ESLARP East St. Louis Action Research Project
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

LA 437/465 Fall 1995, Background Research Reports

Examples of Design Studio Involved in Community Development

Introduction

Design studio can be a powerful vehicle to develop ideas and execute plans for community development. It provides students with an opportunity to learn and work on actual settings. For a community it is a way of receiving both physical and social assistance at a minimum cost. Alike East St. Louis Action Research Project at the University of Illinois, there are other design studios that are involved in community development. Various examples tell us what works (and what does not work) in particular settings. The following are some of the successful cases in the United States whose approaches may be applicable to other community development.

Examples

The Department of Landscape Architecture
 The Pennsylvania State University
Landscape Planning Studio 427
Spring 1993

"The Warrior Run Community Study"
Prepared for the Warrior Run Task Force on the Future

The Warrior Run Community is located in East Central Pennsylvania. Forty landscape architecture students at the Pennsylvania State University studied the Warrior Run region for seven weeks in February and March 1993 under the Landscape Planning Studio 427. The studio was instructed by Professors Kelleann Foster, Daniel Jones, Neil Korostoff, and Don Luymes.

The study was divided into eight chapters, each of which was prepared by five students. The chapters comprised of four topics on natural resources and four on cultural and scenic resources:

The students prepared the report as the first phase of a community strategic planning process. The students were able to pull together how the region has evolved in terms of each study topic and what that means to the future planning of the Warrior Run Community.

The students worked with the local community by means of interviewing residents, homeowners, business owners, and planning officials. Based on thorough inventory and analysis of the region, the report is technically strong. It is also reader friendly, however, due to its narrative story style.

The report was followed by three weeks of design charette with the local residents.

The Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
 The University of Pennsylvania

"The West Philadelphia Landscape Plan"

West Philadelphia is a multi-racial, multi-cultural, inner-city community where people's concern covers various issues such as poverty, unemployment, the physical deterioration of housing and public infrastructure.

The West Philadelphia Landscape Plan and Greening Project is a three-year community development and research project, which is funded by the J. N. Pew Charitable Trust and conducted by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, The Organization and Management Group, and Philadelphia Green, under the auspices of the West Philadelphia Partnership.

"The West Philadelphia Landscape Plan" consists of six reports and a computer data base. The reports were prepared on the belief that successful landscape projects can serve as catalysts for other community development projects and as important adjuncts to a wide variety of social programs, such as education, job training, employment, and community organizing. The six reports are outlined as follows.

  1. "The West Philadelphia Landscape Plan: A Framework for Action" provides an overview of the entire plan. (1991)
  2. "Models of Success: Landscape Improvements and Community Development" describes examples of successful projects that have already been built and draws lessons for similar projects that could be undertaken in West Philadelphia. A number of examples, such as Aspen Farms and Philadelphia Green, are provided for reference and future application for similar projects. (1991)
  3. "This Garden is a Town" explores existing community gardens as models for neighborhood-based planning. The text is accompanied by illustrative graphics which are very helpful for a reader to visualize the ideas. (January 1990)
  4. "Shaping the Block" focuses on the block as a significant unit of neighborhood and explores how residents can reshape the block they live on to better support their needs, values, and activities. Graphic representation is very effective.
  5. "Vacant Urban Land: A Resource for Reshaping Urban Neighborhoods" analyzes the different types of vacant urban land that occur in West Philadelphia and how they can be reclaimed for a variety of uses tailored to fit the needs of particular people and places. Graphic representation is very effective.
  6. "The Computerized Data Base: A Guide to the West Philadelphia Landscape Plan" describes the computer data base and its potential uses.
Individual and organizations who work on similar community-based projects may find "Models of Success" especially helpful. The report describes common features among successful projects as follows.

The College of Architecture and Environmental Design
 The Arizona State University

The students and faculty at the Arizona State University has made available their community projects to larger audience through Netscape. Currently the following three projects are on the network.

The Department of Nutritional Sciences, Cook College
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

"The Youth Farmstand Project"

The Project is sponsored by the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Cook College and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County. The goal of the Youth Farmstand Project is to prepare economically disadvantaged youth for the workplace of the 21st century through the entrepreneurial experience of owning and operating a retail farmstand business. The major participating students are the high school youth of New Brunswick's public housing communities. The program provides them with long-term educational and employment opportunities through hands-on work experience. A key to the success of this Youth Farmstand Project was to establish an urban-rural economic partnership for the youth, urban fammilies, and New Jersey farmers.

"Youth Farmstand Project Guidebook" (written by Marc A. Winokur, edited by Michael W. Hamm and William T. Hlubik, 1995) recommends other similar projects to consider utilizing the following resources.

  1. Local state university, community college, or extension service
  2. Local churches
  3. Local city government
  4. Local high school
  5. Private foundations and the federal and state government
  6. Farmers
  7. Housing Authority
  8. Tenants councils, residents, and community leaders

The Youth Farmstand Project is supported by local banks and businesses as part of their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The Project was also funded by The Job Training Partnership Act (J.T.P.A.), a federally run program. J.T.P.A. funds are available to pay for the farmstand coordinator's salary, the community supervisor's stipend, various supplies and equipment, and the wages for the students' training and farmstand work. In the State level, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture has a matching funds program which assists projects that enable farmers to expand their market share and which promote the quality and availability of "Jersey Fresh" produce.



Document author(s) : Misa Inoue
HTML by : Misa Inoue
Last modified: 26 Sept, 1995, Misa Inoue

LA 437/465 Fall 1995 : Reports

East St. Louis Action Research Project
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