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

Where We Tweet

Where We Tweet

Geotagged tweets reveal interesting patterns in cities. A new map of more than 6 billion tweets from the last three and a half years shows where people around the world are tweeting. Here are some interesting regions in Oklahoma. Scroll to the bottom to explore the...

Cultivating Community at OU

Cultivating Community at OU

Monday marked the 20th year of the leadership of OU President David Boren and First Lady Molly Shi Boren here at The University of Oklahoma. Over the last two decades, Molly Shi and David Boren have promoted beautiful public spaces and architecture on the OU campus....

The New Deal Around Oklahoma

The New Deal Around Oklahoma

The New Deal programs of the 1930s transformed the nation with public construction projects. A new interactive map from Berkeley's Department of Geography lets you find New Deal projects anywhere in the country. In Oklahoma towns, many examples of these civic...

Jeff Speck Argues for Narrower Lanes

Jeff Speck Argues for Narrower Lanes

Today, a Jeff Speck article published on CityLab shares an excellent argument for narrower travel lanes. In the article, Speck tells how 12' lanes have become a national standard, despite many disadvantages when applied in urban settings: When lanes are...

PARK(ing) Day 2014

PARK(ing) Day 2014

PARK(ing) Day is a worldwide event where citizens turn parking spaces into places for people to hang out. Last year 8 parklets appeared around Oklahoma City, but this year more than 20 parking locations in 10 districts were transformed into creative miniature parks....

The Importance of Shade

The Importance of Shade

In a hot summer climate, shade is an important part of making people comfortable outside. When famed photographer Dorothea Lange visited Sallisaw, Oklahoma in August of 1936, she noticed farmers were gathered on the shady side of the street to sit or stand in groups...

Make Guthrie Weird

Make Guthrie Weird

Guthrie, Oklahoma is famous for its beautifully preserved downtown, which was named a National Historic Landmark in 1999. The city got lots of attention for hosting a music festival with more than 40,000 attendees last summer. Guthrie has been doing a great job...

ODOT Experiments with Optical Illusion Crosswalk

ODOT Experiments with Optical Illusion Crosswalk

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is experimenting with a new way to make crosswalks more visible to motorists. This is welcome news, since many of Oklahoma's state highways travel through walkable residential neighborhoods and main streets. A Safer Crosswalk?...

These Ugly Facades Were Actually Time Capsules

These Ugly Facades Were Actually Time Capsules

Ongoing renovations of 1920s and 1930s commercial buildings in Oklahoma City have been revealing buried architectural treasures in the last few months. "Updated" facade treatments applied decades ago are being stripped away, revealing that they have been preserving...

A Gathering Space for the Alva Courthouse Square

A Gathering Space for the Alva Courthouse Square

Alva, Oklahoma is located near the Kansas border in far northern Oklahoma. Alva has become a partner for the Oklahoma Arts Council's Cultural District Initiative. Alva is the county seat of Woods County, and the county courthouse is located in a two-block green square...

2014 Statewide Preservation Conference

2014 Statewide Preservation Conference

IQC partnered with the State Historic Preservation Office to host the 26th Annual Statewide Preservation Conference in Norman. Norman, with the university campus and surrounding historic neighborhoods, was a great place to get back to the basics and learn...

IQC Welcomes New Director Ian Carlton

IQC Welcomes New Director Ian Carlton

We are excited to share that Dr. Ian Carlton will be the new executive director of the IQC. His wife Rebecca Sanders will also join the College of Architecture's Regional and City Planning Division. Welcome to the team! Urban Development Expert Ian Carlton Named...