Wen-Shiang Schenkel

My current research focuses on participation in urban design. I hope to better understand how green urban movements prioritize specific voices and how local entities can work to foster participation throughout the design process.

This coming school year I plan to speak with residents, municipal bodies, and non-profits about the ongoing redevelopment of the Cobbs Creek Golf Course in West Philadelphia. This redevelopment is part of a municipal effort to restore Philadelphia's waterways as well as an investment in the surrounding Cobbs Creek neighborhood – the new golf course includes an educational center – and is sponsored by the Tiger Woods Foundation, Lincoln Financial, and the City of Philadelphia. Through interviews and ethnography, I hope to tease out conflicts and contradictions in the redevelopment of the golf course in order to uncover openings for more participatory urban planning.