By Anthony Buckley
Anthony Buckley is a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Environmental Science on the Quantitative Energy Systems track. He is also a UNC Cleantech Summit intern, member of the Carolina Sustainability Council, vice-president of BuildUP, and a general staff member with the Department of Environmental Affairs in the UNC Undergraduate Student Government.
Getting BuildUp Off the Ground
In this new day and age, bridging gaps has never been more important. As our world moves forward into an uncertain future, the need for connections and collaboration across sectors continues to rise.
Linking the diverse groups in this movement is urban planning. Here at Carolina, we are fortunate to have a world class urban planning department. The Department of City and Regional Planning is currently ranked fifth in the nation among urban and regional planning graduate programs. Few institutions can claim a better learning environment than the one at Carolina Planning. It is upon this resource-rich foundation that UNC’s first undergraduate urban planning club in recent memory has been built.
BuildUP is one of UNC’s newest undergraduate clubs. Founded in the fall of 2023, BuildUP is focused on introducing students from any and all backgrounds to the diverse field of planning. Using political education, hands-on experiences, and professional networking, our organization has been growing quickly. As of the writing of this article, BuildUP currently has 123 members and, as the current vice-president, it’s been exciting to see the club take off.
Outside of our growth though, what I’ve been most excited about is the discourse our club has been inspiring about the way our future should and can look. Last semester, for example, BuildUP hosted a forum with the candidates for the Chapel Hill Town Council. I was fortunate enough to moderate it and lead discussions surrounding urban development in our very neighborhoods. Questions were asked ranging from bus rapid transit (BRT) lines to affordable housing to business development down Franklin Street.
We are, on paper, a club of those united by a shared interest in the field of urban planning. In reality, though, we are an organization committed to shaping and building the world we have into the world we want.
It was our intention that the forum would educate our members and the various other attendees about the real-life implications of smart and innovative urban planning. Suffice it to say that our forum did just that. Since then, our club has established strong connections with professionals working in Chapel Hill’s planning department, with leaders working in the private sector, and with professors and faculty here at home. The reception and support from both the town and the university has been nothing short of amazing.
Working with Community Partners
As I look forward to the rest of our semester, I take great pride in being surrounded by those in BuildUP. Our organization reflects the people and principles it’s built on. I think about Rhea Brown, Emilie Patrick, and Erin Flanagan, three of our executive team members, fostering collaborative efforts with organizations around town like the Marian Cheek Jackson Center and the Carrboro Farmer’s Market.
I reflect on the leaders of our political action committee, Joey Clampett and Mia Iwakura, and their efforts in networking with candidates during their campaigns to orchestrate a forum. I admire our treasurer, JJ, for fighting for funding to enable our young club to take its impact above and beyond in its second semester. And finally, I am grateful for our president, Claire Hargrove, for inviting us all of us in BuildUP to be a part of her vision for a new generation of planners, activists, and leaders.
Bridging gaps is difficult. It requires teams and time and talent. It demands creativity and inclusion and intention. Here at BuildUP, I find myself in the company of people who embody these traits, not just in our meetings or at our events, but in their lives. We are, on paper, a club of those united by a shared interest in the field of urban planning. In reality, though, we are an organization committed to shaping and building the world we have into the world we want. I couldn’t be more excited to see how we do it.