2021 Scholarship Recipient
Emma González Roberts, MIT
We are pleased to announce the winner of the 2021 EDD Holzheimer Memorial Student Scholarship. Emma González Roberts of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (currently Director of Community Engagement and Organizing at Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation in Chicago) submitted the winning paper, titled "Rebuilding Main Street After COVID-19: Recommendations for and reflections from small and mid-sized American cities." The paper summarizes research conducted in the summer of 2020 in six U.S. cities in the northeast and midwest examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on downtown retail spaces. Based on a business survey and interviews with local officials, Emma’s paper offers practical recommendations for cities and their retail cores as they grapple with the fallout of business closures, commercial vacancy, and potential long-term decreases in downtown activity in the pandemic’s wake.
Honorable Mention
The committee also acknowledged the following submission with “Honorable Mention” designation: Grace Yixian Zhou & Avi Gandhi (Cornell University), “Short Term Rentals: Economic Implications and Local Policy Response."
2021 Scholarship Committee
The 2021 Holzheimer Scholarship committee was comprised of: Dr. Greg Schrock of Portland State University (Chair); Dr. Li (Kerry) Fang of the University of Florida; Dr. Henry Renski of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Corey Proctor of Forrest County, Mississippi; Katie McConnell of Arlington (VA) Economic Development; and Emily Egan of the City of Elmhurst, Illinois.