Graduate Student Spotlight: Kori Kurtzeborn
Department: Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
Degree: Master of Science Environmental Planning
Research project: Sustainable Planning in Gateway Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) Communities
Faculty Mentor: Jake Powell
Why did you choose this research project?
I’ve always been curious about recreation-driven communities and how their access to nearby landscapes shapes environmental connection, sustainability, and how those values are manifested in their planning documents.
What motivates you to study your area of research?
I believe that community planning is one of our biggest tools for addressing environmental concerns and shaping a better world. Understanding the efforts and results of communities working at the intersection of environmentalism and community planning, I believe we can better motivate sustainable action.
What do you want to do after you earn your degree?
I hope to work at the intersection between communities and the environment. Working in recreation planning, community visioning, or where science and sustainability communication interests me most.
What advice would you give someone who is thinking about choosing your field of study?
Be adaptable, be patient, and be bold. This field of study is full of generalists, topic experts, and creative minds. To succeed you often must think like a detective, taking the best, most relevant information out of what seems like a bottomless pool. Planners shape the world for the next generation; it is our role to listen, learn, and carefully implement. It is also our role to dream of the best future possible, and to be bold in pushing communities towards that brighter future.