projects – Page 21 – Muncie Neighborhoods

January 12, 2016January 12, 2016

Nature Play: Design Build Exploration with Children as Co-creators – Fall 2015

Pam Harwood, of the Ball State University Department of Architecture, led teams of students from various majors in this Immersive Learning project designed to combine learning and playtime for Muncie children.

“Our children are the first generation to be raised without meaningful contact with the natural world,” wrote Richard Louv. This project presented a variety of small-scale design-build opportunities for interdisciplinary teams of students to develop into innovative play elements for a nature-based outdoor learning environment at Head Start’s preschool in Muncie. An integration of design, making, teaching, and learning was paramount in this elective. Whether using salvaged timbers for a series of small bridges in the wetlands, or re-harvested wood in the knowledge wall, sustainable construction and environmental education was the goal of this nature-based preschool environment. Age-appropriate activity settings were co-created with children in a user-centered manner, where the approach to learning was gently guided, open-ended explorations in sensitively constructed learning spaces and natural habitats.

January 12, 2016February 15, 2016

Riverside/Normal City Neighborhood Action Plan – Fall 2015

The Riverside/Normal City Neighborhood Action Plan (RNAP) is a citizen-generated policy regarding the future of the neighborhood, containing initiatives that were developed by the residents of the neighborhood with the assistance of 14 Ball State students. The RNAP will fall under the umbrella of the Muncie Action Plan, which is a strategic guide for the city to create an action agenda for the future. Students researched historical facts, compiled and analyzed census data, and designed and conducted a survey for neighborhood residents. A RNAP Handbook was also produced as a document to aid citizen planners when they begin to enact initiatives from the Plan.

This project follows the Spring 2015 Project, Riverside/Normal City Neighborhood Survey and was led by Faculty Mentor, Lisa Dunaway in the Department of Urban Planning. View the video created for the project below, or visit their website for more information.

January 12, 2016January 12, 2016

The Big Read – Fall 2015

In this project, Ball State University graduate students worked to manage and organize Big Read activities in Muncie, Indiana. The Big Read is a project which aims to promote reading activities among citizens in local communities. The students learned a variety of organizational and management theories and strategies and put them into practice by marketing and organizing The Big Read program.

January 11, 2016January 12, 2016

Blaine/Southeast Neighborhood Playground Completed

The playground began as a seed, an idea that grew at each monthly neighborhood association meeting. The Blaine/Southeast Neighborhood Association formed only a few short years ago in 2011 under the direction of Clifford Clemmons. Supported by a small group of dedicated residents, the association worked with Ball State University urban planning students under the direction of faculty member Lisa Dunaway to develop a neighborhood action plan. The Blaine/Southeast Neighborhood Action plan, finalized in December 2014 provided key information that reinforced the neighbors’ belief that Blaine/Southeast lacked adequate play space for its youth. Located on the far east side of the city, the neighborhood sits removed from Muncie’s established parks and playgrounds.

Planning for the neighborhood playground began in earnest in winter 2014 after the association was successful in attaining a $15,000 KaBoom playground grant. A committee of residents worked diligently to find funding to match the KaBoom grant, to plan for the Community Build Day and to clear the overgrown field where the playground would eventually be built. With the efforts spearheaded by Clemmons and Isabelle Sowers, Muncie Action Plan Volunteer Coordinator, Spring and Summer 2015 were busy with fundraisers and cleanups leading up to the September 12^th Build Day.

Build Day was attended by dozens of volunteers who successfully erected a portion of the playground, with the final construction occurring throughout the following few weeks. The October 16^th ribbon cutting was well attended by residents, volunteers and city officials. Since October, the playground committee has continued to fundraise for the purchase of mulch and landscaping as well as other necessities like lighting and signage through their GoFundMe site. The Neighborhood Association understands that the playground is a community asset, but one that will require constant oversight and maintenance. Association members are committed to creating a play space that is well-loved and well-used by neighborhood children for years to come.

PHOTO GALLERY

January 8, 2016

PHOTOS: Blaine/Southeast playground Community Build Day

Photos by Aaron Webster, Ball State Student Photographer

January 3, 2016January 12, 2016

Muncie-based Sociology Immersive Learning Projects – Fall 2015

Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Sociology, Melinda Messineo, led several groups of Ball State students in sociological Immersive Learning projects around the city. Organizations partnered included the United Way of Muncie and Delaware County, Edible Muncie, and the Muncie Redevelopment Commission. In these projects, students worked with their community partners to gather information about literacy opportunities in build spaces (United Way) food scarcity and pantry use (Edible Muncie) and residential decision making processes for young professionals (Muncie redevelopment). The data will be used to inform programs for each of the partners over the next year.