Tag: projects

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Brightfield for Bright Future

Students in PLAN 203: Regional Analysis and Design, conducted solar potential analysis for brownfields in Muncie. They applied Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to study the ownership of the brownfields, current land use and zoning ordinances, preexisting conditions, and then analyzed solar PV potentials using a publicly available PV watts tool developed by the US Department of Energy.

The project focused primarily on the reuse of brownfields for solar PV installation. Brownfields are previously developed land that former use, like the potential presence of hazardous substances, makes reuse complicated.  PLAN 203 students identified six brownfield sites in Muncie for potential solar PV installation. Together with brownfields, students also analyzed the solar PV potentials for city-owned facilities including fire stations and Muncie Sanitary District facilities. Two fire stations and two of Muncie Sanitary District’s water treatment facility sites were selected.

Explore the story map created for the project.

Faculty Mentor: Sanglim Yoo
Department: Urban Planning
Community Partner: Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
Students: Adam Coleson, Lauren Doppke, Michael Grossniklaus, Elise Jones, Kaelyn Leach, Enzo Lundy, Mattew Pytel, Kaylie Slate, Eric Snowden, and Christian Terrell

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Anthony-Northside Neighborhood Living Quality

Student studying a thermal image on a cell phone

The goal of this project was to map the quality-of-life for Muncie neighborhoods, and specifically to map the living quality for the Anthony-Northside neighborhood using GIS and remote sensing techniques. Four general categories of living quality indicators were evaluated for each house in the neighborhood and fifteen maps were created in this project: one map for Home Insulation; two maps for Home value and Lot size; one map for Lot Greenness, ten maps for its adjacency to community amenities, and one Overall Living Quality Index map.

Home Insulation for each house was evaluated from a thermal infrared image collected by students using a FLIR One thermal camera. Home value and lot size were obtained from Zillow.com. Lot Greenness was assessed based the greenness percentage in each lot, which was derived from the USA NAIP NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) imagery. Proximity to community amenities including Clinics, Schools, Libraries, Restaurants, USPS Mailboxes, Bus Stops, Parks, Bike Trails, Recreations, and Fire Stations were analyzed using Network Analysis in ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online. The values of all indicators were scaled to categories of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest living quality and 5 being the highest. The Overall Living Quality Index was obtained by averaging all fourteen living quality indicators.

Explore some of the story maps created using the collected data.
Image Gallery

Faculty Mentor: Jason Yang
Department: Geography
Community Partner: Muncie Action Plan, Anthony-Northside Neighborhood Association
Course: Advance Remote Sensing – GEOG 437

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Makerspaces

In the Spring 2020 Semester, the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry hosted an amazing program allowing students with the BSU English Department in partnership with the Muncie Arts and Culture Council to explore the “makers” movement becoming increasingly popular in our cities. The investigation covered some of the cool makerspaces here in Muncie and culminated in a large enough collection of stories and data for 2 print books – a compilation of oral histories and a collection of photo essays featuring stories of Muncie makers. Learn more at the website for the project on the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry’s site, and check out these other awesome resources!

Project Website | Seminar Facebook Page | Interactive Map of Muncie & Surrounding Area Makerspaces

 

Faculty Mentor: Laura Romano
Department: English
Community Partner: Muncie Arts and Culture Council
Student Team: Stressca Nathaniel, Tamera Sims, Jack Satter, Elizabeth Baum, Mason Killebrew, Jessica Snow, Andrew (Drew) Catalano, Halie Wills, Sarah Morrow, Laura Romano, Darrin Sims, Elizabeth Riester, Hannah (Cali) Fehr

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Tourist Maps for Muncie and Delaware County

Students in Geography 341 (Cartography and Visualization of Spatial Data) partnered with the Muncie Visitors Bureau to produce visual materials that promote Muncie attractions to area visitors. Students collected and organized data during the semester and explored possible map designs for both print brochures and interactive online applications. Guides on restaurants and breweries, Muncie pop culture, the Garfield trail, and the Bob Ross experience are just some of the pieces completed by the students.

Faculty Mentor: Jörn Seemann
Department: Geography
Community Partner: Muncie Visitors Bureau
Student Team:  Alyssa Bilbrey, Jarrett Braden, William Cape, Dan Council, Becca Garrett, Nathan Gidley, Elante Ingram, Jamie Johnson, Benjamin Lutz, Riley Mccreary, Ben Meyer, Jordan Verdeyen, Clay Zeigler

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Geospatial Design Laboratory

Geospatial data – data that is associated with a particular location – is an increasingly valuable asset for managing, analyzing, and displaying information related to geographic areas. Students partnered with organizations such as the Delaware County Food Council and Cardinal Weather Service to collaborate on intensive, hands-on projects that resulted in maps, charts, data, and other tools that would benefit the partners. Students identified the project objectives and acquired and prepared geospatial data for analysis. They communicated with community partners to assess progress on the project and produced high-quality products. During the project, students partnered with the Delaware County Food Council, used maps and graphics to tell an engaging story about food access, and designed a digital survey that collected local input as to where residents shop for food and how they perceive food access in the county.

Faculty Mentor: Jörn Seemann
Department: Geography
Community Partner: Muncie Visitors Bureau
Student Team: Jarrett Braden, Bailey Brooks, William Cape, Nathan Gagnon, Becca Garrett, Jacob Haas, Zach Hagemeier, Elante Ingram, Jamie Johnson, Aaron Jones, Connor Kurtz, Joseph Lopilato, Benjamin Lutz, Riley McCreary, Ben Meyer, Patrick Ollier, Rachel Pereira, Nathan Santichen, Kelby Smith, Letia Snorden, Jonathan Strang, Jordan Verdeyen, Maggie Warren, Andy Wilson, Erick Wilson, Jordan Wolfe, Clay Zeigler

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Teen Dating Violence

Teen dating violence is estimated to occur in one of every ten dating relationships. Nearly 1.5 million U.S. high school students are physically abused by their partners each year. The dynamics of adolescent abuse, neglect, and battery has mostly gone unnoticed. A study of 10th graders showed that 35% had been either physically or verbally abused; and 31% were perpetrators of that abuse. Given the prevalence of dating violence, communities must work together to ensure that victims have access to resources and increased legal protection. Social workers understand the needs of adolescents and their families. Their role is to support teenage victims while advocating for legal, medical, scholar, and family support. The students who participated in this immersive learning experience worked with Muncie’s A Better Way domestic violence shelter, to gain in-depth knowledge of the concerns of teenage victims facing dating violence. Students also gained a new understanding of how local agencies collaborate to provide services for the victims of teen dating violence.

Faculty Mentor: Ron Dolon
Department: Department of Social Work
Community Partner: A Better Way
Student Team: Petyon Adamiec, Mike Burns, Matthew Curtner, Chrislynn Degraffenreid, Rachael Dunn, MakaylaGrayson, Tika Harlan, Alyssa Hewson, Amanda Johnson, Liv Kennett, Alexis Knight, Hannah Leach, Keyairra Mcdonald, Jordan Otero, Casey Radz, Riley Ridenour, Ruth Schultz, Mackenzie Staver, Savannah Urban, Emily Walls