A group of graduate students from the University of Iowa's IISC program are spending the academic year studying the housing needs of the city of Clinton.

Caitlin Shanahan received her Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on Land Use and Environmental Planning in 2014. We checked in with Caitlin to learn about her current work and the ways in which participating in IISC has impacted her. 

Emani Brinkman’s undergraduate studies were a bit of a smorgasbord. She double majored in economics and business administration, minored in religion, and got a concentration in environmental studies. She jokes that it was the “I-don’t-know-what-I-want-do!” combo platter, but now as a Master’s student in Urban and Regional Planning, she realizes it was evidence of her desire to blend many interests under one job area.

From 2016 to 2018, IISC had a full partnership with the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA). During those two academic years, we collaborated on 19 projects across Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, and Jackson Counties.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant that IISC's 2019-20 partnership with Keokuk was far from normal. Despite the challenges, we completed 21 projects and created new processes that will be helpful to future partnerships.

University of Iowa students will present strategies today for undeveloped areas of Camp Courageous that will help improve water quality and provide new experiences for campers. Four teams of University of Iowa faculty and staff will present their plans on 24 acres of Camp Courageous, which includes designs involving a multipurpose trail system, a nature education center, stormwater management plans, and systems for reducing contaminants in source water.

A new online resource aimed at growing and promoting Black-owned businesses in the Iowa City area launched this month. The site, called a Story Map, includes a directory and map of Black-owned businesses in Johnson County, and highlights the entrepreneurial journeys of 14 Black entrepreneurs and community leaders through personal stories, photos and audio clips. The University of Iowa School of...

Cityscape, a publication of the Iowa League of Cities, featured IISC and the new Master of Public Affairs degree in the February 2021 edition.

Planning students from the School of Planning & Public Affairs conducted a successful Zoom workshop as part of their capstone project to develop a Strategic Development Plan for the City of Manchester.