OU Landscape Architecture Students Reimagine UCO Child Study Center Playground

Thirteen graduate students in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma are helping bring nature-focused design to the Child Study Center at the University of Central Oklahoma.

OU IQC Invites Community Assistance Project Proposals

The Institute of Quality Communities at the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the opening of the 2025-2026 Request for Proposals (RFP) process for Community Assistance Projects.

IQC Placemaking Conference Slated for Spring 2027

The next Placemaking Conference, a cornerstone program of the OU Institute for Quality Communities, is now scheduled for Spring 2027.

Amber Wiley Named Director of the IQC

Following a national search, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma has named Dr. Amber Wiley as the new director of the Institute for Quality Communities

President Boren: 50 Years of Public Service

President Boren: 50 Years of Public Service

Congratulations, President Boren! President David Boren was honored Thursday by the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents for a half-century of public service. The Regents passed a resolution of congratulations in honor of the former Oklahoma governor, U.S. senator...

Community Hope Workshop

Community Hope Workshop

On November 15, we held a Community Hope Workshop to gather feedback and ideas for the future of downtown Muskogee. More than 100 Muskogee residents from all corners of the city showed up at the Martin Luther King Center to help us in this effort. At the center,...

We Art Lindsey Street

We Art Lindsey Street

Sunday, December 4 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Sooner Legends 1200 24th Ave, Norman IQC is partnering with the Norman Arts Council to produce a kick-off workshop for artists planning to apply for a grant for placemaking projects on Lindsey Street. Lindsey Street is one of...

Small City Urban Renewal and Central Malls

Small City Urban Renewal and Central Malls

Urban renewal policies of the mid-20th Century were not limited to major cities. Regional cities and small towns also implemented urban renewal programs. This post shows five cities of under 100,000 in population that built central shopping malls as part of Urban...

Central Muskogee Population

Central Muskogee Population

As in many cities, the central part of Muskogee has lost population over the last several decades. In the 1970 Census, four central neighborhoods accounted for 18,000 people- Nearly half of Muskogee's 1970 population of 37,000. However, by 2010, the Census showed a...

Downtown Muskogee: A Landscape of Hope

Downtown Muskogee: A Landscape of Hope

Symbolic Sequence of Planning Process We call this planning effort Downtown Muskogee: A Landscape of Hope. What is a hopeful city? How is hopefulness of a people related to the growth of a town? Can we make a plan based on hope? Collective hope is not the same as...

Environmental Design Students Study Bricktown Public Life

Environmental Design Students Study Bricktown Public Life

One of the key sources of data for understanding city life is traffic count information. Cities collect detailed information about the number of cars that travel down major streets each day. However, cities rarely collect similar information about people walking or...

The Art of Crossing the Street

The Art of Crossing the Street

Some of our favorite public art projects have turned the everyday act of crossing the street into something more fun. We shared the idea of colorful crosswalks when we visited Tahlequah last fall. Here are some artistic ways to cross the street around the world....

2015 Oklahoma Population Estimates

2015 Oklahoma Population Estimates

The Census Bureau recently released the newest population estimates for Oklahoma. These yearly estimates are used in allocating federal funds and resources. On July 1st, 2015, the state’s population was estimated to be 3,911,338, which is a gain of about 160,000...

Oklahoma Creative Communities

Oklahoma Creative Communities

The Oklahoma Creative Communities project is a new initiative by Creative Oklahoma. 8 communities have been selected to participate in the project which will foster solutions to local problems that enhance creativity and quality of life. The project began March 18-19...

Sundial House Project

Sundial House Project

Students in the Historic Preservation Planning and Historic Buildings of Oklahoma course, led by Professor Ron Frantz, spent the Fall 2015 semester working on a project for the Sundial House in Northeast Oklahoma City. The course is part of the core curriculum for the...

Memories of Boley

Memories of Boley

Boley is a town with an amazing history as a thriving all-black community in Oklahoma, now known best for its annual Boley Rodeo. We visited last spring to meet with community members and help generate some ideas for community projects. We were struck by the vibrant...