Coon Rapids, Corning, Decorah, Forest City, Glidden, Graettinger, Moville, Peterson, Plymouth, and Wapello were selected to participate in 2018 Community Visioning program in a competitive application process in late September 2017. Read more about Community Visioning Program Launches 2018 Communities
The Iowa State University Community Design Lab (CDL) partners with Iowa communities to create healthy places through innovative strategies ad tactics. A primary goal of CDL is to inform and engage community members in thoughtful and meaningful ways that encourage greater public participation in the design process and increased support and ownership of the project moving forward. This level of engagement extends into the investigative process, which involves active listening, as well as on-the-ground and explorative research to develop a rich inventory and analysis centered on user experience of the built environment. This analysis aids in the visualization of community goals and concerns to establish design frameworks, strategies, and master plans. Read more about Community Design Lab
The Community Visioning Program integrates landscape planning and design with sustainable action to empower community leaders and volunteers in making sound, meaningful decisions about the local landscape. Communities work closely with technical experts from Trees Forever, a private-sector landscape architect, and the Iowa State University Department of Landscape Architecture to create a transportation enhancement plan reflecting the values and identity of the community. Successful completion of the visioning process results in a transportation enhancement plan and implementation strategies that empower communities to build meaningful townscapes, step by step, as resources become available. Read more about Iowa's Living Roadways Community Visioning Program
Since its inception in 1996, the Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning program has made visible impacts in small Iowa communities, ranging from entrance signage and corridor enhancements to recreation trails and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes.
Program staff have documented these impacts over the years through site visits, surveys, and one-on-one interviews. However, little has been done to understand the impacts of the program beyond physical changes to the landscape.
To identify the learning outcomes of participation in Community Visioning, program director and Iowa State University professor of landscape architecture Julia Badenhope decided to employ a relatively new research technique called “ripple effects mapping” in past visioning communities. Read more about ISU Research team Measures the ‘Ripple Effects’ of Community Visioning
