The School of Planning and Public Affairs is committed to admitting a diverse student body and supporting a learning environment in which many values and perspectives contribute to the richness of the educational experience, to the fields of planning, public policy, and public administration, and to the communities in which we we live and work.
Graduate students in the School of Urban & Regional Planning researched the following five greenspace priorities for the City of Sioux City and created recommendations on how best to increase greenspaces downtown: opportunities for adding greenspaces along sidewalks; opportunities and designs for adding a pocket park to the downtown; opportunities for green roofs and rooftop gardens; opportunities for improving soil permeability and restoration in greened areas; and opportunities for linking downtown greenspace to bike trail access points.
Urban and Regional Planning students examined trends of income inequality in the Iowa City metropolitan area and developed a plan identifying income inequality trends in Iowa City, case studies of similar areas, and strategies for supporting affordable housing in the community; poster displaying results and recommendations; and presentation displaying results and recommendations.
Urban and Regional Planning students created the Trails economic impact plan that provides research on the benefits of the current trails system in Decorah, Iowa and provides recommendations on how to continue expanding it as well as a presentation displaying research and results, and a poster displaying research and results.
Students in the School of Urban & Regional Planning conducted an economic impact analysis of extending the current fiber optic system and provided recommendations on how best to continue enhancing the service and a 28E partnership between six stakeholders.
Graduate students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning researched models of financing, established a budget, and developed a list of priority stormwater management projects based on their projected budgets and impacts to water quality and quantity in the community for Decorah, Iowa's implementation of the storm water management policies.
Winneshiek County sought to understand the possible economic impacts that the frac sand mining industry could have if it became established in the county. For this project, graduate students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning performed a comprehensive economic impact study that evaluated the short and long-term gains and losses to the county's economy that could follow from the industry’s establishment. The students assumed a single-mine scenario to contextualize mining impacts in three areas: county accounts, private accounts, and social costs.
Graduate students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning worked with city officials to provide recommendations and two tools for the City of Dubuque to expand its Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI).
The tools developed included the Priority Model and economic feasibility calculator for rental units. Other recommendations included strategies to engage renters and landlords; innovative funding; interdepartmental cooperation building; and participant engagement and outreach.
Graduate students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning worked with city officials in Decorah to assist in the preparation of a revised comprehensive plan that included Iowa's Smart Planning Principles, which were adopted in 2010 by the Iowa Legislature.
Graduate students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning worked closely with a citizens group in Decorah, We Can Decorah, to promote energy conservation and the use of environmentally friendly stormwater drainage techniques.
Students from the Urban and Regional Planning Department completed a housing plan for Sioux City, IA with the main goal of coordinating reinvestment in distressed areas.
This project focused on the Leeds Neighborhood, located in northeast Sioux City. The commercial corridor within this neighborhood serves as the northeast entryway into Sioux City. The corridor contains a mixture of small retail stores, restaurants, and service establishments that serve the local neighborhood. As new national brand commercial developments continue to develop to the south of the Leeds neighborhood, the future character of its commercial corridor has been called into question. Students from the Urban & Regional Planning Dept.
Graduate students in the School of Urban and Regional Planning conducted a project that aided Sioux City in fulfilling its recently-designated Blue Zones ProjectTM requirement of developing an active transportation plan.