Environmental Sustainability

Boone County Fish Barrier- Design and Engineering
As part of the Senior Design Capstone Course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students provided an evaluation of the spillway at the Don Williams Recreation Area and design of a barrier to prevent the loss of game and pan fish, and the related cost estimates.

Northeast Iowa Mineral Mining - Legal Framework for State and Local Jurisdictions
College of Law students in the Community Empowerment Law Project (CELP) conducted a study to help officials in Winneshiek County and Northeast Iowa understand the implications of anticipated mineral mining activities, as well as legal safeguards for environmental protection and transfer of wealth.

City of Beacon City Hall Design
As part of their Senior Design Capstone course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students designed a new city hall building for the City of Beacon, and provided recommendations for teardown and disposal of the existing building, including ways to divert materials from the landfill.

Bellevue Residential Site Development
As part of their Senior Design Capstone course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students created designs for development of a new residential neighborhood in Bellevue, as well as a stormwater management plan for the site.

Webster City Wetlands Engineering & Design
As part of the Senior Design Capstone Course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students provided the design of a constructed wetlands for stormwater management, giving consideration to the settling and uptake of pollutants, wildlife, and related cost estimates for the project.

Webster City Solar Art Sculpture
Through a partnership between the University of Iowa Office of Outreach and Engagement, the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History, and the City of Webster City, Iowa, faculty member Dan Miller and his students designed and constructed a “solar sculpture” that will become a permanent installation of functional art in downtown Webster City.

Keokuk - Lead and Copper Utility Mapping
As part of the ICIGO student organization within the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, students created maps of lead and copper utility lines in Keokuk.

Regional Brownfields Inventory and Land Bank Feasibility Study
As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning developed a process to inventory and prioritize brownfield sites on behalf of the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA), and conducted a feasibility study for a regional land bank.

Prosperity Eastern Iowa: Program Evaluation & Plan
As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning provided an update to the program structure and plans for The Petal Project, one of Prosperity Eastern Iowa’s (PEI) flagship economic development programs.

Mason City Community Plan for Sustainability
As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning developed a sustainability plan for the City of Mason City.

Urban Ecology
Students in a geography class completed two separate projects for Iowa City. The first project focused on the ecological functions of roadside vegetation in Iowa City, including identification of roadside land area in the city that can be prioritized for re-planting and re-design as native vegetation areas. The second project focused on urban raptors.

Rooftop Garden Design
The goal of this project was for senior engineering students to provide structural reviews, specifications, and recommendations for developing a community garden on the parking garage site. The project created a report, structural analysis and designs for rooftop garden, and a poster.