Georgia Tech School of City and Regional Planning

🌍 Happy World GIS Day! 🗺️

Yesterday, our students and faculty came together to celebrate World GIS Day with an event that highlighted the power and possibilities of spatial thinking.

The celebration featured an alumni panel with
Hanh Huynh (MS-GIST ‘24), Matteo Saracco (MCRP ‘24), Sanica Manglorkar (MCRP ‘25), and Charlie Brummeler (MS-GIST ‘24). They shared how GIS is used in their workplaces and offered insight on the skills students should focus on to stay competitive in the field. Their advice on data visualization, spatial analytics, and communicating across disciplines was especially valuable.

The afternoon wrapped up with a lively GIS trivia session that brought faculty, students, and alumni together for some friendly competition.

Thank you to everyone who helped organize the event and to our alumni for sharing their time and expertise. Celebrations like this remind us how GIS supports planning, decision making, and the design of more equitable communities.

Here is to another year of mapping what matters.

Fall is finally here 🍂 the sun is setting earlier and we are in the busy season of the semester. Stay tuned to see what’s coming in the next couple of months and check out what happened in August and September in our LinkedIn Digest!

The Urban Design Policy class went on a guided walking tour by professors, practitioners, and alumni Christy Dodson and Elizabeth Ward Williams. The class got to see zoning at play and understand how local policy manifests itself into the urban realm. Lectures in the classroom are great, but a real world case study never fails to disappoint!

Looking back at all the seasons around the College of Design 🍁❄️🌸🌞… thank you for the beautiful photos . What season is your favorite on campus?

If you’ve and have taken lovely photos of campus or SCaRP, DM us!

📢 Interested in graduate studies in planning, GIS, or urban analytics?

Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning is hosting a series of Fall Information Sessions this semester! 🌎📊🏙️

✅ Learn about our MCRP, MS-GIST, MS-UA, and PhD programs
✅ Get insights on funding your graduate education
✅ Connect directly with faculty and current students

🗓️ Sessions begin September 17 and run through January.

👉 Register now to explore which program is the right fit for you! Check out the “Future Students” tab on our website.

THIS FRIDAY! Alumni, GPA members, students, and faculty will congregate on the Clough rooftop for a happy hour. Chat with old and new friends alike, network, and enjoy the view. We look forward to seeing you soon.

We welcomed our new students last Friday and couldn’t be more excited to start this fall semester. Our new class consists of MCRP, MS-UA, MS-GIST, and our first ever undergraduate class!!!!!! Cheers to an AMAZING start to our best semester yet. 🤩

Next up in our faculty book recommendation series, Assistant Professor Yiyi He shares a selection of books that blend technical insight with human stories- a perfect mix for thoughtful reading during the dog days of summer.

Favorite Book for Planners
Design with Nature, Ian L. McHarg

Favorite Book for Escaping Reality
Stories of the Sahara, Sanmao

Favorite Biography
When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi

Continuing our faculty book recommendation series, Professor Brian Stone shares a powerful reading list shaped by his work in climate planning, environmental systems, and urban resilience. These selections span history, ecology, and narrative nonfiction- inviting readers to think deeply about how societies adapt, connect, and endure.

Favorite Book for Planners
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond

Favorite Book for Escaping Reality
A Unit of Water, A Unit of Time, Douglas Whynott

Favorite Biography
The Last Season, Eric Blehm

Favorite Book for a New Perspective
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks, Yuval Harari

Favorite Book You Recommend Everyone Read
The Deluge, Stephen Markley

Next in our faculty book recommendation series, Associate Professor Clio Andris shares a few of her favorite reads- each offering a unique lens on how we understand space, systems, and society.

Favorite Short Read
Road to Rust: The Disintegration of the Steel Industry in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, Dale Richard Perelman

Favorite Book You Recommend Everyone Read
The Society of Mind, Marvin Minksy

Favorite Book for a New Perspective
Affective Computing, Rosalind Picard

Meet Arthur Miranda, Class of 2025!

Arthur reflects on his time at SCaRP:
“I loved my two years at Tech, especially because of the people I met. The friends I made and the professors I had truly made a difference.”

During his time at Georgia Tech, Arthur took courses in planning, GIS, architecture, and real estate development—emerging as a well-rounded planner ready to take on the world.

He was named the 2025 AICP Student of the Year and was part of the winning team in the 2024 ULI Hines Urban Design Competition. Today, Arthur is a Consultant at KB Advisory Group.

We’re proud to see where his journey is taking him next!