On January 8, the City of Redmond will be hosting over 80 University of Oregon students to launch the Winter Term of the Sustainable City Year Program. Over seven classes comprised of approximately 150 students, both undergraduate and graduate students, will be working on fifteen different projects for the next ten weeks with Redmond staff and community stakeholders.
Four of those classes will be in town on Friday, working on projects as outlined below.
Business Strategy and Planning:
• Downtown Market Analysis
• Downtown Incubator / Accelerator
• Multi-Sports Complex Feasibility Analysis
• Airport Marketing
•Architecture Studio
• Future Police Station Concepts
•Planning, Public Policy and Management
• Affordable Housing Plan Update
•Landscape Architecture
• Airport Landscape Master Plan
“The students bring a fresh approach and energy to projects within the city and explore new options, “says Mayor George Endicott. “We are thrilled to participate in such a valuable program.”
The public is invited to attend a 9am Redmond overview presentation at Redmond City Hall, 716 SW Evergreen Avenue, with Mayor Endicott and city staff. A full day of activity continues with a tour of downtown, project areas and locations of interest. The students will disperse in groups later in the day and meet with city staff and community leaders with expertise in several of the projects areas.
UO students participating in the University of Oregon Sustainable City Year Program, in partnership with the City of Redmond, will visit the City of Redmond to study the following:
Airport Landscape Master Plan
The focus of this Landscape Architecture course is to develop site planning and landscape design concepts for future development on the Redmond airport property. Students working on this project will visit the Redmond Airport at 3 PM on Friday, January 8.
Police Station Expansion
Students in this Architecture course will develop conceptual renderings of a new facility for the Redmond Police Department by renovating the current Nation Guard building located at 822 SW Highland Avenue. These designs will include an expansion from its current 13,000 square feet to approximately 24,000 square feet to accommodate growth of the police department for the future. This will also include space for public parking, secured vehicle parking, evidence storage, and more. Students will arrive at 11 AM and will tour the National Guard building with Redmond Chief of Police, Dave Tarbet.
Business Planning and Strategy
Business students will work on several projects to enhance the climate and brand impact of local businesses in Redmond. Students will improve the overall marketing of the Redmond Airport, as well as analyze their current assets and determine how to best maximize them. They will also evaluate the feasibility of a business accelerator or incubator that will reinforce Redmond’s commitment to public-private partnerships. Additionally, a section of students will collect new data and update a 2005 study by the City of Redmond on the Downtown market area. This project will identify the most attractive businesses to locate downtown, as well as provide recommendations on how businesses can effectively reach consumers. Finally, a group of students will develop an economic feasibility analysis for a potential regional multi-sports complex that would be located in Redmond and serve both regional and national needs. Students focusing on these projects will arrive at Redmond City Hall at 9 AM. Once arrived, they will receive a briefing on each project and then tour their respective project sites, as well as meet stakeholders and community members.
Housing Policy
Students participating in this course will study the relationship between housing policy, comprehensive planning, and municipal tools and resources used to plan for a variety of housing types. In particular, students working on this project will evaluate and make recommendations around the challenges of affordable housing with the City of Redmond. Students in this course will arrive at Redmond City Hall by 11 AM for interviews with staff and then later, tour the different housing types located within the city.
Students will continue class work over the following 10 weeks with final work products completed in March.
Other classes and projects for the Winter Term include:
Sustainability and Law, Law School
• Empowering Local Economic Development
Branding Campaigns – Journalism:
• Professional Medical District Promotional Materials
• Sewer and Water Youth Outreach Campaign
The University of Oregon Sustainable City Year Program has partnered with the City of Redmond during the 2015-2016 academic year to tackle various projects within Redmond.
For more information on the Sustainable City Initiative, contact Ginny McPherson at 541-9237759.
