My name is Martine Kushner, and I am excited to introduce myself as DTNA ’s summer intern! I ’m looking forward to joining the team and getting to know the community over these next few months.

As for my background, since graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and minors in Urban Design and Global Health and the Environment, I ’ve worked as a Landscape and Urban Designer at Balmori Associates and as an Intern for Humanitarian Development practice at UN-Habitat. Last fall, I moved from New York City to the Bay Area to pursue a dual Master ’s degree in Architecture and City Planning at UC Berkeley, where I just completed my first of three years. I am passionate about the built environment and its potential as a vehicle for sustainable and equitable change, and I ’m excited to help the DTNA move forward with its vision for a slow triangle.

As many of you may know, since last fall DTNA has been collaborating with the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley to conduct research for Vision: Slow Triangle, focusing on three topics: walkability and mobility, sustainability, and activation. This summer, building on that work and continuing with the participatory approach, I will help conduct a series of community meetings and workshops where we will work together to identify a set of design values for the public realm. From there, I ’ll propose concept designs based on these values, your input, and the research generated by my peers.

I ’m very grateful to be a part of this project and look forward to meeting you and hearing your ideas! Should you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at landuse@dtna.org.