Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities: Making Use of a Research University's Greatest Strengths

Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities: Making Use of a Research University's Greatest Strengths

HUD User publishes examples of anchor institution case studies in communities and regions across the country. The most recent example describes the University of Iowa's efforts to support sustainability projects in communities throughout the state with its Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC).

The University of Iowa, home to 31,000 students, has a strong research profile. Through IISC, the university is harnessing that research prowess to tackle sustainability challenges. The initiative, which began as a single graduate course in 2009, has expanded to include over 260 students, 11 academic departments, and 50 community partners working on economic, environmental, and social sustainability projects in Iowa's rural and urban localities. Among the projects that IISC has completed in the past five years are a market study for what is now a successful kayak park in Charles City and a plan for the city of Muscatine that integrates flood control with downtown redevelopment — projects that, due to the cities' strapped budgets and limited capacities, might not otherwise have been realized.

Visit HUD User's Case Studies page to learn more about IISC's work and to view other promising examples of how anchor institutions across the nation are supporting sustainable community development.