston, MA	Spring 2004
Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) Job Fair Improvement Analysis	Asian Community Development Corporation, Boston, MA	Spring 2004
"Better Than or Equal to" Design Alternatives for the Washington Street Corridor	The Washington Street Corridor Corporation, Roxbury, MA	Spring 2004
More Than a Roof over Their Heads: A Qualitative Evaluation of Transitional Living Programs	New England Network for Child, Youth & Family Services, Burlington, VT	Spring 2004