Hello and welcome to Urban Utopias! My name is Cassandra O’Donnell, AICP. I am a graduate of the Community and Regional Planning program at Iowa State University and currently work as an Associate Planner at Washington County, OR.
In 2017, as a part of the honors program at ISU, I was paired with Dr. James Alleman, who suggested I look into Smart Cities, which led me to EPCOT, and eventually down a rabbit hole of Urban Utopias. I’ve worked as a research assistant with Dr. Monica Haddad in the CRP department, where I work on projects spanning public health in Iowa communities, water quality in the global south, and equity. In this position, I did the majority of the editing and layout design on the Downtown Adel 2020-2040 Plan.
Up until July 2023, I managed the planning department in the City of Tillamook, where I worked to manage the built environment for the good of both residents and visitors to the Oregon Coast Dairylands. This position gave me the opportunity to explore every aspect of small town planning, including managing a three-person department.
Since September 2023, I have worked in the Current Planning/Development Review Section of Washington County, OR. As an Associate Planner, my work is more narrowly focused than everything I was doing at Tillamook, but I’ve been able to dig into the development review process from all different angles. I primarily focus on the urban unincorporated area of the county, which, if it were a city, would be the second largest city in the state. I guide applicants through the complex land use process from initial conversations over the counter to pre-application conferences to applications to staff reports to hearings to decisions and conditions of approval. Much of my time is spent reviewing applications and preparing staff reports, but I occasionally squeeze in research projects to support the County’s ongoing process improvements and code revisions.
While I would like to return to the Urban Utopias project and have a growing list of potential articles, time and energy are a challenge with a full-time job, volunteer activities, and two cats to keep fed and entertained. That being said – if there’s a community you would like to see me cover, let me know!
As well as Drs. Alleman and Haddad, I’d like to thank my father, Thomas O’Donnell, professional journalist and very helpful editor. You can find his work on Iowa science here.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please drop me a line!
Urban Utopias 