Wayne Feiden, FAICP, a lecturer of practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning and director of the Center for Resilient Metro-Regions (CRM) at UMass Amherst, has received a Fulbright Specialist award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Feiden is working in Balti, Moldova, to prepare a strategic action plan to advance the city’s park planning.
Feiden is one of more than 400 U.S. faculty, administrators, and professionals who serve as short-term experts at institutions around the world through the Fulbright Specialist Program. The Fulbright Specialists address critical global issues while building relationships, expertise, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States.
Feiden brings 45 years of experience helping communities both in the U.S. and around the world plan for better futures. As the director of CRM, Feiden leads an interdisciplinary team of faculty, students, and practitioners who partner with governments, community groups, regional planning agencies, and nonprofit organizations to undertake applied research and strategic and comprehensive planning at all scales, from rural areas to metropolitan regions.
This past year, CRM conducted a strategic organizational analysis for West Stockbridge, MA, a signage code and policy diagnostic and new code for Barrington, RI, and an open space and recreation plan for Westborough, MA, among other projects in the region. Overseas, Feiden’s team explored merging hazard mitigation with emergency operations planning in Bali, Indonesia, through a U.S. State Department Professional Fellowship. They also joined the Ukraine Cities Partnership to support the sustainable recovery of smaller Ukrainian cities.
To prepare for his Fulbright project in Balti, Feiden worked with CRM-affiliated students, Emilio Moore from the Sustainable Community Development Program at UMass Amherst and Delaney Gardner from the Five College Interchange. Moore and Gardner assisted Feiden in conducting a GIS assessment of Balti’s landscape to see which portions of the city are or are not well served by public green spaces today.
“Balti has wonderful green spaces, including two parks that help define the center of the city,” reported Feiden. “Our work will include consideration of how to think about underserved areas of the city and how to think strategically given limited resources.”
In July and August, Feiden will work with Balti’s Foreign Relations and Investment Attraction Department, Balti City Hall, students, and others to prepare a strategic action plan that can help the city modernize and manage its public parks. Balti and Moldova are working on improving their economy and, as a candidate for eventual European Union membership, making other necessary reforms. This project should advance both of those goals.
The project will also involve several forums and training exercises that will inform both Balti and CRM.
“In all my international work and fellowships, the informal exchanges from person-to-person contacts and small forums have been extremely rewarding, as important as formal projects, and often plant the seeds for future collaborations,” said Feiden.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and those of other countries. Recipients are selected based on their academic and professional achievements, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the United States and abroad.
“I am honored and excited to help build bridges to a rapidly emerging economy with such enormous potential,” said Feiden.
For more information, visit the Fulbright Specialist Program and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs websites.
Areas of Balti, Moldova, within easy walking distance (within a 400-meter walk) of public and green spaces, prepared by Delaney Gardner and Emilio Moore at CRM