Jordan Boudreau
he/theySanta Cruz, CA
Introduction
Dear Physical Planning, Development & Operations,
Thank you for taking the time to explore my work.
Below, I have also included reflections on the UCSC campus, including a case study looking at a proposed pedestrian link between campus and neighboring public lands.
I have also highlighted a selection of projects that reflect my passion for bringing together planning, design, environmental education, and community engagement to create more sustainable, inclusive, and socially just communties.
You’ll find my cover letter and resume as well for reference.
Sincerely,
Jordan Boudreau
Reflections on the UCSC Campus
I am applying to this position not only because of my passion for sustainable campus planning but also because UCSC’s campus holds a unique place in my heart. Since moving to Santa Cruz with my boyfriend—a UCSC alum—several years ago, I’ve come to appreciate UCSC as a living environment that reflects a rare sensitivity to place, where “the buildings are less important in the visual composition than the trees,” as Thomas Church prescribed in 1963.
Background Reading
In preparation for this application, I have read the 1963 and 2021 LRDPs in full, and am now working my way through the UC Facilities Manual (starting with Volume 2: Planning); CEQA, the Physical Design Framework; the Campus Sustainability Plan; and Gardens Are for People by Thomas Church.
To demonstrate how I would apply these documents and guidelines to a a site-specific problem, I’ve included a case study looking at an issue I have personally encountered on campus.
Case Study: Creating a Pedestrian Connection between UCSC and Pogonip
Pedestrian trails are an iconic element of the UCSC campus. The 2021 LRDP recommends that this network of trails “could be improved, and new connections provided within campus and to adjacent public lands surrounding the campus” (142; bold added). The potential to better connect campus trails to surrounding public lands is an exciting opportunity, as existing trailheads near campus help connect the campus to the local community and provide opportunties for the UCSC community to explore the natural world.Spring Box TrailheadHowever, several of these trailheads are difficult to access as a pedestrian, such as the Spring Box Trailhead on Coolidge Drive, which connects campus to the Pogonip Open Space. This trailhead comes within 500 feet of campus pedestrian paths, yet there is currently no safe pedestrian connection between these two networks of paths.
Serving as a fire road entrance, the Spring Box Trailhead does include signage for pedestrian use, but is located on Coolidge Drive such that there is no safe way to approach as a pedestrian.
A Personal AnecdoteWhen I first moved to Santa Cruz, I was a part-time environmental educator, leading elementary school students on hikes around Santa Cruz, including at UCSC. Frequently, we would take students from a drop off spot at Stevenson College to Spring Box Trailhead; or from the Spring Street Pogonip entrance to campus via the Spring Box Trail. However, getting from the trailhead to campus—or vice versa—always felt dangerous, especially with young children.
Existing Condition The maps below illustrates the two options pedestrians currently have. Both approaches pose dangers. One requires pedestrians to walk along the shoulder of Coolidge Drive, around a blind curve and near speeding cars; the other, while pleasant to start, requires a descent down a steep hillside followed by a short walk on Coolidge. Both routes require an unprotected street crossing across Coolidge to reach the trailhead.
The solution to this problem could be quite simple; I propose the following two interventions below.
- Install crosswalk: Install a 12’ wide crosswalk (pursuant to the UCSC Campus Standards Handbook), on Coolidge Drive at the Spring Box Trailhead. Ideally, pair this with pedestrian actuated Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) to alert cars to slow down.
- Improve and formalize the informal trail from Stevenson to Pogonip: Improve the existing hillside trail, including stairs and minor grade adjustments as needed. Be careful to site the trail in such a way that it ends at the crosswalk to the Spring Box Trailhead while not impinging on the privacy of the Stevenson Provost’s House. This could be accomplished by using a series of alternating contour trails and stairs following the fall line.
Assuming these two interventions were made, the following strategies could help highlight the connection between UCSC and Pogonip, helping to strengthen the link between the campus and community.
