A group of Connersville residents view drawings of ideas for the city’s downtown by landscape architecture students at Purdue last Friday. Provided image
Community members journeyed to Purdue University last week to see Connersville through the eyes of strangers.
Some of those visions may help reshape downtown.
Ten people from here visited Purdue University’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture in the College of Agriculture. They attended a presentation by landscape architecture students to view their designs for areas from the 2nd Street Park, north to The Oasis, including the downtown area public spaces. Their assignment was to design a project tying in all these areas that could possibly be redesigned to benefit the residents and tourists. The hope is to make downtown the main gathering place for the city that promotes health, wellness and a quality of life that could attract residents and visitors.
In October Dr. Aaron Thompson, director of the Center for Community & Environmental Design, formed this partnership with the local Purdue Extension office staff, Becky Marvel, Community Wellness Coordinator, and other groups including Community Voices, Discover Connersville, the city Parks and recreation Department and local officials to give his students an actual experience outside the classroom that would have a real impact on a community.
The professor will still work with the community to help with partnerships on a much larger scale and the students are welcome to participate in any future outcomes from their designs.
The students, all juniors, were split into seven groups. They worked on designing intricate details and new technology to make the public areas eco-friendly and beautiful places that would engage residents and visitors.
The renderings will be available for the community to see in the near future in various locations.
Visiting Purdue from here were Fayette County Community Voices board members Alexandra Pflug, Stephanie Ruf, David Caldwell and Lea Ann and Jim Robertson; Discover Connersville’s Sharon McQueen and Vane Lashua; Katherine Good, Parks superintendent; Sarah Marvel, youth representative, and Becky Marvel from Fayette County Purdue Extension.
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