Henry Oppong-Sem Ayakwah | Urban Planner · Researcher

About

I am a PhD candidate in Architecture, Urbanism & Built Environment at Morgan State University (expected 2027) and an urban planning practitioner with over seven years of public-sector planning experience, including development review work with Baltimore County Government from October 2018 to February 2026. My research focuses on pedestrian safety, walkability, and active travel — specifically how street design and land use decisions affect how people move through cities.

As Faculty in the Department of Geography and Environmental Planning at Towson University, I teach courses built around actual places. Students do field documentation, policy analysis, and design work in Baltimore, Towson, and the surrounding region — communities most of them already live in or move through every day.

In Ghana, I founded GreenPulse Ghana, a national environmental organisation dedicated to land and waterway restoration across all 16 regions. I am also developing a suite of education and civic technology initiatives, including Nyansapo and VoltaFlo, aimed at expanding opportunity for Ghanaian students and diaspora communities.

Academic & Professional Affiliations

MSU

Morgan State University PhD Candidate · Architecture, Urbanism & Built Environment · Expected 2027

TU

Towson University Faculty · Department of Geography and Environmental Planning · 2022–Present

BCG

Baltimore County Government Former Development Review Planner · Department of Planning · October 2018 – February 2026

VT

Virginia Tech Master of Urban & Regional Planning · 2018

SM

St. Mary's Seminary & University Humanities, Philosophy

Research

My work focuses on pedestrian safety, walkability, and active travel — asking how street design, land use, and the built environment shape the daily choices and safety of people on foot.

Teaching Portfolio

At Towson, the coursework begins with field observation. Students document real places, analyze real plans, and propose interventions in communities most of them already live in or pass through every week.

TU

Towson University Department of Geography and Environmental Planning August 2022 – Present

Code	Title	Since	Load
MTRO 101	Introduction to Metropolitan Studies Core undergraduate survey of how metropolitan regions form, function, and change, examining governance, land use, transportation, housing, and equity across urban, suburban, and rural geographies.	2022	9 credits / semester
MTRO 470	Urbanization of African Cities An upper-division examination of African urban development, colonial legacies, rapid urbanisation, informal settlements, infrastructure gaps, and emerging planning responses across the continent.	—	Upper Division

Teaching

Student Work Showcase

Selected commentaries and student presentations from MTRO 101 at Towson University, drawing on field research, urban observation, and applied planning proposals.

TU

Towson University · MTRO 101 Department of Geography and Environmental Planning Fall 2022 – Present

The following commentaries drew on field research and planning proposals developed by undergraduate students in Towson University's MTRO 101 class. The opinions expressed in each piece are the author's. Student contributions are acknowledged within each article.

Urban Planning & Equity · MTRO 101

The Space Between Buildings Tells You Who a City Is For

Field documentation of spatial inequality in Towson, Beltsville, and Jersey City, examining how planning decisions produce neighbourhoods resourced very differently depending on who lives there.

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Transportation & Urban Design · MTRO 101

Towson Should Trade Its Street Parking for Bike Lanes

Student photography and field analysis of York Road documenting the parking-versus-bike-lane tradeoff in downtown Towson and the case for a protected cycling network connecting the university to the broader community.

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Climate Resilience & Infrastructure · MTRO 101

We Keep Building for the Weather We Used to Have

Student proposals for climate-adaptive infrastructure in Baltimore and Annapolis, addressing stormwater, coastal flooding, and the gap between the extreme weather we are experiencing and the infrastructure we keep rebuilding.

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Student Presentations & Posters

Slide decks and design posters produced by MTRO 101 student teams. Presented in full as submitted, with student-authored analysis, photography, and policy proposals.

Comparative Analysis · MTRO 101

Reading the City & Three Urban Problems, Two Solutions

Comparative study of Ellicott City, Jersey City, and Towson across topography, density, and mobility, followed by community and policy solutions for flooding, spatial inequality, and quality of life.

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Comparative Analysis · MTRO 101

From Crossroads to Skyline & Design and Policy Solutions

Historical design, green infrastructure, and recurring patterns across Annapolis, Baltimore, and Towson, paired with design and policy responses to infrastructure decay, flooding, mobility, and inequality.

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Urban Analysis · MTRO 101

Comparative Urban Analysis & Design and Policy Solutions: Green Infrastructure

A photo-driven comparison of how cities and suburbs organize movement, materials, and access, followed by policy and community solutions for limited green space and car-dependent design.

