The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) marked World Town Planning Day 2025 on November 6, with an event centered on building an age-friendly Hawaiʻi. The program, supported by the American Planning Association’s Hawaiʻi chapter, brought together students, alumni, faculty and planning professionals for an evening of networking and discussion.
Hawaiʻi House Speaker Nadine Nakamura, a DURP alumna, opened the public forum, which highlighted how the importance of long-term planning can ensure a resilient future for Hawaiʻi.
An interdisciplinary panel organized by Associate Professor Suwan Shen explored issues ranging from public health and aging services to community design. Nargis Sultana, UH Mānoa DURP alumna and PhD candidate in public health, moderated the panel, which included Caroline Cadirao, Hawaiʻi Executive Office of Aging; Kealiʻi Lopez, AARP Hawaiʻi; Jordan Lewis, UH Mānoa Center on Aging; and Emma French, assistant professor in DURP. The discussion examined how state agencies, nonprofits and local partners can better collaborate to meet the needs of Hawaiʻi’s growing aging population.
“I have always found World Town Planning Day and the other events DURP puts on to be very interesting and a great place to network and talk,” PhD student Candler Weinberg said.
The event also featured the department’s annual awards ceremony. Alumni Audrey Awaya and Erin Wade received the 2025 Dinell Outstanding Alumni Award, and Scott Glenn, senior advisor in the Office of the Governor, was honored as Planner Who Made a Difference. Scholarships supported by local planning firms were presented to urban and regional planning students.
“It was inspiring to see students, alumni and professionals in the same room discussing critical issues facing Hawaiʻi’s communities,” said Chrislyn DeMattos, DURP program specialist and event organizer.
Tom Fee, vice president of HHF Planners, a local firm, called the awards ceremony “very successful” and Dean Denise Konan of UH Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences enjoyed a “spectacular evening and celebration.”
DURP is housed in UH Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences.