- Create on-campus trailhead and signage: Install trailhead signage at Stevenson, formalizing this short trail from Stevenson to the Spring Box Trailhead as the “Stevenson-Pogonip” trail, inviting the campus community to explore the Pogonip Open Space.
- Include wayfinding signage at nearby Mobility Hub: One of the four planned Mobility Hubs is sited at Cowell/Stevenson, a short walk away from the Stevenson-Pogonip Trailhead. Consider installing wayfinding signage from the Mobility Hub, through Stevenson, to the proposed trailhead.
Of course, closer site studies and collaboration with the City of Santa Cruz, which manages Pogonip, would be crucial. Off-campus collaboration is a key aspect of the Associate Planner Role, and one that I would be excited to dive into.
Portfolio of Highlighted Work
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Palo Alto, CA — 2022-2023, GehlAs a designer at Gehl—a people-centric urban design and planning firm—I was part of the four person team who drafted the design principles and internal master plan for the new Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. As Stanford’s first new school in over 70 years, the founding of this School provides the campus with a unique opportunity to shape a major area of its campus from the ground up.
Below, I have highlighted the parts of this work that I was personally charged with.
Belonging StudyUsing a proprietary app developed by a colleage at Gehl, I conducted a study that invited Stanford students and staff to photograph spaces on campus that make them feel either a sense of belonging or exclusion. Photos were geotagged, rated as positive or negative by participants, and participants were asked to tag what factors contributed to that feeling (nature, architecture, people, comfort, etc.). This allowed us to see not only where students and staff felt a sense of belonging on campus, but also to see what factors contribute to their sense of belonging; and whether that differed across demographic groups.
I culminated this analysis with by highlighting trends in the data, which were then used to help shape the design principles we recommended to Stanford. A few findings are included below (click to zoom in).
Design PrinciplesOur team presented over 60 design principles to guide Studio Gang and the Campus Architect in the design of the School. I contributed many of these principles, specifically ones that addressed the relationship between indoors and outdoors and prioritizing a sense of connection with nature. Three of these principles are shown below (click to zoom in).
Massing, Land Use, and Circulation DiagamsI was in charge of creating massing, land use, and circulation diagrams used in our final planing recommendations. A selection of these diagrams are included below, including one that was used by Stanford and Studio Gang to announce Studio Gang’s involvement in the project.
Mayo Clinic: Peace Plaza Pedestrian Use Analysis
Rochester, MN — 2022, GehlAs a Designer at Gehl, I also collaborated with a colleague to conduct this Public Space Public Life (PSPL) study for Peace Plaza, a public plaza in Rochester, Minnesota owned and managed by the Mayo Clinic. PSPLs are a proprietary Gehl survey method developed by Danish planner Jan Gehl, which employs a extensive transect counts and stationary counts over time to evaluate the “health” of a public space to help inform planning decisions. In this study, we found a high correlation between facade quality and the “stickiness” of various parts of the plaza (the ratio of people passing through a space who choose to stay there).
UCSC Seymour Marine Discovery Center
Santa Cruz, CA — 2023-2024, UCSCIn my work at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, UC Santa Cruz’s aquarium, I led a team of volunteers, staff, and interns designing and fabricating the first full overhaul of the Center’s exhibits in 20 years. All new content for the space is bilingual in English in Spanish, wheelchair accessible, and connected to stories of local climate solutions in Santa Cruz and the Central Coast.
Working within a tight UC budget, I designed all graphics, exhibition labels, and wayfinding myself, and personally built all exhibition furniture. This included a new wheelchair-accessible reception desk and exhibition tables, an indoor terrarium (including drainage and grow lights), and 6 upholstered benches—all without using any plastic materials.
Public space and wheelchair-accessible reception desk
Bilingual Signage
Maps / Wayfinding
Cafe One
Fort Bragg, CA — 2021-Present, freelanceI am serving as the lead architectural designer on a 3,500 sq. ft. new building and half-acre garden for an organic cafe and diner in Fort Bragg, CA. I lead both the architectural and landscape design, while working with an architect of record, consultants, engineers, and local agencies to ensure compliance and acquire permits.
