Antonio Raciti Curriculum Vitae Office: 221 McCord Hall The University of Memphis Memphis, TN, 38152

Home: 172 Kimbrough Place, Apt. 402 Memphis, TN, 38104

Telephone Numbers: US mobile: 901-354-4313 US office: 901-678-4969 Italy mobile: (+39) 348 5512071

Current E-Mail: Work: [email protected] Home: [email protected]

1. Education April 2012

Doctor of Philosophy in Architectural Engineering and Urban Design, University of Catania (Catania, Italy). Dissertation title, “Il Progetto come pratica sociale. Due esperienze di progetto-azione partecipato nella valle del Simeto”, (Design as social practice. Two community design research experiences in the Simeto Valley), Supervised by Professor(s) Piera Busacca and Filippo Gravagno.

January 2007

Master in Architectural Engineering and Urban Design, University of Catania, (Catania, Sicily). Graduation with Honors (110/110 score on a national test). Thesis title, “Gli insediamenti abusivi dell’Oasi del Simeto. Studi propedeutici per l’analisi d’incidenza del piano ecologico-ambientale”, (The illegal settlements of the Simeto River Oasis. Preliminary research for an ecological environmental rehabilitation plan). Supervised by Professor(s) Piera Busacca, Filippo Gravagno and Antonio Puglia.

July 1999

Diploma in Advanced Science (5-year degree). Galileo Galilei Institute (Catania, Italy), Graduation with Honors (100/100 score on a national test).

2. Academic Positions August 2014 Present

Assistant Professor in City and Regional Planning, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy (SUAPP), The University of Memphis (Memphis, TN, USA).

January 2012 – May 2014

Visiting Assistant Professor in City and Regional Planning, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy (SUAPP), The University of Memphis (Memphis, TN, USA).

October 2009 – July 2010

Visiting Research Scholar in City and Regional Planning, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy (SUAPP), The University of Memphis (Memphis, TN, USA).

3. Grants 2013

Principal Investigator, “Planning to Capitalize on the Regional Greenprint: Development of the West Memphis Eco-Park and its Environs”, $50.000, funded by Shelby County Government, Office of Sustainability using Strengthening Communities Program funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

4. Awards October 2008

Young Scholars Award for Outstanding Thesis on “Knowledge and Protection of Sicilian Hazard Areas” awarded by Accademia Gioenia. http://www3.unict.it/gioenia/ Accademia Gioenia is one of the oldest foundations in Sicily, promoting scientific innovation, University of Catania (Catania, Italy).

5. Post Graduate Research Training Activities July 2010

Co-convener and participant, Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Ph.D. Workshop: “Spatial Justice: Planning and the Distribution of the Luxury of Space”, Seili Island, Turku, Finland, organized by Helsinki’s University of Technology (Helsinki, Finland), Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden), Luleå University of Technology (Luleå Sweden), University of Turku (Turku, Finland).

6. Publications Chapters in Books 2007

“Spazi di ricerca-azione tra i caratteri dell’identità meridionale”, (Creating action-research projects opportunities working with southern Italian identities), with Busacca P., Saija L., Regalbuto G., in The 4th Edition of the International on Mediterranean Cities, Catania, Italy: Liriti Editore.

2008

“Sulle sponde del Simeto. Strade devianti verso la modernizzazione”, (On the

2011

Simeto Banks. Misleading Paths toward Sicilian development), Dei Paesaggi di Ellenia e di altre storie simili, edited by Filipo Gravagno, Vol. 2, pp. 198-261, Catania, Italy: Ed.It. “Community organizing e pianificazione”, (Community organizing and planning), with Reardon K. M., in Comunità e Progetto nella Valle del Simeto. La mappa partecipata come pratica per lo sviluppo locale, edited by Laura Saija, pp. 19-26, Adrano, Italy: Edizioni Didasco.

Forthcoming

Migliorare senza Demolire Foote Homes, in Saija L., La Ricerca-Azione in Urbanistica, Franco Angeli.

