Faculty
George Wittenberg, Program Director
The urban design component of the Urban Studies and Design program allows students to participate in actual local planning projects, which the program has either completed or are in design. As an architect and urban designer, I direct all projects of the program and teach the related courses. Urban design concepts, client interaction and public participation are the “real world” basis for the urban design courses taught.
My architectural education began in the 60’s at Washington University, where I earned a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Architectural Sciences (liberal arts) degrees. My love of cities took me to one of the best, San Francisco, where I interned at Anshen and Allen Architects for several years. From there I moved to another fine city, Boston, and attended Harvard University’s Urban Design program to learn more about the design of cities and large-scale spaces. There I earned the Master of Architecture in Urban Design (Harvard’s “MUD” degree!)
After Harvard, I worked in city planning at the Boston Redevelopment Authority. I was lucky enough to be involved with a design team whose focus was the redesign and redevelopment of Boston’s downtown or CBD (core business district). Today, when I return for visits I see buildings and plazas where we drew lines on paper. I also worked there in one of the best architecture and planning firms of the day, The Architects Collaborative. It was founded by Walter Gropius, one of the 20th century’s greatest architects.
A move back to Little Rock in the 70’s allowed me to apply skills and experience gained in two of America’s most beautiful and livable cities. My work as an architect at Wittenberg, Deloney & Davidson, Inc., on of Little Rock’s oldest firms and founded by my grandfather in 1911, involved planning, design, marketing and management. Some significant buildings I worked on include the Stephens high rise tower in downtown, the University of Arkansas Medical Center’s BioMed building and, in the 1980’s, the campus master plan for UALR.
A $2.5 million, 10-year grant from UALR’s Donaghey Foundation created the Urban Studies and Design program and brought me to the university. The purpose of the grant was to expose students to “real world” planning projects by involving them with planning teams working on projects across the state. The program has completed more than 175 planning studies, among them the Six Bridges Plan for the river district; the Corridors plan for downtown Little Rock, and, recently, the Junction Railroad Bridge conversion to a pedestrian bridge for the downtowns. This Urban Design program is a part of the Political Science Department and offers a minor in Urban Studies.
I currently coordinate the new minor and work to provide creative choices for students who have an interest in learning about urbanism and the city. Currently, the courses cover urban design; politics, transportation and community activism, and more topics are to be added. In my course, 4302-Independent Study, we will study historic examples of urbanism and how their urban design standards apply to American cities today. Comparisons to Little Rock and North Little Rock will be plentiful, and throughout the semester city movers and shakers will join us to tell their stories.
The Fall 2007 Independent Study course focused on a Pulaski County project, which was planned by the Urban Studies and Design program to convert the city blocks adjacent to the Pulaski County Court House in downtown Little Rock to a park, parking and mixed-use development. Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines, the client for the project, will be available to discuss the project with the class.