Transportation as Catalyst: Creating Civic Value Through Infrastructure
AIAU26-PAKC01
Included in subscription
1.5
LU
Live course date: 12/08/2026 | 02:00 PM
Description
What happens when a transportation project does more than move people? This course explores two case studies, the World Trade Center redevelopment in New York City and the Springfield Transportation Center in Illinois, to illustrate how complex transportation challenges can unlock broader urban value. Participants will learn how transportation planning drives development outcomes, influencing urban structure, architecture, and public space. Topics include coordinating diverse stakeholders, navigating layered funding, delivering long-duration projects, and keeping systems operational during construction. The session also highlights how multimodal hubs can become civic anchors that strengthen access, economic vitality, and community identity.
Learning Objectives
Understand how transportation infrastructure forms the foundation for urban design and development.
Evaluate how civic transportation projects can be transformed into destinations that reconnect communities and support reinvestment.
Analyze stakeholder coordination, governance, and funding strategies required for complex infrastructure delivery.
Gain lessons in phasing, operations, and public interface to improve the outcomes of transportation-led projects during design and construction.
Presented in partnership with the Public Architects Committee (PAKC).

Ludmilla Pavlova is an architect, planner and project manager with over 30 years of professional experience, over two decades of which was dedicated to the University of Massachusetts community. She has contributed to and managed a wide spectrum of complex, multi-million-dollar projects, including master plans, carbon mitigation plans, historic preservation and building feasibility studies, as well as the design and construction management of corporate, municipal, and academic facilities for science, the humanities and student life.
Mahbuba Khan is a former Lead Architect at US Army Corps and Capitol Project Manager at City of Dallas, TX. She is the founding president of MnKhan Architects, an MWBE firm focused in public projects in community, institutional and Federal level.
She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from a sister school of Texas A&M from Bangladesh and Masters in Public Administration from University of North Texas. Her 25 years experience includes work at international firms, own practice, City of Dallas Bond, Federal healthcare and mission critical programs along with serving various AIA board positions.
Robert Eisenstat, FAIA is a nationally recognized architect, planner, and leader of transportation and infrastructure projects. His career spans over fifty years, beginning at distinguished private firms in San Francisco, New York, and Rio de Janeiro. He joined the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a staff architect in 1990, and over 32 years rose through the institution to become Chief Architect in 2013, a position he held until his retirement in 2022.
His achievements at the Port Authority include leading master planning for the new Port Authority Bus Terminal ($10 billion program), directing award-winning design efforts for the Newark Liberty International Airport Terminal B International Arrivals Facility, the Harrison PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) commuter rail station, the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, and co-directing the post-9/11 downtown Manhattan transportation planning and architectural design of the temporary World Trade Center PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) commuter rail station.
His individual honors include the 2022 AIA National Award for Excellence in Public Architecture and a 2012 AIA National Presidential Citation for World Trade Center Restoration.
Kaitlin Streyle is a Principal Architect and technically focused project leader with extensive experience managing complex projects across both the public and private sectors. Drawing on a background that combines architectural expertise with project management leadership, she works closely with clients to define project goals, establish priorities, and navigate constraints to deliver successful outcomes on schedule and within budget.
Kaitlin has led projects of varying scales and typologies, with particular expertise in large, complex developments requiring phased implementation, extensive stakeholder engagement, and multidisciplinary coordination. Her experience includes project planning and scope development, feasibility studies, team leadership, client facilitation, schedule and budget management, and code compliance review.
Known for her collaborative approach and strong technical foundation, Kaitlin excels at bringing together diverse project teams, aligning stakeholders around shared objectives, and guiding projects from concept through implementation. Her work emphasizes strategic problem-solving, clear communication, and the delivery of practical, high-performing design solutions that meet both client and community needs.