Forthcoming

“The Green Machine Mobile Food Market: An Innovative Response to Inner City Food Security” book chapter accepted for publication in The Handbook of Community Well-Being, Rhonda Phillips and Cecilia Wong editors, to be published in the ISQOLS/Springer Handbook Series, target date: late 2015

Forthcoming

“People’s Inventions and Food Deserts in Memphis: The Implementation of the Green Machine Community Project”, book chapter accepted for publication in Memphis Barbecue Tofu: Foodways, Culture, and Identity in the Mid-South, Wanda Rushing and Michele Scott editors, to be published by the University of Arkansas Press, target date: 2016.

Articles in Journals 2009

“Possibilities for participation in Librino, Italy”, with Saija L., in Regions: The Newsletter of the Regional Studies Association, Number 273, pp. 13-14.

2010

“Universities supporting effective citizen action: Comparing experiences in challenging landscapes”, with Saija L., in Journal of Landscape Studies, Number 3, pp. 87-95.

2012

“Planning under the lion’s paw: a Memphis tale”, with Saija L. and Westendorff D., in Progressive Planning, Number 195, pp. 18-21.

Forthcoming

“Building collective knowledge through design: the making of the contrada Nicolò riparian garden along the Simeto river (Sicily, Italy)”, accepted for publication in Landscape Research.

Forthcoming

“The Struggle for the Future of Public Housing in Memphis, Tennessee: Reflections on HUD’s Choice Neighborhood Planning Program”, with Reardon K., Lambert-Pennington K., submitted for publication in Cities Special issues: “Housing Transformation”.

7. Post Graduate Research September 2009 – Present

Contributing Research Faculty to the Vance Avenue Collaborative – an ongoing community-university partnership between the UM Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning, (Memphis, TN) and the Vance Avenue Collaborative).

January 2012 – Present

Planning and Design Coordinator for the Green Machine Mobile Food Market Project. Responsible for the overall management of this $300,000, multi-party food security planning and implementation project.

January 2012 – May 2013

Contributing Research Faculty to the Brownsville on the Move – a partnership between the Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning at The University of Memphis, (Memphis, TN) and the City of Brownsville to produce a comprehensive plan.

August 2012 – May 2013

Contributing Research Faculty to the University District’s participatory revitalization process – an ongoing community-university partnership between the Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning at The University of Memphis and an extensive network of neighborhood associations in the University District.

2008 – 2011

Co-Facilitator for the Simeto River Valley Participatory Action Research Project – an ongoing partnership involving the LabPEAT (Department of Architecture, University of Catania, Catania, Italy) and ViviSimeto/Comitato Civico Salute e Ambiente di Adrano Coalition. A project that stopped the construction of an environmentally threatening incinerator in a fragile area, produced a historic river management agreement among local and regional governments, and led to the creation of two research/teaching gardens on former brownfield sites.

2010 – 2011

Project Leader for Participatory Design of Public Spaces in the Town of Fiumefreddo (Sicily, Italy). A jointly funded community planning grant by the City of Fiumefreddo and the University of Catania.

2007

Project Leader for the Sustainable Urban Regeneration Program in Southern Europe (Sub–Project approved and financed under the framework of the “Progresdec/EDSP Steps” European Regional Development Fund INTERREG III C Initiative.

8. Conferences/Presentations Referred Conferences July 2015

Reclaiming Urban Design as a Public Enterprise, The Vance Avenue Collaborative and Urban Transformation in Memphis (TN, USA), a paper will be presented at the 2015 AESOP Conference, Definite Space – Fuzzy Responsibility.

November 2014

“The making and unmaking of cities in the American South”, paper presented at 2014 ACSP 54th Annual Conference, BIG IDEAS, GLOBAL IMPACTS, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Pennsylvania, Local Hosts: University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

July 2014

“The Challenge of Practicing Justice: Lessons Learned by a CommunityUniversity Partnership in Memphis, TN, USA”, paper presented at the 2014 AESOP Conference, From Control to Co-Evolution, Utrecht/Delft, The Netherlands, (co-presenter with Dr. Laura Saija).

November 2012

“Promoting Grass-Roots Urban Practices through Community Design”, paper presented at the 2012 ACSP Conference, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

July 2012

“Social Practices and Design”, a paper presented at the 2012 Association of European Schools of Planning Conference, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey.

