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On this page, you'll find descriptions of individual projects and overviews of the communities with which we've partnered.
Use the filter to search for kinds of projects, e.g., public art or engineering, or to locate a specific community.

Dubuque - Detention Basin Capacity
The capacities for Dubuque’s stormwater detention basins were established in the early 1990s. Since that time, annual rainfall has outpaced predictions and is expected to increase in the coming decades. The City and area watershed administrators are considering redesigning existing detention basins while also understanding the capacities for future ones.

Dubuque - Traffic Pedestrian Study for JFK Road
As Dubuque seeks to make its streets more accessible to bikers and pedestrians, it is especially interested in ways to make several major thoroughfares safer. One of these is JFK Road, a major north-south arterial road.

Dubuque - Sculpture Created from Recycled Playground Equipment
A collection of metal pipes and other parts from former playground equipment will serve as the materials for Jamie Weinfurter, an MFA student in studio arts, to create a new sculpture. Weinfurter will work with the public, especially students and staff at Audubon Elementary School, to get ideas and collect additional materials for the sculpture. It will eventually be located near the school in the Bee Branch Creek Greenway.

Dubuque - Public Libraries and Neurodivergent Patrons
Libraries are the pride of many communities in the United States, offering free access to many materials, programming, access to internet and other technologies, and serving as a meeting place. They are also safe spaces for neurodivergent individuals who rely on them as a place for daytime shelter, information, and other resources.

Sidney Park Expansion
For their senior capstone project in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, four students create plans to expand features in Sidney's central downtown park. The space is relatively small, but the City wanted to add a multipurpose court for both basketball and pickle ball; a restroom; storage; and increased car and bicycle parking. The team calculated the wastewater runoff created by the additional surfaces in the park and also added a rain garden.

North Liberty Traffic Impact Study
On behalf of the City of North Liberty, a group of Civil and Engineering students reviewed current conditions at an intersection in the growing municipality. The team set up traffic counters and used that data to create a simulation model to investigate different traffic scenarios along both Ranshaw and Penn corridors.

North Liberty Ranshaw Way Underpass
Three students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering created plans for an underpass for the City of Norther Liberty. The underpass is part of the final phase of a reconstruction of Ranshaw Way.

Marquette Trail Underpass
Four students from the College of Engineering's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering completed a study for a possible underpass for pedestrians and cyclists on behalf of the City of Marquette and the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre. They were tasked with figuring costs and best options to connect an existing trail to three other points in the community: the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre, Bloody Run Campground, and Timber Ridge Subdivision. The students identified three alternatives, highlighting the pros and cons of each.

Keosauqua Building Rehabilitation
Students in a senior capstone project in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering created plans to rehabilitate an abandoned building in Keosauqua, Iowa. The team responded to the client's request to maintain a facade that matches the overall look and feel of the historic downtown; provide residential apartments on the second floor; and create a first-floor restaurant.

Manning Gymnasium
As part of their senior capstone project, three students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering designed a new gymnasium for the City of Manning. The project features a new full-sized basketball court that be split in half for practice courts and that will give the city more practice space as well as the ability to host basketball and volleyball tournaments.

Maquoketa Single Family Subdivision and Drainage Plan
Students in Civil and Environmental Engineering created plans for an affordable housing subdivision on five parcels of land in Maquoketa. The project includes stormwater management and remediation of a hazardous chemical.

Maquoketa Subdivision at Stewart Farm
For this project, a team of four senior students in Civil and Environmental Engineering designed a subdivision on 94-acres of agricultural land. They calculated various issues for development of the site, including topography, water access and water pressure, future development, and networking to current streets. Their proposed plan will provide 71 new housing units to the City of Maquoketa.

Maquoketa Open Space Redevelopment
Students in the College of Engineering's Civil and Environmental Engineering department created plans to redevelop an existing green space in Maquoketa. The site was created when several buildings burnt down decades ago, leaving an open space. This space now serves as an informal gathering place for concerts and other public events. The City asked the team to provide plans to formalize the area as an event space, adding a permanent stage and restrooms.

Cedar Rapids - 15-Minute Cities: Best Practices and Literature Review
Students in the Transportation Planning Studio will collaborate with the Corridor MPO and City of Cedar Rapids to develop a guidebook that collects the current state of 15-minute city planning efforts, focused on North American examples. The guidebook will pull together information on initiatives currently underway, processes for developing 15-minute city plans, implementation challenges, and analysis techniques.

Sustainable Stormwater Systems
Urban & Regional Planning student Mae McDonough completed a StoryMap about Sustainable Stormwater Systems as part of a graduate independent study project.
This online resource explains the importance of stormwater management, common terminology, management tools, case study research, and funding and technical resources.
You can access the StoryMap here.

Clinton - Making a Music Festival: a Behind the Scenes Documentary
A student in Cinematic Arts created a video to promote the strengths of the city of Clinton. The video has multiple purposes, including to promote tourism and share with prospective businesses.

Mapping Clinton's Municipal Districts in GIS
IISC staff used GIS to convert legal descriptions in the City of Clinton code into GIS shapefiles to aid city staff and developers.
City of Clinton staff requested GIS shapefiles that map boundaries of certain municipal districts (mainly urban renewal and urban revitalization districts) as described as text-based legal descriptions in the city code. Visual maps, which are much more accessible and easier to understand, were not previously available to the general public or developers, putting the burden on staff to have to understand and explain the locations.

City of Clinton Employee Survey
Students and faculty in the School of Planning and Public Affairs conducted a survey of employee satisfaction, needs, and opportunities among City of Clinton employees.
In the spring of 2023, the City of Clinton requested assistance from the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) to conduct a survey of the City’s workforce. The survey aimed to provide employees with an opportunity to express their opinions, concerns, and ideas about their work environment, department/organizational culture, and overall job satisfaction.
Clinton - Bethel AME documentary
Arman Hodasefat, an MFA student in Cinematic Arts, created a short documentary film about the Bethel AME Church in Clinton, a historic church that served many members of the Black and African American community and others in Clinton.

Clinton - Eagle Point Park Campground Design
For their capstone project, students in Civil and Environmental Engineering designed a primitive campground site for Eagle Point Park in Clinton, IA. The site will provide a new outdoor experience for local residents and attract visitors to the area. It has drive-in tent camping as well as several walk-in sites. The campground also adds a new restroom and storm shelter to the park.