A team of graduate students from the University of Colorado Boulder's (CU) Masters of the Environment (MENV) program won the C40 Students Reinventing Cities competition to transform Lincoln Heights in Los Angeles, California into a sustainable and resilient community.
C40 is a global network of nearly 100 mayors from the world’s leading cities, representing over 700 million people and 25% of the global economy, united to confront the climate crisis. Committed to using an inclusive, science-based and collaborative approach to cut their share of emissions in half by 2030, C40 is helping the world to limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable, and resilient communities. Since 2020, the network has hosted the global Students Reinventing Cities competition each year to harness the power of youth to reimagine urban areas into green and thriving neighborhoods.
The CU Boulder team (left to right: Joe Josleyn, MENV Sustainable Food Systems ‘24; Mia Westphal, MENV Urban Resilience and Sustainability (URS) ‘25; Mikayla Zeitlin, MENV URS ‘24; and Benji Satloff, MENV URS ‘25)—self-titled “Nova Heights” in the spirit of innovation and progress—was drawn to the historic Lincoln Heights Jail site in Los Angeles, one of the competition’s 17 participating sites to choose from. After three months of proposal brainstorming, planning, development, and review, the team proudly put forth their submission: “Valverde Commons.”
Understanding the historical and cultural significance of the Lincoln Heights Jail—as well as the greater Lincoln Heights area—the team prioritized community values throughout the iteration process. Starting with key stakeholder engagement interviews, the team consulted community activists, urban developers, and local government representatives to inform site design that would authentically serve the local community. This engagement ensured that the team approached their work with a community-first mindset, especially important as an external student team that lacked personal ties to the community at hand. “Our goal for this project was to understand how we could best serve the local community, and then design a site that provides housing, community services and job opportunities. We hope Valverde Commons will stand for generations to support the people of Lincoln Heights,” said team member Benji Satloff.
The team then researched sustainable development principles such as social housing, energy efficiency, and nature-based solutions. Combining each team member’s respective expertise in urban planning, food systems, and sustainable development, they crafted an equitable and resilient design that both honors the site’s history and empowers its future. Their concept transforms the 210,800 square-foot brownfield into a vibrant, mixed-use community hub replete with affordable housing options, local food production, and economic development opportunities.
The team named the redeveloped site after Nancy Valverde, a local LGBTQ+ activist who was unjustly imprisoned at the Lincoln Heights Jail, in an effort to pay tribute to her legacy and foster a sense of place, healing, and community pride. The completed Valverde Commons plan boasts numerous urban green spaces, a market hall, a community resilience center, and an apartment complex.
The team presented their winning proposal to L.A. District 1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, Director of Environmental Justice, Lizzeth Rosales from Mayor Karen Bass’ office and urban development representatives, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback. Councilmember Hernandez highlighted the Valverde Commons proposal as intentional, feasible and inspiring for the Lincoln Heights Community and beyond. Councilmember Hernandez and the mayoral staff plan to circulate the team’s proposal to inspire new sustainable development projects in L.A.
The CU Boulder team’s success in the C40 competition could not have been made possible without the expertise and support from MENV program faculty Alice Reznickova, Megan McCarrol, William Shutkin and two other MENV teams that submitted strong proposals for sites in Salvador, Brazil and Copenhagen, Denmark. This rare and rewarding opportunity provided them with practical experience directly applicable to their aspiring professional careers in climate resilience planning, local government, and sustainable development. “This project gave me an amazing opportunity to apply all the concepts I was learning in the classroom to a real world case study. I plan to utilize this project and the proposal to enhance future projects and careers in urban development and sustainability planning” said team member Mia Westphal. The students’ achievement reflects their dedication and forward-thinking approach, exemplifying the transformative power of interdisciplinary collaboration in tackling complex urban challenges.
Alice Reznickova, Teaching Associate & Capstone Lead in MENV, who supported the logistics of the competition, highlighted the exceptional talent of MENV students: "I am beyond impressed with what the three groups accomplished in this competition - their collaboration brought three innovative proposals for sustainable, resilient, and community-centered approaches to urban redesign. This is the third competition MENV students won in the last year - along the AES Energy Innovation Challenge and the Net Impact Case Competition hosted by the CU Boulder Leeds School of business . It's exciting to see MENV emerge as a hub for innovation and student excellence at CU Boulder!"