For their capstone project, a team of graduate students in Urban and Regional Planning developed a comprehensive document to guide the future of downtown Oskaloosa. The Oskaloosa Downtown Master Plan focuses particularly on how use of public spaces (e.g. transportation infrastructure, public property) as well as other public support mechanisms (e.g. policies and programming) to enhance and strengthen the downtown district as the heart of the community. 

Oskaloosa, the county seat for Mahaska County, a relatively small community of about 11,000 people located in south central Iowa. The downtown district, which features a historic county courthouse and iconic town square, serves as a retail hub and social gathering space. 

Oskaloosa has been successful in keeping downtown storefronts generally full and attracting residents and visitors downtown to gather and support local businesses. Much of this success is due to Oskaloosa’s active Main Street program. Still, community leaders have their eyes on downtown improvements to sustain and evolve the downtown district, particularly as communities face increasing competition for people’s time and shopping habits. 

The graduate team prioritized stakeholder engagement and public input, as well as analysis of existing conditions, to formulate their recommendations and strategies.  They identified five key plan objectives:

1. Enhance public spaces and downtown identity through strategic placemaking.
2. Support infill and new use opportunities for community spaces.
3. Improve walkability and bike accessibility within the downtown core.
4. Honor historic tradition and architectural styles with a new historic preservation standard.
5. Reinforce Oskaloosa’s true character and unique identity.

The plan recommends strategies to improve the pedestrian-friendly atmosphere, foster future economic development, implement cohesive placemaking, and grow community partnerships that help enhance the downtown district. The plan features creative urban design renderings to provide visual representations of their ideas.  

In addition to the Downtown Master Plan, the project team also updated Oskaloosa's Historic Preservation Design Guidelines, which was published in 2000.  

The project team made a presentation to the City of Oskaloosa during the May 5th, 2025 city council meeting.  The City Council voted unanimously to accept the team's plan.  

A video of the presentation slide animation can be watched below, in addition to the pdf of the slides available in the collection of final deliverables.