Renderings
Construction/Permit Drawings
New Haven Botanical Garden of Healing Dedicated to Victims of Gun Violence
New Haven, CT — 2019As a City Parks Project Manager with the Urban Resouces Initiative (URI), I helped with planning, design, research, and volunteer planting workdays for the Botanical Garden of Healing Dedicated to Victims of Gun Violence—URI’s largest project to date. Led by a group of moms who had lost their children to guns, this park memorializes the names of all victims of gun violence in New Haven over the previous 40 years. Situated near the base of West Rock Ridge State Park, the park makes use of stunning views of West Rock along its major corridor and memorial pathway. However, located along a busy road, the planning of the site required a sensitivity to landscape design to protect the park from traffic noise while ensuring pedestrian safety.
New Haven Greening
New Haven, CT — 2018As a final project, I proposed linking the central New Haven Green to nearby Wooster Square Park as a case study diving into this issue. By leveraging an existing two blocks of pedestrian-only roads along this corridor, converting two additional blocks and one bridge over railway tracks to also be pedestrian-only could make it possible for pedestrians to have a safe and pleasant walk between two iconic public parks and neighborhoods. This pattern of pedestrianization and greening could hopefully grow to connect even more parks and neighborhoods together over time.
Cover Letter
Dear Physical Planning, Development & Operations,
The UCSC campus embodies how human infrastructure can be integrated with the landscape in a mutualistic way—meeting programmatic needs while not just protecting nature, but also shaping a culture of reverence for it. I would be eager to contribute to that legacy as Associate Physical Planner, bringing to the role experience and passion for sustainable campus planning, and a love for UCSC’s unique campus.
After studying Environmental Studies and Architecture at Yale, where I wrote two theses on sustainable urban and campus planning, I pursued roles at both architecture firms and nonprofits to gain a breadth of perspectives that I could take into my later work as a planner—particularly experience in compliance, permitting, and conducting community outreach.
This path led me, by 2022, to be hired as an Urban Designer at Gehl, where I worked on a small team to draft the master plan for Stanford’s new Doerr School of Sustainability—its first new school in 70 years. Beginning with site studies, circulation data collection, and stakeholder interviews, our work culminated in a series of plans that organize the School around a strong pedestrian core with blurred boundaries between indoors and outdoors—all while meeting strict County GSF limits. These plans are now guiding the architectural design by Studio Gang, the firm that also designed the Kresge College Renewal Project.
Following that project, I sought to work closer to home in Santa Cruz and became Associate Director of Community Engagement at UCSC’s Seymour Center. There, I was in charge of the museum’s spaces and exhibitions, and oversaw related budgets, student staff, and volunteers. Spearheading an exhibit on climate solutions in Santa Cruz, I worked with local officials, researchers, and non-profit leaders working on resilient city infrastructure in Santa Cruz, while also implementing fully bilingual signage, expanded public space, and greater wheelchair accessibility. As Associate Physical Planner, I would hope to continue prioritizing campus accessibility and fostering collaborations between the City and University, drawing on my network in town.
Having recently left the Seymour Center due to financial cuts, I have been focusing on my long-term freelance architectural design practice. I am currently the lead designer and project manager on a 3000 sq. ft. new construction restaurant in Fort Bragg, CA, where I coordinate consultants, handle permitting, and lead the architectural design and landscape architecture, including courtyard and rooftop gardens.
I have long been preparing myself for a planning role like this one; to receive such an opportunity at a place that I already know and love would be even more meaningful. Having studied the 1963 and 2021 LRDPs in detail, I am excited by campus goals to increase enrollment, housing, transit, and circulation. As we approach the 2040 LRDP horizon, balancing this need for growth with a continued reverence for land—as Thomas Church counsels in the founding LRDP—is crucial. I hope to bring that focus to your team, helping to create beautiful, functional spaces that can nurture and inspire the next generation at UCSC.
