Center

Phase 2: Shade Design Guidelines — Designing for Sun Safety and Environmental Equity

Jose Jaime Samper Escobar — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 23:04:53 +0000

Phase 2: Shade Design Guidelines — Designing for Sun Safety and Environmental Equity Jose Jaime Sam… Tue, 03/31/2026 - 17:04

This second project continued the partnership between the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Community Engagement, Design and Research (CEDaR) Center to translate data from the Denver Shade Canopy Assessment into performance-based shade design guidelines for five typologies of public spaces. The goal was to provide public agencies and designers with actionable strategies for integrating sun safety, comfort, and equity into urban design.

Building on the findings of the Denver Shade Canopy Assessment, this phase focused on five key public space typologies—schoolyards, playgrounds, urban trails, transit stops, and residential or commercial streets. The process combined document and precedent review, participant observation, and parametric design and environmental simulation to evaluate shade performance and inform design recommendations.

A public survey gathered feedback from Denver residents on preferred shade types, comfort levels, and design priorities. Respondents favored hybrid solutions that combine vegetation and built structures, emphasizing the importance of shaded seating and flexibility across seasons.

The resulting Shade Design Guidelines offer quantitative shade thresholds, design options, and policy recommendations that can be adapted for cities across Colorado. By bridging environmental data, design innovation, and community input, the project provides a replicable model for creating healthier, more resilient public spaces.

The resulting Shade Design Guidelines offer an evidence-based toolkit for advancing health equity, sun safety, and climate resilience in Denver and beyond.

This project was led by:

Sara Tabatabaie, Teaching Assistant Professor, with interns Mary Miller (CDPHE Liaison), Gabrielle Rodriguez, Emily VanGuilder, and Taylor Martin.

Link to Phase 1 Shade Canopy Assessment — Mapping Sun Risk and Equity in Denver

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Phase 1 Shade Canopy Assessment — Mapping Sun Risk and Equity in Denver

Jose Jaime Samper Escobar — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 22:28:18 +0000

Phase 1 Shade Canopy Assessment — Mapping Sun Risk and Equity in Denver Jose Jaime Sam… Tue, 03/31/2026 - 16:28

This project was a partnership between the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Community Engagement, Design and Research (CEDaR) Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. The Shade Canopy Assessment established a citywide understanding of shade distribution and sun exposure in Denver’s public spaces to inform equitable access to outdoor comfort and health.

Using a data-driven and technology-based approach, the project team developed a Sun Risk Index and Shade Score to evaluate shade coverage and UV exposure across Denver. High-resolution GIS data were used to map tree canopy, built shade, land surface temperature, and socio-economic indicators at the neighborhood and block-group levels. These spatial analyses were complemented by detailed field audits and observations of outdoor physical activity.

Results revealed significant inequities in shade availability: low-income neighborhoods, communities of color, and areas with high child populations face the greatest combined heat and UV risks. The project provided Denver’s first comprehensive framework for identifying priority areas for shade investment and served as the foundation for developing citywide design guidelines.

This project was led by

Sara Tabatabaie, Teaching Assistant Professor, with support from CEDaR interns Loan Shockey, Cameron Cooper, Carl (CJ) Eberly, and Theodor Johnson Mencimer.

Link to Phase 2: Shade Design Guidelines — Designing for Sun Safety and Environmental Equity

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Children, Youth and Environments (CYE) Award 2026

Jose Jaime Samper Escobar — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:47:48 +0000

Children, Youth and Environments (CYE) Award 2026 Jose Jaime Sam… Mon, 03/02/2026 - 10:47

Application Deadline: April 1

The Children, Youth and Environments (CYE) Award provides up to $5,000 to support place-based Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects that engage children and youth (18 and under) as partners in research and action.

Administered by Community Engagement, Design, and Research Center (CEDaR), this award supports projects that meaningfully involve young people in shaping research questions, methods, and outcomes—moving beyond extractive studies toward collaborative, youth-centered inquiry.

Who Can Apply?

Eligible applicants must have an active affiliation with University of Colorado Boulder throughout the project period:

Faculty (including non-tenure-track)
Staff
Graduate students
Joint applications (multiple applicants) are welcome

Graduate student applicants must include a faculty advisor reference.

What We Fund

Participatory Action Research (PAR)

PAR projects must actively engage youth as collaborators, not simply subjects. Intergenerational projects are encouraged if they provide clear, identifiable benefits to participating youth.

We define PAR through three core practices:

Youth–adult partnerships grounded in democratic decision-making and meaningful roles for all participants
Systematic inquiry into issues relevant to young people’s lived experiences (e.g., GIS mapping, interviews, surveys, photovoice, ethnography, auto-ethnography)
Public contribution based on research findings (e.g., dialogue with public officials, policy proposals, media publications, websites, community resources)

Traditional research that collects data about youth without engaging them in shaping the project is not eligible.

Place-Based Focus

Funded projects must examine the lived physical environments of children and youth, such as:

Neighborhoods
Parks and public space
Schools
Transportation and mobility systems
Local businesses
Community services

Preference will be given to projects working with youth in low-income neighborhoods and/or contexts of social, economic, or structural disadvantage.

Allowable Expenses

Funds may be used flexibly for project-related costs, including:

Stipends for youth participants
Summer pay for graduate and undergraduate assistants
Travel for youth (18 and under) to participate in activities or disseminate findings
Materials to implement PAR-based research

Up to 10% of the award may support graduate student travel to present findings at a professional conference.

Funds may not be used for publication subvention fees.

Application Requirements

Applications must include:

1. Project Proposal (Maximum 750 words, double-spaced)

Address the following:

What are the goals and expected outcomes?
Who are the participants, how many will be involved, and what roles will they play?
How will youth meaningfully shape the project’s goals and methods?
How does the project align with your professional goals or research agenda?
How will the project be evaluated?

