Enhancing Students’ Development through the “Maré Favelas” Planning and Design Studio

Planners and design professionals need a better understanding of the development and management of informal urban practices in cities. This lack of understanding leads to poor planning and design interventions toward larger socio-economic processes, impacting urban form, the environment, and different groups in the city. This project seeks to implement a community-engaged component (with community member from Rio de Janeiro’s favelas) to the School of Architecture's PLAN2020 Planning Design Studio. Drawing upon Higgins et al. (2009)' framework for project-based studies, this research will evaluate how the Maré studio and its community engagement component promote formative elements considered to be key on student development.