For a deeper look at some of my past work, as well as some reflections on the UCSC campus, please find my portfolio at ucsc.jordanboudreau.info. I am grateful for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Jordan Boudreau
Resume
Education
Yale College
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture & Environmental Studies
3.8 GPA
Distinction (honors) in both majors
Major in Architecture
Concentration: Urban Studies
Thesis topic: Blurring the lines between city, school, & natural world
Major in Environmental Studies
Concentration: Environmental Education
Thesis topic: Supporting ecological literacy through urban planning
Most relevant roles
UCSC Seymour Marine Discovery Center — Santa Cruz, CA
Associate Director of Community Engagement Jan 2023 - July 2024
In this role, I oversaw the spaces and exhibitions at UCSC’s marine science museum. By developing connections in the City, at non-profits, and on campus working on sustainable infrastructure, I spearheaded an exhibition highlighting local climate solutions. I also implemented fully bilingual signage, more free public space, and greater wheelchair accessibility. This role gave me familiarity working within the UC system, managing the use of a space on campus, and creating bridges between UCSC and the community.
Gehl Studio — Hybrid — San Francisco, CA
Urban Designer April 2022 - Jan 2023
At Gehl, I used Gehl’s public space public life (PSPL) field survey methods to collect and analyze data, and to develop sustainable, people-oriented design principles and planning documents for campus clients including Google and the Mayo Clinic. My primary project at Gehl was to help create the campus master plan for the new Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability on a small, 4-person team. My role involved site analysis and mapping; conducting a survey of students’ sense of belonging on campus; drafting design principles around circulation and outdoor space; and creating many of the maps, drawings, and diagrams used in our planning documents.
Grace Year — Millbrook, NY
Fellow in Community Building Aug 2019 - Aug 2020
In this year-long post, I helped establish and run a “Tri-Town Coalition” seeking to build local affordable housing in a bilingual community while meeting the Comprehensive Plans of each of the three towns. This included hosting monthly open forums to gain community input, and identifying sites for potential affordable housing developments.
Current Roles
Cafe One — Remote — Fort Bragg, CALead Architectural Designer & Project Manager Jan 2021 - Pres.
I am serving as the lead architectural designer on a 3,500 sq. ft. new building and half-acre garden for an organic cafe and diner in Fort Bragg, CA. I lead both the architectural and landscape design, while working with an architect of record, consultants, engineers, and local agencies to ensure compliance and acquire permits.
Various firms (Incl. DBL, Sloan, and Turner Brooks) — CA, NY, and CT
Designer, Drafter, and Consultant Various periods, 2019 - Present
I have worked in various roles in small firms over the past 5 years. I primarily design residential projects, with some experience in landscape architecture, emergency housing, and commercial projects. I also help ensure code compliance for permitting on various residential and commercial projects.
Mendocino Art Center — Remote — Mendocino, CA
Interim Education Director July 2024 - Pres.
I am serving in a temporary role at the MAC, helping run the Center while strategizing for the campus's future.
Other Past Roles
Mendocino Art Center — Remote — Mendocino, CA
Treasurer, Board of Directors Apr - October 2024.
I helped re-establish stability after a financial crisis. This involved P&L, budgets, review of fixed assets and real estate, and drafting a business plan.
Kids in Nature — Santa Cruz, CA
Lead Outdoor EducatorPart time — Sept 2021 - May 2022
I led elementary students in outdoor natural history lessons around Santa Cruz and on UCSC’s campus, developing a familiarity with our local ecological context.
Urban Resources Initiative — New Haven, CT
City Parks Project Manager May - Aug 2019
I conducted research and drafted site plans for park improvements, collaborating with consultants, contractors, and community volunteers to carry out the work. This role was formative to my commitment to community engaged design.
BIO
As a planner and designer with a passion for environmental education, I specialize in shaping places that foster conviviality, environmental literacy, social justice, and a love of the natural world.
CONTACT
jordanboudreau@me.com
1 603 560 9422