Students in the course Policy and Persuasion worked with City of Bondurant representatives to develop policy directions for issues related to the city's rapid growth and their desire to preserve the community's core "small town" identity.    

The community of Scotch Grove, IA seeks design of a pocket neighborhood. Students in a Senior Capstone course in Civil and Environmental Engineering will provide designs for the layout of single-family homes on a three-acre site. Their work will include the needed
infrastructure to support the homes. They will evaluate and and select water
distribution and wastewater collection and treatment systems appropriate for the historic small-town location. In addition, the design will include road improvements, a trail connection, and surface drainage. 

The community of Scotch Grove, IA, seeks a design for a connected non-motorized transportation system and city park.

Mahaska County seeks improvements to its current water trails system to increase accessibility, use, and safety. As part of their Senior Capstone in Civil and Environmental Engineering, a team of students will evaluate and design for boat launches, parking areas, camping sites, road access, and supporting structures. All documents will be prepared to assist with the preparation of application to the Iowa DNR's Iowa Water Trails grant program. 

As part of their Senior Design Capstone course, students in Civil and Environmental Engineering will provide an evaluation and design of improvements to the White Oaks Nature Conservation area.

Bondurant is currently developing a Civic Campus area that will include new municipal buildings. One of these is a a new public works facility. The current building housing this area of city government is being transitioned into the central parks and recreation building.

A cool roof is designed to reflect more sunlight than a conventional roof, absorbing less solar energy. This lowers the temperature of the building just as wearing light-colored clothing keeps you cool on a sunny day. For their capstone project, students in Civil and Environmental Engineering will summarize current and emerging technologies for “cooling” sites and buildings (think cool roofs, etc.).

Students in a photojournalism class will spend three days in Dubuque documenting projects related to sustainability and everyday people's efforts to reduce emissions, create a healthier city. Their photographs will provide an essential layer to the two projects developed by other students in Journalism and Mass Communications on behalf of Dubuque.  

Students in a class in Journalism and Mass Communications will develop a newspaper insert that serves as a guide for Dubuque citizens to better understand their city's services and opportunities related to sustainability. 

Students in a Journalism and Mass Communication class, will focus on general public communication built around Dubuque's goal to achieve 50% greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The students will focus on communications with local businesses around the climate goals.

College of Law students who are part of the Community Empowerment Law Project will work with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque to better understand the issue of chronic absenteeism among Marshallese students. They will seek to understand the relationship of these students and their families to the schools, establish current policies that may be affecting the situation, and make recommendations for new policies and improved communication.

A student in Cinematic Arts will undertake this promotional film for Bondurant. 

How can Bondurant make its existing properties, including buildings and land, as sustainable as possible? This question is at the heart of a project led by Masters of Public Affairs students as they consider options for the city to increase green buildings, solar panels, wind, and other sustainable features that can be added to Bondurant's growing civic infrastructure.

The City of Bondurant currently relies on Polk County for public safety needs, including for crime, fire, animal control, and other calls that could potentially be received by a city police department. With its current growth rate in mind, Bondurant has tasked students in the School of Planning and Public Affairs to consider the need for and feasibility of a city-led department. In addition to assessing current and future needs, the team is researching options that are proving successful in other similarly sized communities, including greater funding to social service providers.  

Faculty researchers and University of Iowa students collaborated with an Eastern Iowa regional provider, ECR, on a study to close transportation gaps for individuals with brain health/mental health needs and disabilities.

The City of Dubuque seeks to establish performance measures/metrics for their Green Alleys Reconstruction program.

Dubuque has been working to improve access to affordable housing and is poised for the next step in its process. In recent years, it has had several different kinds of housingassessments completed. It has incentivized homeowner rehabilitation and has passed incentives for developers to create nearly 800 new units. It’s also created more infill by removing dilapidated buildings. Despite considerable action in this area, Dubuque faces challenges.

Like many communities in the midwest, Dubuque has many people whose first language is not English. Local government has an obligation to ensure these residents are included in all aspects of civic life. This includes having information that enables them to participate in city activities, ranging from library programs and recycling, to elections and parks. They also need to be able to receive important information about health and safety, such as immunization programs and extreme weather notices.

A community is built on its history and work needs to be done to maintain the stories and objects related to its past. As Bondurant grows and evolves, there is a desire to retain and safe-keep the history of those who have deep roots to the area and its traditions.

As part of its ambitious sustainability plans, Dubuque seeks to reduce vehicle dependency and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and create/promote accessible and equitable transportation alternatives.