The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission (SEIRPC) has produced several transportation-related plans, including the Greater Burlington Bike & Pedestrian Plan (2020) to the Region 16 Passenger Transportation Plan (2021). This capstone project for students in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development will build upon these efforts to sustain recent momentum around multi-modal transportation options and identify new opportunities to increase mobility for residents, particularly for residents without reliable access to transportation. 

During the fall semester, the MPA capstone team will conduct research (e.g. literature review, case studies) to better understand the service needs of West Burlington and Burlington, as well as locating effective approaches undertaken by other communities. During Spring semester, the team will focus on engaging stakeholders, analyzing existing local conditions, cost/benefit analyses, and developing recommendations.  

For their MPA capstone project, a group of students will conduct research (e.g. literature review, case studies) to better understand the burden to families and individuals that need to access multiple service providers. They will locate approaches that other communities have developed to make connecting with services more streamlined by offering a single point of contact. During the Spring semester, the group will focus on engaging stakeholders, analyzing existing local conditions, and tailoring recommendations to the region. 

A team of graduate students in Urban and Regional Planning will develop a comprehensive document to guide the future of downtown Oskaloosa. The Oskaloosa Downtown Master Plan will focus particularly on how use of public spaces (e.g. transportation infrastructure, public property) as well as other public support mechanisms (e.g. policies and programming) can enhance and strengthen the downtown district as the heart of the community. 

This project will help identify strategies to enhance and grow markets for producers and will focus particularly on the development of a pilot project to make CSA subscriptions an employee wellness benefit by large employers. For their capstone project, a team of MPA (Master of Public Affairs) students will work with Iowa Valley RC&D staff to determine the full scope of work for the project.  

Masters of Public Affairs students in the School of Planning and Public Affairs conducted a study to provide decision-making support to Bondurant community leaders as they consider alternatives for public safety and law enforcement services.

As part of their capstone project, second-year Urban & Regional Planning graduate students created a plan to spur action toward improving bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Dubuque.

As part of its ambitious sustainability plans, Dubuque seeks to reduce vehicle dependency and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and create/promote accessible and equitable transportation alternatives. 

Urban & Regional Planning and Sustainable Development graduate students developed new Parks, Trails, and Greenways Master Plan that provides comprehensive vision of Bondurant's local park system, recreation facilities, natural resources, and other public open spaces. 

Students in the Transportation Planning Studio will collaborate with the Corridor MPO and City of Cedar Rapids to develop a guidebook that collects the current state of 15-minute city planning efforts, focused on North American examples. The guidebook will pull together information on initiatives currently underway, processes for developing 15-minute city plans, implementation challenges, and analysis techniques.

IISC staff used GIS to convert legal descriptions in the City of Clinton code into GIS shapefiles to aid city staff and developers.