Planning Research Inspires Mānoa Community at the 2022 Confabulous Summit
By Genesis Leong
From left to right: Representative Andrew Takuya Garrett; Greg Nakano emcee; House Speaker Emeritus Member Calvin Say; Dingyi Liu, DURP graduate student; Genesis Leong, DURP graduate student; Kinzang Dorji, DURP graduate student; Helen Nakano, Mālama Mānoa Event Leader; and Audrey Loh, DURP graduate student.
[Honolulu, Hawaiʻi] November 11, 2022 - Graduate students from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa were featured presenters at the 2nd Annual Confabulous event held on Thursday, November 17, 6:00-8:00pm. Hosted by Mālama Mānoa, the happiness-themed event brought together policy leaders Council Member Calvin Say and Representative Andrew Takuya Garrett, and more than 25 community organizations from Mānoa Valley to learn more about the research findings from the 2020 Mānoa Needs Assessment Survey. A major finding of the survey is that 94% of the 1,300 respondents were overall satisfied with their quality of life. The participants took part in in-depth discussion and networking opportunities to enhance community collaboration and build capacity within Mānoa.
2022 Confabulous Event at Waiwai Collective
DURP students Dingyi Liu, Genesis Leong, Kinzang Dorji, and Manu Mei-Singh shared findings from the research carried out by the Fall 2021’s DURP Planning Methods class taught by Dr. Suwan Shen. By engaging students through course embedded service-learning activities, Dr. Shen helped bridge students with community organizations to provide data analytics that could help to further support strategic planning and policy changes. Outcomes included research and recommendations focused on crime, social capital, disasters, environmentalism, social capital, volunteerism, policy, and overall satisfaction.
Some of the important outcomes from the stakeholder discussions are the need for more opportunities for shared spaces and collaboration; ways to better inform the Mānoa community; and ways to connect with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa community.
Interested readers may contact Genesis Leong at genesisl@hawaii.edu.