SPOTLIGHT

ESLARP, in collaboration with the Community Informatics Initiative and Department of Landscape Architeture, will be supporting a Design Workshop and Seminar on Sao Tome starting this December.  This is the outcome of a collaboration has been growing for several years now between faculty and students from the University of Illinois and governmental and non-governmental organizations in São Tomé, an island nation off the coast of West Africa.

Professors Laura Lawson, Rebecca Ginsberg, and Lynne Dearborn will be the team leaders on a unique interdisiplinary design opportunity.  Participants will travel to São Tomé during winter break and work will continue throughout the spring semester.  Find out how to apply for the Design Workshop and Seminar.

 ESLARP in Action Blog

Student Learning

ESLARP represents one of the premier avenues for civically-engaged student learning on the UIUC campus, and its 20-year commitment is a model for other universities nationwide.  The goal is to encourage a mutually beneficial partnership between students and a community group, with students providing useful work to the community that in turn provides rich, applied learning experiences for the students.

Outreach Weekends Outreach Weekends are an integral part of ESLARP, occurring 2 to 3 times per semester. Participation in an outreach weekend begins by registering for one of the many ESLARP-related courses offered at ILLINOIS. These 2-day Outreach Weekends to East St. Louis begin on Friday morning and end Saturday evening. There is no cost to the student for these fun service learning opportunities to work alongside neighborhood partners on highly tangible and visible projects that address immediate and long-term needs in the community. Click the link above to view reports of past Outreach Weekend activities.

Courses These courses work collaboratively with a variety of community partners in East St. Louis to address information and technology, create neighborhood plans and site designs, and research local issues.  Most of the courses involve participation in an Outreach Weekend to East St. Louis, giving students an opportunity to work hands-on with community members and leaders.

Student Projects and Reports These are examples of student research reports and masters projects on East St. Louis and ESLARP.