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Urban Analysis · MTRO 101

Art, Walkability, and Access

Public art, pedestrian infrastructure, and retail accessibility across Towson and Philadelphia, examining how built environments either support or undermine everyday mobility and civic life.

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Urban Analysis · MTRO 101

Mobility vs. Centralization & Design and Policy Solutions

How transit and institutions express the tension between movement and centralization, paired with accessibility and transportation policy solutions for Towson University's campus environment.

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Urban Analysis · MTRO 101

Signs, Streets, and Snow: A Comparative Urban Analysis

Road design, environmental conditions, and density read through urban models, drawing on field observations from multiple mid-Atlantic cities and towns.

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Policy Solutions · MTRO 101

Design and Policy Solutions: Complete Streets & Transit

A government-led Complete Streets and equity-based maintenance proposal that shifts street design toward pedestrians, cyclists, and transit while keeping upkeep consistent citywide.

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Policy Solutions · MTRO 101

Urban Heat and Spatial Inequality & Design and Policy Solutions

Government and community solutions for the urban heat island effect and spatial inequality, paired with a road design and environmental conditions policy poster for Downtown Towson.

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Urban Issues Poster · MTRO 101

METRO 101: Walkability & Gentrification

A poster examining winter walkability and gentrification in the Towson area, with paired policy-maker and community-member solution perspectives.

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Urban Issues Poster · MTRO 101

Metro Issues: Walkability & Historic Preservation

Two poster panels addressing pedestrian walkability and historic preservation in Towson and Rockville, each with public and government/policy solutions.

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Urban Issues Poster · MTRO 101

Design and Policy Solutions: Construction, Litter & Walkability

A poster mapping recurring Baltimore-area issues, including excessive construction, underused public space, litter, and mobility, with policy and community solution diagrams.

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Planning Experience

Public-Sector Planning Experience

Seven years in development review and land use planning with Baltimore County Government, now combined with teaching at Towson University while completing doctoral research at Morgan State.

October 2018 – February 2026 BCG

Development Review Planner (Former)

Baltimore County Government, Department of Planning

From October 2018 to February 2026, I served in planning and development review roles with Baltimore County Government, progressing from Planning & Zoning Associate (GIS) to Planner I to Planner II. My work contributed to subdivision, zoning, development review, land use, site planning, and interagency review processes across the county.

My public-sector planning work included review and coordination support for 90+ planning and land development cases, including minor subdivisions, limited exemptions, concept and development plans, amendments, refinement plans, commercial review items, residential development materials, institutional development materials, and redevelopment-related submissions. I also contributed research and drafting to the Baltimore County 2030 Master Plan and served as the Department's representative on the Council on Environmental Quality.

Minor Subdivision Reviews

Land division, lot configuration, plan compliance, and review coordination.

Limited Exemption Reviews

Smaller-scale development, redevelopment, and site-related review materials.

Concept / Development Review

Early-stage development concepts, agency coordination, and planning comments.

Commercial / Institutional Refinement Reviews

Plan refinements, amended submissions, and commercial or institutional development review.

Amended Development Plans

Revisions to previously submitted or approved plans.

Selected Representative Examples

Goucher College / Edenwald Amended Plan

Provided development review support for an institutional and campus-related plan amendment and refinement submission.

Halethorpe Townhouses

Provided concept and development review support for proposed residential development materials.

Chick-fil-A, Owings Mills

Provided commercial refinement review support for site-related development materials.

Red Run Mill

Provided concept and development review support for redevelopment-related submissions.

Public Storage, Timonium

Provided limited exemption review support for a commercial self-storage facility submission.

White Marsh Interchange Park

Provided limited exemption review support for industrial and flex development materials.

Chesapeake Park Resubdivision

Provided residential resubdivision review and coordination support.

Yorkridge Shopping Center

Provided development plan review support for commercial site improvements and related submissions.

August 2022 – Present TU

Faculty

Towson University, Department of Geography and Environmental Planning

Developing and teaching undergraduate courses in metropolitan studies and African urban development. Teaching 9 credits per semester while completing doctoral research.

MTRO 101: Introduction to Metropolitan Studies, 9 credits per semester since 2022
MTRO 470: Urbanization of African Cities, upper-division elective

Academic Work

Research manuscripts in urban planning, pedestrian safety, walkability, and emerging technology, currently in preparation for peer-reviewed journal submission.

