Brownfields to Brightfields: Analysis of Solar Potentials of Brownfields in Delaware County, Indiana

Fall 2019: In the Brownfields to Brightfields Project (BBP), 2nd-year urban planning students surveyed, inventoried and mapped 22 brownfields in East Central Indiana to assess their solar installation potentials. Students performed land use analysis and ownership studies, assessed potential solar generation capacity, and determined sites’ potential for economic development. Students created a detailed reproduction guideline for Indiana communities. These results will be shared through detailed web-based sitemaps, replication guide, webinar, and presentations to local officials and stakeholders, state and national conferences, and in print.

Fall 2018: This community based immersive learning course is built around a theme of promoting sustainable community through analyzing its solar energy potential for existing brownfields of Delaware County, Indiana, and is comprised of urban planning students who are interested in regional planning, brownfield redevelopment, application of computer-based planning techniques to regional scale, and sustainable community building. By definition, brownfield means a site or real property for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of ahazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant (US Congress, 1980). Due to its hazardous nature, the concentration of such sites in urban areas or industrial towns makes economic development more challenging. However, beginning in the early 2000s, brownfields in rust belt Midwest regions slowly started to gain an attention from developers and communities as an opportunity, and now they are starting to attract significant funding and subsidies from private investors, non-profits and government agencies. Against this backdrop, in this immersive learning course, partnering with Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter, students analyzed and evaluated solar potentials for brownfields in Delaware County, Indiana. Through the immersive learning course, students evaluated the solar potential for the community and assess the potential for economic development for existing brownfields.


Fall 2019

Faculty Mentor: Sanglim Yoo
Department: Urban Planning
Community Partners: Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
Students: Alexis Adams, Batul Ather, Richard Bratton, Elizabeth Crane, Daniel Grinspan, Kenzie Hughes, Alexander Janke, Janee Johnson, Esteban Leguizamo, Madison Lindsay, Jacob McQueen, Alex Pope, Erick Portillo, Jefferson Reece, Carter Solivan, Madison Spangler, Casey Stamm


Fall 2018

Faculty Mentor: Sanglim Yoo
Department: Urban Planning
Community Partners: Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
Students: Odessa Birtman, Javan Johnson, Colton Marvel, Hannah Moran, Sarah Murray, Patricia Salgado, Erin Salgat, Michael Terronez, Jackson Trebor

Book Arts Collaborative

Book Arts Collaborative is a community letterpress and book bindery located in the Madjax Building in downtown Muncie. We preserve and teach apprentice-taught skills and run a small business. We teach analog design skills, business skills, and professionalization of all majors.


Faculty Mentors: Rai Peterson, Colleen Steffen, Amy Trendler
Departments: English, Journalism, University Libraries
Community Partners: Tribune Showprint Posters, Inc.
Students: Lauren Hansen, Marisa Sloan, Holly Westerfield, Kaytlyn Bell, Natalie Rokosz, Tier Marrow, Hannah Bihn, Sophie Gordon

A Light in Space

Through experiential learning of the essentials of lighting technology and design, “A Light in the Space” has aimed to provide guidance and resources that advance the quality and opportunities for lighting design in Muncie Civic Theatre’s future productions. These resources are meant to enhance the overall experience and focus on the diverse art of theatre through lighting design. These resources are manifest in a repertory light plot as well as a plan for upgrading the lighting technology of Muncie Civic Theatre.


Faculty Mentor: Mickie Marie
Department: Theatre and Dance
Community Partner: Youth Opportunity Center
Students: Libby Amaya, Katrina Conte, Max Cseresznyes, Jessica Custer, Samatha Flannelly, Rachel Hemm, May Hickman, Casey Kalinke, Chris Marsh, Kalee Mccullar, Addy Monger,
Avery Unate, Austin Zimmerman

Anthony-Northside Action Plan

The Anthony Northside Neighborhood Action Plan (ANNAP) was a project developed by Ball State University undergraduate urban planning students. The basis of this project was to create a neighborhood action plan for the Anthony Northside Neighborhood in Muncie, Indiana.

This project was comprehensive in that it could be considered an extension of the recently established Muncie Action Plan (MAP). Specifically this project relates to the MAP Initiative 4 Action 14, which calls for the creation of development plans for each neighborhood. By utilizing this plan as a tool, the neighborhood can now self-organize to complete both goals for itself and goals for Muncie as a whole. The empowerment of the people is one of the key aspects of community planning.

Over the course of this project, the students were innovative in refining the skills learned from their previous experiences along with developing new skills. During the project students engaged and lead neighborhood public meetings as well as created and developed initiatives for specific goal groups through public participation.


