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Urban Matters Lab

This lab builds on the four pillars of the John Martinson Honors College at Purdue University. The lab employs an interdisciplinary approach to the exploration and study of a range of urban matters, and also facilitates a pedagogical and exploratory journey for students to understand why the ‘urban’ matters. It fosters community engagement through interactive experiential opportunities across the Greater Lafayette area and beyond. It offers students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills through volunteer and internship opportunities in the community. The lab also creates opportunities for students to undertake interdisciplinary research through HONR courses and mentoring by Dr. Krishna.

For more information on the Urban Matters Lab, use the link below:

Urban Matters Lab Website

Mission

  • Explore the Urban: UML helps students discover the history and stories of the places and spaces they inhabit.
  • Serve Communities: UML students work either individually or in teams on a range of projects that explore the historic urban environment in collaboration with different community partners.
  • Historical and Archival Research: UML students learn new skillsets in student-driven archival and historical research methodologies that will help them in all aspects of academic inquiry at Purdue and beyond.
  • Community Engagement: UML fosters community engagement by involving students in service-focused projects where students learn with and from communities to address real-world problems and develop data and historical narratives for the communities.
  • Leadership skills: Students in UML engage in hands-on volunteer and internship opportunities that allow them to develop their leadership skills.

Research Projects

For more details and all current project reports and deliverables, visit urbanmatterslab.com.

Documenting Black Heritage Sites in the Greater Lafayette Area
Project Collaborator: Indiana Landmarks, Black Heritage Preservation Program

Documenting West Lafayette Heritage Sites
Project Collaborator: City of West Lafayette

Documenting the Purdue in Indianapolis Campus
Project Collaborator: Purdue University Campus Architect

Mapping the USS Houston in the Sunda Strait, Indonesia
Project Collaborator: US Embassy in Jakarta

Investigating the history of the Old Naval Observatory, Washington DC
Project Collaborator: Office of the Historian, US Department of State

Mapping the US Chancery in Rome
Project Collaborator: Office of Cultural Heritage, US Department of State

About Dr. Krishna

I am an architect and historic preservation planner whose research spans two principal domains: the management of historic urban landscapes and adaptive reuse of religious historic structures and landscapes. In particular, I focus on the intersection of historic preservation with community development and equity issues–and resulting policy challenges. To learn more, please email krish191@purdue.edu.

Visit Personal Website