Manuscripts in Preparation

In Preparation

Who Walks the Most in Maryland's Urban Centers? A Logistic Regression Analysis of Demographic and Socioeconomic Determinants of Pedestrian Travel Ayakwah, H. O. · Manuscript in preparation

In Preparation

Pedestrian Safety and Walkability in Downtown Towson: A Mixed-Methods Community Assessment Ayakwah, H. O. · Manuscript in preparation

In Preparation

The Distraction Paradox: Reconciling Perceived Risk and Self-Reported Behavior Among Pedestrians in a Suburban College Town Ayakwah, H. O. · Manuscript in preparation

In Preparation

What Should an AR Planning Tool Show? Eliciting Design Requirements for Community-Facing Pedestrian-Safety Visualization from Residents and Practitioners Ayakwah, H. O. · Manuscript in preparation

In Preparation

Charging Infrastructure and Housing in Maryland: Regional Disparities and the Relationship Between Electric-Vehicle Charging Stations and Housing Types in Baltimore County Ayakwah, H. O. · Manuscript in preparation

Public Scholarship and Commentary

Op-eds and essays on urban planning, infrastructure, equity, and the cities we are choosing to build, drawing on classroom research and field experience.

Op-Ed

We Were Right to Say No. That Is Exactly the Problem.

When the people of Akyem Tafo rejected Parin Gold's concession, they were not wrong. The process was unacceptable. But slamming a door is not a development plan — and a community sitting on gold has its greatest bargaining power before anyone starts digging.

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Essay

When the Rains Come: A Decade of Flooding in Accra

Every year, Accra holds its breath for the rains. And almost every year, the rains win. The perennial floods are not weather. They are not inevitable. They are built, into a city that outgrew its drainage, paved over its wetlands, and settled its most vulnerable residents in the lowest ground.

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Op-Ed

The Space Between Buildings Tells You Who a City Is For

You can learn almost everything about a city's priorities by looking at what it does with the space between its buildings. In wealthier parts of our region, that space is generous. In the parts where lower-income families live, it collapses. This is not an accident of geography, it is a pattern, and patterns are made by decisions.

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Op-Ed

Towson Should Trade Its Street Parking for Bike Lanes

Drive down York Road and you will see the contradiction plainly. A long row of cars hugs the curb, eating up valuable street space, while parking garages a block away sit half-empty. We have arranged downtown Towson so that the least efficient way to store a car gets the most prime real estate.

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Op-Ed

We Keep Building for the Weather We Used to Have

Every time Ellicott City floods, we act as though it is a surprise. It is not. The flooding is not a freak event. Our infrastructure was built to handle the weather we used to have. It cannot handle the weather we are getting now.

Read op-ed →

Selected Projects and Civic Initiatives

Applied planning, education, and civic initiatives spanning environmental restoration, curriculum-aligned learning, and financial access — all rooted in Ghana.

GP

GreenPulse Ghana Environmental NGO · Ghana Founded 2021

A national environmental organisation dedicated to restoring degraded land, water, and communities across all 16 regions of Ghana. GreenPulse operates four interconnected programmes — Blue Corridor, Green Canopy, Land Remediation, and the Ghana Data Commons — using a replicable six-step restoration model.

Waterway and stream restoration in degraded communities
GPS-tracked tree planting across Ghana's regions
Sustainable alternatives to irregular dump sites
Open environmental data mapping across 13+ data layers

Visit greenpulseghana.org

NS

Nyansapo Learning Platform Integrated Learning Platform · In Development nyansapo.academy

A Ghana-focused learning platform designed to support curriculum-aligned learning, structured revision, topic-based practice, diagnostic quizzes, and offline-first access to educational resources.

Nyansapo Learn

Curriculum-aligned lessons for Basic School through Senior High School, designed for structured, accessible, and offline-first learning aligned to the NaCCA/GES syllabus.

Nyansapo Academy

Responsible revision resources, topic-based practice, diagnostic quizzes, mock-style exercises, and study guidance for learners preparing for school assessments and public examinations.

Nyansapo is an independent learning and revision platform. It does not provide leaked examination questions, does not predict official examination content, and is not affiliated with WAEC, College Board, or any official examination body unless expressly stated.

Visit nyansapo.academy

VF

VoltaFlo Fintech · In Development US–Ghana diaspora remittance platform

An emerging US–Ghana money transfer and financial services platform being developed for the Ghanaian diaspora. Designed to support international transfers, mobile money delivery, bill payments, and community savings features tailored to the needs of diaspora users.