Faculty Mentor: Lisa Dunaway
Department: Urban Planning
Community Partners: Anthony-Northside Neighborhood Association, PathStone Corporation, & Kennedy Library
Students: Mary Banning, Mallory Thatch, Nick Vojvodich, Josh Sims, Trevor Preddy, Catherine Kazmierczak, Anas Almassrahy, Daniel Blondet, Alex Varney

Fall 2017 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

Ball State faculty, students, and community partners are working together this Fall on a number of immersive learning projects in and around Muncie.

A Light in the Space
Community Partner:  Muncie Civic Theatre and Dance
Faculty Mentor:  Mickie Marie, Department of Theatre and Dance

Anthony Neighborhood Action Plan
Community Partner:  Anthony Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor:  Lisa Dunaway, Department of Urban Planning

Books Arts Collaborative
Community Partner:  Tribune Showprint Posters, Inc.
Faculty Mentor:  Rai Peterson, Department of English; Colleen Steffen, Department of Journalism; Amy Trendler, BSU Libraries

Brownfields to Brightfields: Analysis of Solar Potentials of Brownfields in Delaware County, Indiana
Community Partner:  Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
Faculty Mentor:  Sanglim Yoo, Department of Urban Planning

Cardinal Weather Service
Community Partner:  Ball State University Athletics, Cardinal Greenway, Delaware County Futbol Club
Faculty Mentor:  Nathan Hitchens & Petra Zimmermann, Department of Geography

Computer Science for Middle Schoolers (CS4MS)
Community Partner:  Northside Middle School
Faculty Mentor:  David Largent, Department of Computer Science

Creating Community Through Drama: Outreach at Muncie Civic Theatre
Community Partner: Muncie Civic Theatre
Faculty Mentor: Peggy Fisher, Department of Communication Studies

Digging in to Muncie’s Local Food System (ongoing)
Community Partner:  Farmished
Faculty Mentor:  Kate Elliott, Department of Journalism

Fundraising for Non-profit Organizations (ongoing)
Community Partners:  GR3 International, Berrien Cancer Services, Cor Fortium, Fanconi Anemia, Delaware County Futbol Club, Child Study Center, Your Story Hour
Faculty Mentor:  René Church, School of Art

Learning Eustress Options (LEO): A Police Stress Project
Community Partner: Muncie Indiana Police Department
Faculty Mentor: Bryan D. Byers, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

Maplewood Mansion Learning Lab
Community Partner: IU School of Medicine – Muncie Campus
Faculty Mentor: Carla Earhart & David Martin, Department of Management

Maring-Hunt Community Garden Market Pavilion and Outdoor Kitchen (ongoing)
Community Partners: Maring-Hunt Public Library, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor: Pam Harwood, Department of Architecture

NAMI Delaware County-Reaching Out to Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Local Criminal Justice
Community Partner: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Faculty Mentor: Monte Staton, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

Professional Development, Differentiated and Digitized (PD3): Muncie Community Schools Learning Management System Adoption and Implementation
Community Partner: Muncie Community Schools
Faculty Mentor: Jon Clausen, Department of Educational Studies

Planet Muncie: Survey of Environmental Organizations in Muncie and Delaware County (ongoing)
Community Partner: Muncie Action Plan
Faculty Mentor: David Hua, Department of Social Work

Provider Survey for Second Harvest Food Bank
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Pellerin, Department of Sociology

Purple Cow: Moving from Ordinary to Extraordinary Care for Children (ongoing)
Community Partner: Kidz Korner Child Care Center
Faculty Mentor: Stacey Allred, Department of Elementary Education

Rehabilitating Houses F17 (ongoing)
Community Partner: Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Faculty Mentor: Janet Fick, Department of Construction Management and Interior Design

Storytelling and Social Justice
Community Partner: Circles of Delaware County/Second Harvest Food Bank
Faculty Mentor: Emily Ruth Rutter, Department of English

Team 2 – Reading Intervention at the Youth Opportunity Center (ongoing)
Community Partner: Youth Opportunity Center
Faculty Mentors: Ruth Jefferson, Department of Special Education; Janay Sander, Department of Educational Psychology

 

Summer 2017 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

Ball State faculty, students, and community partners are working together this summer on a number of immersive learning projects in and around Muncie.

Maring-Hunt Community Garden Market Pavilion and Outdoor Kitchen
Community Partner:  Maring-Hunt Library, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor:  Pam Harwood, Department of Architecture

Planet Muncie: Survey of Environmental Organizations in Muncie and Delaware County 
Community Partner: Muncie Action Plan
Faculty Mentor:  David Hua, Department of Technology

Team 2 – Reading Intervention at the Youth Opportunity Center
Community Partner:  Youth Opportunity Center
Faculty Mentors:  Ruth Jefferson, Department of Special Education; Janay Sander, Department of Educational Psychology