July 2011

“Questioning Planning”, a paper presented at the 2011 World Planning Schools Congress, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia.

May 2011

“How to Make Things Happen: The Contrada Nicolò Community Design Initiative”, and “Promoting Economic Development through Regional Cooperation, Planning, and Development”, Papers presented at the 2011 Planners Network National Conference, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.

July 2010

“The Memphis Action Research Center: Amplifying the Voices of the Poor in the Bluff City”, a paper presented at the 2010 AESOP Ph.D. Workshop: “Spatial Justice: Planning and Distributing the Luxury of Space”, University of Turku, Seili island, Turku, Finland.

February 2010

“Creating a Theory for Effective Citizen Action in Politically Charged Landscapes”, a paper presented at the 4th AESOP Young Academics Meeting, “Landscapes of Planning”, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czechoslovakia Republic.

February 2009

“Dialogue or Fight? Looking for Strategies in Librino (Italy)”, with Saija L., a paper presented at the 3rd AESOP Young Academics Meeting, “Planning as a Rear View Mirror or Crystal Ball Activity”. Diversities of Planning Cultures, Traditions, and Identities Culture, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria.

Invited Lectures and Presentations April 2014

“Promoting the Just City: Participatory Action Research with Residents of Public Housing” 2nd Social Work Symposium at the University of Memphis, Social Work Practice: at the Intersection of Advocacy and Ethics, The University of Memphis, (co-presenter with Prof. Ken Reardon).

December 2013

“ENLARGING THE TABLE: Strengthening the capacity of communitybased organizations through participatory planning and design”, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

October 2012

“Environmental Community Design Experiences in the Simeto Valley (Sicily, Italy)”, 2012 Tennessee American Planning Association (TAPA) Fall Conference, Enhancing Community Assets, DoubleTree Downtown Hotel, Memphis, TN, USA.

June 2011

“Design as Social Practice”, an invited lecture presented to HESP 3 (Higher Education in Spatial Planning) Symposium, ETH Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zürich, Switzerland.

9. Academic and Community Service January 2015 – Present

Serving as Committee Member for the Establishment of an Undergraduate Program in Urban Affairs within the Division of City and Regional Planning at the University of Memphis

March 2013 – Present

Memphis Heritage Board Member. http://www.memphisheritage.org/

September 2009 – Present

Contributing Research Faculty to the Vance Avenue Collaborative Action Research Project. Co-authored the Preliminary Planning Framework for the Vance Avenue Community and the Vance Avenue Community Transformation Plan.

February 2013

Co-Organizer of the 7th AESOP Young Academics Annual Meeting, “RESILIENCE – Rethinking Sustainability in Urban Planning and Rural Development from a Social, Ecological and Economic Perspective”, February 28, 2012, hosted by University of Natural Resources & Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.

February 2011 February 2013

Coordination Team Member (February 2010 – February 2011), Chair (February 2011- July 2012), and Senior Advisor 2012 – February 2013) for the AESOP Young Academics Network. http://www.aesop-youngacademics.net/ The AESOP YA network is a newly established organization that every young planning scholar in Europe is invited to join. AESOP Young Academics’ Network is designed to support planning scholars who have recently entered doctoral or post-doctoral programs or have accepted their first academic positions. AESOP Young Academics’ Network activities compliment AESOP’s other program activities. The AESOP YA Network is organized by a Coordination Team (CT) of five elected members.

July 2012

Organizer of the “Writing Workshop for Young Scholars Academic Roundtable Discussion on Publishing”. Among the invited guests were: Deirdre Dunne (Elsevier – Geography, Planning and Development) and Heather Campbell (Senior Editor of the Journal of Planning Theory and Practice), Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey.

July 2012

Organizer, “Planning to Achieve/Planning to Avoid: Purposes and Impacts of Planning and Planning Research”, AESOP Ph.D. Workshop, hosted by Izmir

Institute of High Technology, July 2012, (Izmir, Turkey). April 2012

Organizer, “Communication and Planning: Goals, Challenges and Possibilities”, 6th AESOP Young Academic Meeting April 18, 2012, hosted by The University of Reading, Reading, UK.

