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Samina Quraeshi's office in the School of
Architecture's Center for Urban and Community Design
resembles a triage unit. Students and faculty from
disciplines across the University of Miami -
including medicine, architecture, history,
geography, art, law, business, and communications -
mingle with local government and community agency
representatives, property owners and residents of
Miami's West Coconut Grove.
Signs bearing quotes from legendary violinist
Yehudi Menuhin and British anthropologist Gregory
Bateson share wall space with hand drawn maps of
this historically black community, photographs of
its residents, and watercolor renderings
illustrating the lively urban oasis that this
decaying urban neighborhood could become.
Orchestrating this curious mix is Quraeshi, the
University's Henry R. Luce Professor in Family and
Community, a joint appointment between the Schools
of Architecture and Medicine. Since joining the
University in 1998, Quraeshi's efforts have focused
on establishing the Initiatives for Urban and Social
Ecology, or INUSE, an interactive, multidisciplinary
program that is the University's newest
community-building effort.
"I have found here an energetic and multicultural
community, and I'm impressed by the desire of the
faculty, administration and local citizens to find
solutions to our community's societal problems,"
says Quraeshi. "Our mission with INUSE," she
continues, "is to foster an interdisciplinary
program of research, education, and outreach that
supports the people, places and processes essential
for creating and sustaining family-centered
communities."
Working primarily in West Coconut Grove, Qureashi
is focusing University resources on small-scale
goals that add up to larger changes. From legal and
business aid clinics to urban design and affordable
housing strategies to plans for the School of
Medicine to facilitate better access to health and
human services, these INUSE interactions are
positioning the University of Miami to be a catalyst
for positive change.
This work has been made possible by the
generosity of two foundations. The John S. and James
L. Knight Foundation has provided funding to support
the University's outreach efforts in West Coconut
Grove. The Henry R. Luce Foundation's funding for
the Luce Professorship in Family and Community has
encouraged the University's efforts to work across
disciplines in the community.
"Due to large influxes of immigrants, Miami is
dealing daily with social, economic, and health
issues such as poor access to health care, language
barriers, and the disintegration of traditional
family structures," Quraeshi states. "As such, the
country is looking to South Florida, as a
representative of the 'new' America, to see how we
address these challenges and learn to live and work
together. I can think of no other city - and no
other university - more appropriate for the Luce
Professorship in Family and Community than Miami."
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