West Branch

The Community of West Branch is a small community of about 2,300 people offering a small town feel with historic roots and easy access to everything you might want of larger cities.  Home of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch offers a small town living, dining, and shopping experience while also providing an easy drive to the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids corridor for further opportunities.

County
Cedar

Projects

A simple white house surrounded by bushes and trees.

West Branch – Traveler's Rest and West Branch's History with the Underground Railroad

Published
Friday, November 7, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

A Public Affairs graduate student in the School of Planning & Public Affairs will partner with the City of West Branch and other community stakeholders on an initiative to uplift the story of Traveler's Rest and West Branch's role in the underground railroad. 

A group of people wearing Hawkeye colors stand around a table with a University of Iowa logo.

West Branch – Comprehensive Plan Update

Published
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

Urban Regional Planning and Sustainable Development graduate students will partner with the City of West Branch, Iowa to update the city’s long-range comprehensive plan. 

As West Branch experiences gradual population growth and development pressures, city leaders are seeking to proactively plan for the community’s future in a way that balances small-town character with sustainable growth, economic vitality, and quality of life.

A group of six people stand in a circle looking at a map held by one man

West Branch – Fiscal Policy and Capital Improvement Plan

Published
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

Public Affairs graduate students in the School of Planning & Public Affairs will partner with the City of West Branch, a small but growing rural community, to assess and support local fiscal policy, budgeting practices, and capital improvement planning. 

A group of 4 women stand in front of a the small white house that is Hoover's birthplace.

West Branch – Housing Needs Assessment and Policy Recommendations

Published
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

School of Planning and Public Affairs graduate students will partner with the City of West Branch to conduct a comprehensive housing needs assessment and develop informed recommendations for local housing policy and programming.

Team photo of students working on the West Branch Historical Assets project

West Branch – Leveraging Historic Assets for Community Vitality

Published
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

Public Affairs graduate students in the School of Planning & Public Affairs will partner with the City of West Branch and other community stakeholders on a multifaceted initiative to optimize the community’s historic assets as a catalyst for economic vitality, tourism development, and enhanced quality of life for residents. 

University of Iowa students posing next to a tree in West Branch

West Branch – Public Tree Inventory

Published
Monday, September 15, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

As part of the ICIGO student organization within the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability, students will conduct an on-site tree study and create a GIS-based digital inventory tool for city-owned trees in West Branch, Iowa.

Six people stand on a sunny day in front of a corn field. The three middle people are holding paper maps. The people on each end are wearing West Branch t-shirts.

West Branch – Sewer Line Engineering and Design

Published
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

Civil and Environmental Engineering undergraduate students will provide analysis, recommendations, designs, and costs for extending West Branch's sanitary sewer trunk line to meet the needs of the growing community.

The student group will examine key considerations including population growth predictions that will impact infrastructure size and location, complex environmental regulations, and funding strategies for the City.

Three red pine trees with a red line evoking a river underlines the word West Branch in black

West Branch – Social Media Plan for the City of West Branch

Published
Friday, September 12, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

Undergraduate students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication will partner with the City of West Branch to work on a social media plan and corresponding public engagement strategy.

A row of seven people stand and sit smiling in front of a red wall with white letters that says WB

West Branch – West Branch Community School District Policy Briefs

Published
Monday, September 15, 2025
Academic year
2025-2026
Partner

Undergraduate students enrolled in Public Policy and Persuasion will work with the West Branch Community School District to develop policy briefs for issues currently facing the school district.