2. Project Timeline (One page)

Outline key milestones, activities, and implementation steps.

3. Budget (Separate page)

Include total project budget and clearly identify which expenses will be supported by this award, with brief justifications.

4. Letter of Support

From a community partner involved in the project.

5. Faculty Advisor Reference (Graduate Students Only)

Selection & Funding Timeline

April 1 – Application deadline
April 15 – Award recipient(s) selected
May 22 – Funds transferred to department speedtype
May 22 – December 15 – Project implementation period
January 15 – Final report due

Final Report Requirements

The final report must include:

A project narrative (maximum 500 words) describing outcomes and lessons learned
A budget summary detailing how funds were spent
Photos of project activities and quotes from participants (strongly encouraged)

Selection Process

CEDaR will convene a selection committee composed of:

One CEDaR representative
One CMDI/ENVD faculty member
One community representative

At the committee’s discretion, one or multiple awards may be made. If no proposals are deemed fundable, earnings may be carried forward to increase funding availability in a future cycle.

Where Do the Funds Come From?

The award is supported by earnings from an endowment created by the Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design and administered by CEDaR.

Apply by April 1

We encourage proposals that center youth voice, address structural inequities, and demonstrate strong community partnerships.

APPLY HERE

For questions about eligibility or proposal development, please contact jota@colorado.edu

Empower youth. Engage place. Transform environments.

Apply by April 1, 2026

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Making Homelands: Tufting San Lazaro Lifeways / Construyendo el Lugar de Origen: Tejiendo los Modos de Vida de San Lazaro

Jose Jaime Samper Escobar — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 23:35:59 +0000

Making Homelands: Tufting San Lazaro Lifeways / Construyendo el Lugar de Origen: Tejiendo los Modos de Vida de San Lazaro Jose Jaime Sam… Tue, 11/04/2025 - 16:35

Boulder, Colorado / Fall 2024-Fall 2025 / Exhibition / Community Power, Immigration, Environmental Justice, Textile Design

sophie weston chien

This exhibit is a series of tufted textiles that storymap San Lazaro families. The textiles record the ecologies present and changing over time and space, witnessing where folks make home. The series is a visual interview, each rug telling a story with a different family, alongside a transect of life in San Lazaro Mobile Home Park in Northeast Boulder. Visitors are encouraged to engage with the work visually and haptically, seeing and touching the journeys of some of the people who live at San Lazaro.

This research combines quantitative information in the form of spatial mapping and qualitative information from the oral histories of the residents. Each family was given a series of prompts to answer intergenerationally, about memories of home, how they got here, and emotions and senses along the way. The textile series tells the stories of San Lazaro through many lenses: ecological, familial, cultural, physical, and temporal.

Esta muestra presenta una colección de tejidos que cuentan las historias de vida de las familias de San Lazaro. Los tejidos registran las ecologías presentes y cambiantes a lo largo del tiempo y el espacio, dando testimonio de los lugares donde las personas hacen hogar. La serie es una entrevista visual, cada alfombra cuenta una historia con una familia distinta, a lo largo de un recorrido de vida en San Lazaro, un parque de casas móviles en Northeast Boulder. Se anima a los visitantes a interactuar con la obra visual y hápticamente, viendo y tocando San Lazaro.

Este estudio combina información cuantitativa en forma de mapeo espacial y cualitativa en forma de historias orales de los residentes. A cada familia se le dio una serie de indicaciones para responder de manera intergeneracional sobre los recuerdos del hogar, como llegaron hasta aquí y las emociones y sentidos a lo largo del camino. La serie de tejidos cuenta las historias de San Lazaro a través de varios lentes: ecológico, familiar, cultural, físico y temporal.

This work was started two years ago, and as the immigration landscape changed, the focus of the work changed as well. After many conversations with participants, it was clear that the most significant part of the project was telling stories within families, to make sure immigrant parents/grandparents and first-gen kids knew their family history and where they came from. As a child of an immigrant myself, it was an honor to hold that space and translate stories of many homes.

This work was completed in the context of federal agencies disappearing people, people who deserve to live with dignity and safety, where they have put down roots. This is a reminder to continue giving and supporting local rapid response networks. Here is Denver’s: https://www.coloradorapidresponsenetwork.com

Making Homelands has been exhibited at the Boulder Public Library, Arapahoe Gallery, from August 5 - October 29, 2025.

This work was produced as a collaboration between the Community Engagement, Design and Research Center (CEDaR) in the Environmental Design Department at CU Boulder, EcoArts Connections, and seven San Lazaro Mobile Home Park families with designer Sophie Weston Chien. It has been supported by Art Omi: Architecture, CU Boulder PACES Grant, CU Boulder Council for Arts + Humanities Grant, National Association of Minority Landscape Architects BIPOC Educator Research Grant, and through EcoArts Connections by the Boulder Arts Commission and the Schramm Foundation. Thanks to Marda Kirn, Susana Roriguez, Rosabelle Rice, Claudia Lopez, Leticia Pérez González and Tuft Love.

Making homelands: Tufting San Lazaro lifeways - Art installation by Sophie Weston Chien runs through December 6th

By Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research

Https://calendar.colorado.edu/event/making-homelands?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=University+of+Colorado+Boulder

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New: Housing Research and Education Center

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 20:49:59 +0000

New: Housing Research and Education Center Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 01/20/2024 - 13:49

A collective and collaborative center for research and education to address housing affordability and accessibility

The Housing Research and Education Center is a collaboration between the CU-Boulder Affordable Housing Research Initiative and the Community Engagement, Design, and Research Center (CEDaR). The center works to amplify community voices, support agencies working on housing provision, inform policy, and build relationships to strengthen housing access.

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