The OU Institute for Quality Communities recently hosted a Route 66 Placemaking Retreat in collaboration with the OU Arts and Humanities Forum. The retreat was funded by an Oklahoma Humanities “Community Discussions” grant that an interdisciplinary OU team received in November. This retreat built upon the team’s site visits and community discussions in several historic towns along Route 66.
The community of Westville, Oklahoma was recently awarded a Built Environment Grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust to continue implementing a plan developed by OU’s Institute for Quality Communities. With the designs provided by the OU team, Westville city officials hope to enhance the town’s streetscapes and improve overall community connectivity.
In collaboration with design and engineering firm Kimley-Horn, the town of Westville, Oklahoma, recently began developing a project created by a team of students from the Institute for Quality Communities. The team’s design concepts have been incorporated into the final plan for a downtown lot and will soon become a reality.
On March 29, 2023, Regional + City Planning faculty Dr. John C. Harris and Dr. C Aujean Lee joined doctoral student and Institute for Quality Communities Research Fellow Rebecca Blaine to present to MetaFund about community engagement practices.