Create Your Own Project
MIT@Lawrence encourages students and student groups to create their own project. Projects should roughly fit into one of the three main MIT@Lawrence focus areas of affordable housing, asset-building, and youth development. Further, projects should have a clear beginning and end, focusing on developing capacity in Lawrence. Funding for project materials and transportation costs is available through the MIT@Lawrence Public Service Center. You should contact Alison Hynd at hynd@MIT.EDU for help developing your project.
Take the Lawrence Practicum
Offered once a year, 11.423: Information, Asset-building and the Immigrant City (aka the Lawrence Practicum), is a participatory action research class whereby students work with community partners, housing developers and municipal planners in the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts to craft a strategic affordable housing plan. Known as the “Immigrant City,” Lawrence is part of a multi-year HUD-funded community outreach program intended to empower Latina women and youth by building individual and community assets through the use of spatial and other information technologies. Emphasizes reflection as a tool for investigating the nexus between planning practice and theory as well as issues of race/ethnicity, civic engagement, and the construction of urban narratives.
Volunteer for the Lawrence@MIT Program
Dates: TBD
Group Leader: Meet students in the morning and take them to and from their various workshops on campus. Also, share your MIT experience with them over lunch.
Workshop Presenter: Share your expertise with students by leading a workshop during the field trip day.
If interested in volunteering with the Lawrence@MIT project, email Lorlene.