Student Group
Healthy Places GSD is a student group uncovering the agency of planning and design practitioners to promote healthier communities. We take an equity-focused and cross-disciplinary approach, bringing together students and faculty across campus with practitioners to raise the visibility of research, projects, and advocacy on health and the built environment. Our group hosts panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and on-the-ground site visits to further our shared knowledge and skills.
Student Group Leadership
- Makenzie Wenninghoff, MPH ’23, MUP ’25
- Hazel Seung, MUP ’25
- Wallace Cotton, MUP ’25
- Alessandra Rodriguez, MUP ’26
Stay Connected
The student group meets once every month either at the GSD or HSPH. Please contact Makenzie Wenninghoff ([email protected]) for more information if you are curious about collaborating or if you are a Harvard GSD student interested in joining the group.
Follow along and watch for upcoming events via our Instagram profile.
Upcoming Events
Fall 2024 Meeting Dates
We will be meeting as a group at the following dates and their corresponding locations. Details about the meetings will be sent to the group email in advance. Please email us if you are interested in joining the group!
- Oct. 10 GSD
- Nov 13, GSD at 7:00 PM
Fall 2024 Event Dates
- Sept. 6th: Tabling at Beer n’ Dogs
- Oct. 3rd: Dr. Lan Wang Speaking Event on Design for Healthy Aging
- 12:30-1:30 at GSD Room 124
- Nov. 1st: Health Systems Activism Chat with Leanne Brady – Loeb Fellow
- 3 pm at Stubbins Room 520
- MORE TBD
Past Events
Spring 2023 Meeting Dates
We will be meeting as a group at the following dates and their corresponding locations. Details about the meetings will be sent to the group email in advance. Please email us if you are interested in joining the group!
- Feb. 15: HSPH (Cafeteria)
- Mar. 1: GSD (Gund 112)
- Mar. 22: HSPH (Cafeteria)
- Apr. 5: GSD (TBD)
- May 3: Last meeting! (TBD)
Fall 2022 Last Meeting
We will be having our last meeting of the semester this Friday (12/09/2022) at Dumpling House in Cambridge, MA. Please contact Jonathan at [email protected] for more info & directions!
Fall 2022 First Meeting
We will be having our first meeting this Friday (9/30/2022) at 6PM in Gund Hall Chauhaus. Join us for pizza and all things built environment and health! Please contact Jonathan at [email protected] for more info/directions.
How Social Epidemiology Can Be Used to Plan & Design Healthy Places
The Healthy Places Design Lab is hosting a virtual event with Dr. Kawachi Ichiro, Professor of Social Epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. He will give a short lecture and host a Q&A on how research from social epidemiology can be used to plan & design healthy cities. The event details are below:
Friday, February 11th, 2022 @ 12PM
Social Event, Fall 2021
Join the Healthy Places Design Lab Student Group for the final meeting on Wed. December 1st at 6PM. Dinner will be provided. Details will be provided to those who RSVP.
PB Kick-off Event on November 16, 2021
Request for Proposal goes live in a Zoom event!
Earlier Events
April 2019
Evidence-based design has focused on the patient experience, but what is the impact of architecture on those delivering care? In April 2019, Healthy Places GSD hosted a lunchtime talk with Dr. Diana Anderson, a healthcare architect and board-certified internist to discuss the emerging fields of practice connecting architecture and medicine.
March 2019
Healthy Places GSD hosted the Boston premiere of Why We Cycle, a documentary about Dutch cycling culture. The standing-room-only event included a panel moderated by Lily Song of the Harvard GSD, featuring Michelle Cook of Roxbury Rides, Angela Johnson of Transportation for Massachusetts, Cara Seiderman of the City of Cambridge, and Anne Lusk of the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.
December 2018
Healthy Places GSD co-hosted the Students Rally for Climate Action with ORCA (Organizers for Radical Climate Action) and other organizations at Harvard and the local Boston community. This rally, which took place during Harvard’s Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress, called for support of the Green New Deal.
November 2018
Do you have the right to peace and quiet? To piano-filled or piano-free enjoyment? In November 2018, Healthy Places GSD hosted a lunchtime lecture with Erica Walker, a researcher on community noise at the Boston University School of Public Health.
April 2018
Healthy Places GSD organized a cocktails, dinner, and conversation event investigating the meaning of food systems planning. Loeb Fellow Johanna Gilligan moderated a discussion featuring Julie Guthman of UC Santa Cruz, Cassandria Campbell of Fresh Food Generation, and Nicole Negowetti of the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic.
February 2018
Healthy Places GSD co-organized Harvard’s first annual Urban Environmental Justice Conference with student groups at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health and Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). Our panel featured Lily Song of the Harvard GSD, Magdalena Ayed of Harborkeepers, and Alexie-Torres Fleming of Access Strategies Fund.
Healthy Places GSD has also co-sponsored a student rally for climate action, created space for discussion of relevant topics, and toured local urban farms.