Lucina Alcala Navarro is a graduate student of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan. Her concentration is in Housing, Community and Economic Development. She received her BA from UC Berkeley in 2010 with a major in ISF and with an area of focus in Environmental Sustainability Planning and a minor in Urban and Regional Planning. Lucina wrote her thesis on the Greening of Detroit and became passionate about the opportunities for this shrinking city which inspired her to pursue her masters degree in Michigan. Lucina is grateful for the ISF major because it gave her the opportunity to explore her passions in planning and study abroad at the University of Sussex in the UK.
Upon graduating from college she worked for two years with Building Healthy Communities (BHC), a grassroots initiative in East Salinas. During her time in Salinas, she was elected as Vice-Chair commissioner for the City of Salinas Traffic and Transportation commission. Lucina also participated in the California Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health (CaLAPH) implementing a Health in All Policies element to the Monterey County general plan to improve social equity and reduce health disparities in East Salinas and throughout Monterey County.
During the school year, Lucina is a Graduate Student Researcher for Lesli Hoey, assistant planning professor at the University of Michigan. This summer, Lucina is a Development Intern at Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association Inc. (CHISPA) in Salinas, CA. Lucinas goal is to become an AICP accredited planner and work with low-income communities of color in policymaking, to help shape land use, and to find ways to design cities and spaces that promote healthy living that is economically and socially just for its residents.