Iowa State Offers Design Services

AMES, Iowa?EUR??,,????'??+Communities with less that 10,000 are being invited to apply for design service offered by Iowa State University?EUR??,,????'???s department of landscape architecture and Trees Forever, a local environmental group. Iowa?EUR??,,????'???s Living Road Ways Community Visioning program is a planning process that encourages strategic thinking about landscape improvement and targets towns without design and planning services readily available. Parks, roadsides, open spaces, trails and other sites may fit the program criteria.

?EUR??,,????'??The community is required to form a steering committee with goal setting and final concept designs,?EUR??,,????'?? said Sandy Oberbroeckling, Iowa State University project manager. ?EUR??,,????'??A series of 10 meetings will be facilitated by Trees Forever. The community takes an inventory of its resources, identifying its cultural and natural resources.?EUR??,,????'?? Photographs are taken of both positive and negative images in the community, with this inventory overlaid onto an aerial map. Oberbroeckling said this map helps the committee set goals. Some funds may be donated by the Iowa DOT.

Areas that will be considered need to demonstrate a need for assistance, community support, overall quality of the application and a donation of $1,000 cash, services or materials. Iowa State, Iowa DOT, landscape architects and Trees Forever field coordinators will choose the top 12 communities for these projects. Julia Badenhoff, associate professor of landscape architecture at Iowa State, is the principal investigator.

Oberbroeckling explained that landscape architects get paid a flat fee of $8,250 for 400 hours of work. By providing their design services, the landscape architect gets a chance of exposure to new clients. ?EUR??,,????'??Not all landscape architects are willing to do it, but some are provided with an intern who helps to put together the design,?EUR??,,????'?? added Oberbroeckling. ?EUR??,,????'??This team provides training on various topics and information used in their practice.?EUR??,,????'??

Members of the Belmond, Iowa Visioning Committee map local resources on an aerial map of the community.