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Fall 2022

A Man of Energy
10 Questions: Associate Professor Bilal Butt
A Champion for Justice
A Lifelong Passion for Trees
Carlson’s Fishery: Leaving its Mark on the Local Economy and Michigan’s Waters
Class Notes
Dean’s Letter
Developing Water Policy Solutions that Ensure a Just and Resilient Future
Environmentally Safe Pest Control
Faculty Accolades
FishPass Project Draws Inspiration From Single-Stream Recycling
Fostering Human-Tiger Coexistence in Nepal
Freshwater is ‘the Root’ That Connects This Area
Leading Sustainability-Focused Education
Mobility and Transportation Design
Nurturing Environmental Justice Activists
Pairing Solar Development With Innovative Land Management
Program in the Environment Celebrates 20 Years
Protecting the Diversity of Fish in the Great Lakes
Research Highlights
Righting Wrongs in Society
SEAS Releases First National Framework Designed to Measure and Advance Energy Equity
SEAS Travel Photo Contest
Studying Trees for Clues About Climate Change
Summer Discussion Series
Supporting Actionable Energy Solutions
The Forever Business: Conservation Leader Glen Chown
Yearbook

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SEAS Connect is a monthly e-newsletter that brings alumni, students, faculty, and friends even closer together. In every issue, you’ll read about what your classmates are up to, hear from your favorite professors, find out what’s going on in the Dana Building, and learn how to get involved.

 
back to Stewards

Mobility and Transportation Design

By Denise Spranger

Oliver Kiley (BS ’03, MLA ’08) began his career at SmithGroup, an international architectural firm with deep roots in Detroit and Ann Arbor, just after earning his degree in the Master of Landscape Architecture program at SEAS. In recent years, he has been elevated to a principal landscape architect at SmithGroup’s Ann Arbor office.

SmithGroup is a multi-disciplinary, integrated-design firm that combines landscape architecture, civil engineering, architecture, urban design and planning disciplines to create resilient and sustainable places and communities.Oliver Kiley

Kiley is one of the co-leads in the firm’s mobility specialty, an area that he helped to develop.

“Our work is at the intersection of mobility and transportation design,” says Kiley. “We look at whole road corridors and figure out how to make those safer, more accessible and more comfortable for people—whether they’re walking, biking, taking the bus or driving their car.”

Kiley says SmithGroup gives thought and attention to the aesthetic design—as well as functional considerations—to create inviting spaces that include features such as pocket parks, plaza spaces, seating areas and other amenities.

Ann Arbor residents will be familiar with numerous projects that SmithGroup has completed in partnership with the Downtown Development Authority—such as the William Street Bikeway, the more recent First Street Bikeway, and the reconfiguration of the Fifth Street and Detroit Street area that encompasses the farmer’s market and Community High School.

Kiley, who was involved in the design and engineering work on these “people-friendly streets,” says the aim is to make downtown Ann Arbor more inclusive, safe and accessible.

Asked what changes he’s seen in the field over the course of his 14 years at SmithGroup, Kiley discussed several shifts in priorities and perspectives.

“One of the big drivers that is shaping the way that landscape architects are practicing is an emphasis on community resiliency, and how that relates to climate change from a mitigation and adaptation standpoint,” says Kiley. “To prepare for climate outcomes such as more intense and more frequent rainfall events, the need to design our streets to be more flexible and resilient is critical.

“Another huge driver is from the perspective of equity. There’s a lot more sensitivity now, and a recognition of the impacts that our projects can have, such as gentrification and unintentionally displacing people. To address those issues, our engagement processes need to be much more inclusive in working with the community to figure out how to make changes in a way that’s harmonious with community needs—making sure that we’re not creating inequities, but instead, we’re confronting those historic inequities.”

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