The GPEIG Globe September 2026
From the Co-Chairs Desk
Dear GPEIG Community,
This is our final annual newsletter, but also a beginning. Starting this month, we’re replacing the annual newsletter with something more alive: this monthly digest, an active website and LinkedIn presence, and spaces for your voices to steer what GPEIG does next. We’re not just changing formats; we’re changing who gets to shape this community and how often.
Many of you have told us, in different ways, that GPEIG can feel distant or inactive—between conferences, in responses to sociopolitical events, in creating a constant, predictable space for convening. We hear that, and we’re responding directly: an active LinkedIn and website; an updated case study library; a listserv that actually gets used; monthly blog posts by you, to address issues you find important, as they happen; a regular space for candid conversations. We’ve outlined our proposed structure below (see “GPEIG in Focus”), but we don’t want to lock this in without you. Tell us what’s missing. What would make you open this email every month? What conversations, resources, or connections are we not yet making space for? Your input should steer what comes next.
We also want to be transparent about a scheduling reality: this year’s ACSP conference breakfast slot leaves us only a short window for GPEIG’s in-person business meeting, following progressive changes (since 2024) to how ACSP has been structuring interest-group events. Rather than compress our full agenda into a rushed 30 minutes, we’re using our Breakfast Meeting in Pittsburgh on October 9 for a shorter welcome, awards, and incoming Co-Chair announcements, and moving deeper governance and planning conversations into new spaces we control: six bimonthly virtual Business Meetings and this monthly listserv digest. We hope this serves you better—more frequent, more accessible, and less tethered to a single crowded morning in October.
None of this happens without volunteers, and we want to name a few people who have stepped up right now: Samira Bashar, Ph.D. Candidate at University of Texas at Austin (LinkedIn), who has taken charge of website updates; Yuye Zhou, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Planning at UC Berkeley (LinkedIn), who built Project BRidGE under Shruti’s direction; Yingying Lyu, Assistant Professor of Planning at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (LinkedIn), who is taking on our new Annual Report; and Andrea Restrepo-Mieth, Assistant Professor at Rutgers University (LinkedIn), who is revamping our case study library. Thank you all. We still need more hands to tell the stories, challenges, and achievements of GPEIG members: we’re actively recruiting volunteers for the website and LinkedIn teams—even two or three hours a month makes a real difference. If that’s you, reach out to either of us directly.
We have begun a new academic year, but continue to wrestle with the same uncertain, hostile, inward-facing political and institutional landscapes across regions, disciplines, and institutions that have been obstructing the work of planning scholars and practitioners. Meanwhile, devastating—and unsurprising—environmental hazards demand support, voice, and collective action. At the heels of the World Planning Schools Congress 2026, however, we are certain of the need for, and promise of, cross-border solidarities to continue our task of pursuing just, inclusive, and sustainable communities through global planning education and engagement. The GPEIG community has been more than an interest group for many of its members—a space of belonging, critical reflection, and solidarity for scholars, practitioners, and students navigating the complex intersection of place, power, and planning across the globe. We hope our actions mark the start of fulfilling the promises we made at our Business Meeting at ACSP last year: to build continuity (website, LinkedIn, monthly listserv digest), visibility (Project BRidGE, see below), and connectivity (bimonthly meetings) across our shared work.
With gratitude and momentum,
Shruti Syal & Susmita Rishi
GPEIG Co-Chairs
GPEIG in Focus: A New Chapter in How We Connect
We’re excited to introduce GPEIG’s new communications strategy—a shift designed to make our community more visible, connected, responsive, and easier to be part of, all year round.
We’ve heard the same themes again and again: our website and LinkedIn page have untapped potential, and our blog and case study library have been quiet too long. Our members also experience GPEIG differently across career stages, and we believe a clearer, multi-year plan would help everyone see where they fit in.
So here’s where we’re headed. We’re building a communications infrastructure with five connected parts: a refreshed website with monthly blog posts drawn from member submissions (three volunteers sought!); an active LinkedIn presence with frequent updates and reposting of member content (one volunteer sought!); a monthly listserv digest highlighting what’s new on the website and LinkedIn, curated by the Co-Chairs; continued ACSP session coordination for visibility at the annual conference; and, starting January 2027, a targeted Annual Report featuring the Co-Chairs’ message, member survey results, and the year’s highlights—distinct from our regular website and LinkedIn posts.
We also want to keep our member list unified across the listserv, LinkedIn, and Project BRidGE (more on that in our October newsletter), so that wherever you engage with GPEIG, you’re part of the same connected community. This is just the beginning, and we’d love your help shaping it as it grows.
Fill the member survey (in the October digest!) and inform our Annual Report and next steps. Tell the GPEIG community the stories you think they need to hear, via the blog and listserv digest. Follow and tag us on LinkedIn. Join our sessions at ACSP (more in the October newsletter). Add your projects to Project BRidGE and grow your (and our) global community.
Meet the GPEIG CREW
The people behind the planning — get to know our committees.
CO-Chairs
Shruti Syal
Co-Chair (2025–2027) · Assistant Professor, VCU School of Government and Public Affairs
A social-ecological systems researcher with 15+ years of experience across India, Oman, Canada, and the U.S., Shruti studies cities as complex systems through large-scale SES and network mapping, focusing on WaSH and NbS in Delhi and green infrastructure in Richmond.
Nifty fact: Shruti’s sole source of Aura Points may be her pup’s Insta account.
Susmita Rishi
Co-Chair (2024–2026) · Associate Professor, Western Washington University
An engaged urban scholar whose research sits at the intersection of urban design, informality, and southern theory, Susmita centers spatial justice and marginalized voices in planning practice.
Nifty fact: She received K-State’s inaugural APDesign Faculty Engagement Champions award in 2024.
Coming Up in Future Issues
Elections Committee
Communications Committee
Bylaws & Membership Committee
Gill-Chin Lim Student Travel Award Committee
Best Dissertation on International Planning Award Committee
Best Student Paper on International Planning Committee
Best Student Case Study Committee
Best Faculty Journal Article Committee
Outstanding Service to GPEIG Award Committee
GPEIG Student Reps
Stay Connected & Get Involved
GPEIG runs on the energy of its members — here’s how to plug in this month:
Follow us on LinkedIn
Get real-time updates, member news, and global planning conversations.
Visit the GPEIG Website
Updates ongoing all Fall 2026 — check back often!
Tell Us What You Think: Member Survey
Google Form link coming soon — TBD.
Share Your News
Google Form link coming soon — TBD.
Join Project BRidGE
Explore our living network map of global planning collaborators, and enter your information here to join the map.