January 2009 – December 2011

Ph.D. Representative; Program in “Architectural, Urban and Environmental Design and Rehabilitation”, University of Catania, (Catania, Italy).

October 2011

Co-Organizer, “Community Organizing for ‘Comitati Civici Siciliani’ Regional Network”, lecture given by Wade Rathke, (San Cataldo, Caltanissetta, Italy).

January 2011

Core organizing group member, “Remaking Borders: The first EastBordNet term, whether conceptual, aesthetic and/or empirical”, hosted by University of Catania and organized by EastBordNet, (Catania, Italy).

January 2011

Organizer, “Gray Spacing the City. A New Urban Order”, a public meeting and lecture given at the University of Catania by Professor Oren Yiftachel, Ben Gurion University, (Catania, Italy).

June 2009

Co-Organizer, “From the Local to the Global: Organizing Communities for Participatory Local Development”, a three-day workshop conducted by Professor Kenneth Reardon and Wade Rathke, co-sponsored by the University of Catania and the ViviSimeto Partnership, (Paternò, Catania, Italy).

March 2009

Co-Organizer, “Re-Energizing Utopia – LabPEAT and Cornell University Joint Planning Charette for Librino”, a one-semester, on-line research collaboration and exchange involving UniCt Urban Planning Graduate Students and Cornell Landscape Architecture Graduate Students which included a week-long workshop in Catania, (Catania, Italy).

November 2008

Co-Organizer, “Housing for Everybody: The Legacy of Franco Marescotti and the Social Housing Movement in Catania”, National Conference, “La Casa della Città”, University of Catania, (Catania, Italy).

July 2007

Co-Organizer, “Avviare Progetti di Comunità”, a week-long international Ph.D. Workshop organized by The University of Catania, La Sapienza University in Rome, Politecnico di Bari, and The University of Catania, (Catania, Italy).

May 2006

Co-Organizer, “La città che discute. Quale rapporto con la ferrovia e il mare?” a community-university collaboration involving the National Network for Participation sponsored by the City of Catania, LabPEAT- La Casa della Città, University of Catania (Catania, Italy).

10. Teaching and Tutoring

Graduate Level Teaching Experience Fall 2014

Instructor, “Intro to Planning” (core course), Master in City and Regional Planning, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.

Fall 2014

Instructor, “Site Planning” (core course), Master in City and Regional Planning, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.

Spring 2014 Spring 2013

Instructor, “Ecology and Planning” (elective), Master in City and Regional Planning Program, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.

Spring 2015 Fall 2014 Fall 2012

Instructor, “Comprehensive Planning Studio” (core course), Master in City and Regional Planning, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.

Spring 2014 Spring 2013 Spring 2012

Instructor, “Special Projects Studio” (core course), Master in City and Regional Planning, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.

Spring 2015 Fall 2013 Fall 2012 Spring 2012

Instructor, “Urban Design” (elective), Master in City and Regional Planning, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.

2007-2008 2008-2009 2010-2011

Graduate Teaching Assistant, “Urban Planning” (graduate core course), Architectural Engineering 5-year Degree, University of Catania (Catania, Italy), Instructor: Piera Busacca, Professor of Architecture.

2007-2008 2008-2009 2010-2011

Graduate Teaching Assistant, “Urban Design Studio” (core course), Architectural Engineering 5-year Degree, University of Catania, (Catania, Italy), Instructor: Piera Busacca, Professor of Architecture.

Master’s Thesis Advising 2014-2015

Master Thesis Supervisor: Deborah La Rue, Tiny Houses for the Homeless? Exploring Possibilities in Memphis, Tennessee.

2012-2013

Master Thesis Supervisor: Gene Charles Burse, Reusing Shopping Centers in Sprawled Communities, The Frayser Case.

2013-2014

Master Thesis Supervisor: Bridget McCall, Tactical Urbanism on the UpTrend in Memphis: How Everyone (But Not Just Anyone) Can Do-ItYourself in the Political Economy.

2012-2013

Master Thesis Supervisor: Kwasi A. Agyakwa, Planning for Small Urban Watersheds, The Case of the Desoto Bayou in Memphis, TN, The University of Memphis.

