URP students will partner with the City of Ottumwa to create a development plan for the Ottumwa Regional Airport Growth Area.  

The Ottumwa Regional Airport offers distinct multimodal advantages, including direct access to highways, proximity to rail infrastructure, and an inventory of adjacent industrial land. Fully realizing this potential requires coordinated planning and due diligence to align access, utilities, zoning, and site readiness with targeted industry needs and available federal and state investment opportunities. 

URP graduate students will partner with the City of Ottumwa to create a comprehensive downtown master plan that enhances Ottumwa’s historic core as a vibrant destination and community asset. 

Urban Regional Planning graduate students in the School of Planning & Public Affairs will partner with the City of Granger to create a Parks and Recreation master plan that provides a comprehensive vision for Granger’s local park system, recreation facilities, natural resources, and other public open spaces. 

Public Affairs graduate students in the School of Planning & Public Affairs partnered 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. 

Authors: Fern Bultema, Yihan Li, Allie Tubbs, Erik Woolsey

Instructors: Travis Kraus, Phuong Nguyen

Community project leads: Heidi Van Auken, Adam Kofoed

As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning will update Mason City’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan, with a thematic view towards environmental and social resiliency and a topical focus on aging in place.

For their capstone project, students in Planning and Sustainable Development created plans and strategies to develop Liberty Square, a narrow stretch of primarily city-owned property that runs between and adjacent to the split four lanes of Highway 30. 

College of Law students in the Community Empowerment Law Project assisted the City of Manchester with a study to understand extraterritorial zoning powers, the process of adoption, and recommendations for next steps.

As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the School of Planning & Public Affairs created a neighborhood plan for Waterloo's Church Row neighborhood.  

The City of Waterloo (pop. 67,798) sought assistance with the development of a Neighborhood Plan for Church Row, a core neighborhood located near downtown in order to foster a more safe, attractive, and welcoming area that provides opportunities for economic development, healthy and affordable living, and a high quality of life for residents. 

As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the School of Planning & Public Affairs created a watershed management plan for the Maquoketa River Watershed. 

As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning created a Comprehensive Plan for Tama, Iowa.

Graduate students in the course Growth Management in the School of Urban & Regional Planning reimagined land use and transportation in an underdeveloped section of North Liberty, with the idea of helping to create a new "Civic Corridor".

Graduate students in the School of Urban & Regional Planning, in conjunction with the City of Iowa City and National Advance Driving Simulator, completed a plan to help Iowa City prepare for the anticipated impacts of automated vehicles on the built environment and community.