2012-2013

Master Degree Thesis Supervisor: Zachary L. Hunter,

Historic Preservation and Neighborhood Change, The University of Memphis 2011-2012

Master Degree Thesis Co-Supervisor: Grazia Speranza, “La salvaguardia dei valori ambientali attraverso la perequazione: variante di piano per la penisola Maddalena di Siracusa”, University of Catania

International Teaching Programs June 2014

Instructor (Co-Instructors: Professors Charlie Santo and Laura Saija), “UniCT-UoM Community Planning and Design Workshop”, Sicily, IT, a series of pre-field preparation classes followed by a ten-day field research and professional practice exchange with urban planners and policy-makers from Memphis and Catania, The University of Memphis.

April – May 2013

Co-Instructor (with Professor Laura Saija), “Sicily – US Mid-South ServiceLearning Workshop”, a 10-day Community Design Workshop focused on the rehabilitation of the Foot Homes Public Housing Complex in Memphis, TN, The University of Memphis

March 2013

Fieldwork Co-Instructor (with Professor Sharon Wrobel), Cuba: Comparative Public Administration Program, a series of pre-field preparation classes followed by a seven-day study trip to the Greater Havana Region, The University of Memphis.

June 2012

Co-Instructor (with Professors Charlie Santo, Katherine Lambert-Pennington and Laura Saija), “UniCT-UoM Community Planning and Design Workshop”, Sicily, IT, a series of pre-field preparation classes followed by a ten-day field research and professional practice exchange with urban planners and policymakers from Memphis and Catania, The University of Memphis.

March 2009

Co-Instructor (with Professor Laura Saija and Deni Ruggeri), “Reenergizing utopia – LabPEAT and Cornell University Joint Research Effort for Librino”, a joint studio project (Dipartimento di Architettura e Urbanistica, Università degli Studi di Catania, Catania, Italy and Department of Landscape Architecture, Cornell University, (Ithaca, NY, USA)

March 2007

Co-Instructor (with Professors Laura Saija and Filippo Gravagno), “A Week for San Cristoforo Neighborhood: Community Environmental Design Workshop” for undergraduate students, organized by LabPEAT, University of Catania, (Catania, Italy,) and Cornell University, (Ithaca, NY, USA).

11. Post Graduate Professional Experiences 2010 – 2012

2012 – 2008

Member of the technical consulting staff who prepared the “Comprehensive Plan” of Francofonte – Pursued within an ongoing collaboration between the City of Francofonte and the Architecture Department, University of Catania.   Member of the technical consulting staff who prepared the “Comprehensive

Plan” of Fiumefreddo di Sicilia- Pursued within an ongoing collaboration between the City of Fiumefreddo di Sicilia and the Architecture Department, University of Catania. 2009 – 2007

Member of the Technical Planning Staff for the City of Fiumefreddo di Sicilia, that prepared the “Executive Prescriptions” for the Comprehensive Plan of Fiumefreddo di Sicilia.

2008

Planner for the “Scicli Tourist Development Plan”, City of Scicli, (Scicli, Ragusa, Italy).

2008

Member of the Graphic Design Team for the permanent exhibit on “Housing for Everybody. The Legacy of Franco Marescotti”, La Casa della Città, University of Catania, (Catania, Italy).

2007

Planner for the “San Pietro Clarenza Commercial Development Plan”, (S. P. Clarenza, Catania, Italy).

2005

Member of Fabrizio Russo’s Technical Planning and Design Staff, prepared design proposals for 5 Squares in Catania – European Design Competition.

2005

Member of Fabrizio Russo’s Technical Planning and Design Staff. Prepared Alternative Designs for the Letojanni (Messina) Waterfront.

12. Personal Skills and Competences Mother Tongue

Italian

Other Languages

English (Excellent speaking and listening skills; good writing skills) Spanish (Good reading, listening skills, and speaking skills) French (Good reading and listening skills; fair speaking skills)

Computer Skills

Excellent skills in: Internet searching, vector graphics and digital imaging (AutoCAD, CorelDraw Graphic Suite, Adobe Graphic suite), Digital Text Editing and Publishing (QuarkXPress), Microsoft Office Professional, GIS Applications.