Government Employees – �鶹��Ƶ

Revitalizing the City of Reading Greenhouse as a Community Space

Ada Inman — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:28:40 +0000

The City of Reading owns a large greenhouse, 6,500sqft in City Park that has been vacant since 2018. The City is interested in using the Greenhouse to educate the public about growing plants and sustainable food systems, promote the local farmers market and local food initiatives, serve for training and workforce development purposes, and to be used to grow plant material to be used within the city in public parks and public spaces, planters, storm water infrastructure. Students are asked to design a greenhouse programming plan for diverse audiences to optimize public engagement. In addition, students also include timelines for plants growth and best management practices for greenhouse operations.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Heather Karsten, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Crop Production / Ecology
hdk3@psu.edu
814-863-3179

Lunch and Learn Analysis for State College Borough

Ada Inman — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:08:42 +0000

The Borough of State College has been working on a variety of initiatives to better engage residents with the borough, and to help build community across age groups, neighborhoods, and town & gown. One initiative they’re considering is hosting a regular Lunch & Learn gathering that would bring residents, borough employees, and others together to help strengthen such community connections. The borough would like suggestions for how such a program should be implemented, including potential topics and partners, promotion, frequency, and how to evaluate its success. A team of students developed suggestions for how the Borough could implement a community-building Lunch and Learn program, which could include case studies of other successful communities or programs.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Timothy Kelsey, Ph.D.
Professor of Agricultural Economics
Email tkelsey@psu.edu
814-865-9542

Educational Material for Thompson Woods Preserve

Ada Inman — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 19:39:02 +0000

Thompson Woods Preserve (TWP) is a 43.36-acre natural area consisting of trails and natural ecological features. This public preserve offers a unique natural setting within walking distance of the surrounding urban environment of downtown State College and the Pennsylvania State University. TWP property is jointly owned by College Township and the Borough of State College. The preserve operates under normal municipal park rules in addition to having specific regulations set forth to protect the natural habitat. The TWP Committee considers education as a preventative tool in maintaining the preserve and to protect it from influences that could disrupt its biodiversity, the forest and watershed attributes. Students’ work provide information and research on the relationship of invasives at TWP, its emerging relationships and threats, as well as best management practices.

Sustainable Communities Collaborative Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Leana Topper
Teaching Professor of Biology
lvm12@psu.edu
814-863-6920

Exploring Challenges and Opportunities for Water Conservation and Stormwater Management in the Verde Valley Watershed

Ada Inman — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:06:48 +0000

The Town of Camp Verde, located in the Verde Valley, a region in central Arizona, is interested in exploring new opportunities and pathways to promote water conservation in the local community as well as regional watershed. While the region faces ongoing challenges around water quantity and quality – which are being addressed through collaboration with local and national nongovernmental organizations and other critical partners – downstream issues such as stormwater management are also integral to long-term conservation efforts. The Town collaborated with Master of Public Affairs students to identify and examine challenges, opportunities, and best practices for 1) the development of municipal ordinances that promote water conservation and stormwater management in the Verde Valley watershed and 2) education, communication, and awareness-building around water conservation for target audiences in the Verde Valley watershed, including: K-12 youth, adult residents and retirees, and visitors. Findings will inform updates and additions to ordinances as well as a framework for further education and engagement with key audiences in the local community.

Emergency Management Response, Recovery, & Resilience Strategies

Ada Inman — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:59:47 +0000

The Town of Miami is a historic mining community in the Copper Corridor region of Arizona. Situated in a mountainous region, the community experiences more extreme weather conditions than other areas of the state, including fires, floods, landslides, and other related natural hazards as well as technological hazards such as cybersecurity concerns. As a smaller, more rural community, the Town of Miami relies on collaboration with neighboring cities and towns, as well as local, state, and federal partners to respond to emergency situations. To improve hazard mitigation, disaster response and recovery efforts locally and regionally, the Town of Miami collaborated with graduate students in the School of Public Affairs (SPA) Emergency Management/Homeland Security (EMHS) program to identify critical factors that may contribute to and support emergency management planning and response, then develop After Action Reports to provide strategies and recommendations for future emergency planning efforts.

AI in Government: Ethics

Ada Inman — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:53:16 +0000

The City of Chandler, located in the southeastern Phoenix Metropolitan Area, is a thriving community of innovation seeking to plan a sustainable future for its residents, businesses, and visitors. With an interest in emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the City is exploring opportunities to leverage AI to improve municipal operations and governance. To advance these efforts, undergraduate Technical Communication students collaborated with the City of Chandler through the ASU Project Cities program to identify risks and opportunities around the use of AI in government, explore AI policies, processes, and procedures designed and implemented locally and globally, and synthesize literature on citizen perspective on AI in government. These findings will be shared with leadership and staff to help inform current and future decision-making around AI throughout the City of Chandler.

AI in Government: Risks and Opportunities

Ada Inman — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:46:45 +0000

The City of Chandler, located in the southeastern Phoenix Metropolitan Area, is a thriving community of innovation seeking to plan a sustainable future for its residents, businesses, and visitors. With an interest in emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the City is exploring opportunities to leverage AI to improve municipal operations and governance. To advance these efforts, graduate Public Affairs students will collaborate with the City of Chandler to identify problems, challenges, and risks municipal governments may experience when leveraging the use of AI, as well as to explore opportunities and best practices of how municipalities can use AI to improve City operations and quality of life for residents. Students facilitated comprehensive literature reviews of these topics, as well as survey leadership and key stakeholders throughout the City to inform the research process. Strategies and recommendations developed by the students will be shared with staff and leadership to help shape decision-making around AI throughout the City of Chandler.

Data Analytics in Local Government

Ada Inman — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:38:22 +0000

The City of Chandler, located in the southeastern Phoenix Metropolitan Area, is a thriving community of innovation seeking to plan a sustainable future for its residents, businesses, and visitors. As the City is dedicated to utilizing data to improve municipal operations and planning, the Neighborhood Resources Department is exploring opportunities to further leverage the Building Blocks data platform. To advance these efforts, graduate Public Affairs students studying applied econometrics collaborated with the City of Chandler through the ASU Project Cities program to examine research questions focused on challenges related to housing as well as quantify the impacts of the For Our City program over time. The findings and policy implications will be shared with leadership and staff to inform future decisions as well as best practices and opportunities for leveraging the Building Blocks platform.

Exploring Strategies & Opportunities for Developing Municipal Green Teams

Ada Inman — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:12:36 +0000

The City of Mesa and City of Glendale are fast-growing municipalities located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area in central Arizona. While Mesa is located in the East Valley and Glendale is located in the West Valley, both communities share a commitment to advancing sustainability throughout the region and state. Currently, sustainability leaders from both cities are interested in exploring strategies and opportunities for developing and implementing Green Teams to bolster sustainability efforts and initiatives across departments. Green Teams provide an opportunity to better connect staff and leadership throughout each municipality, creating new and innovative pathways for sustainability action within municipal operations as well as in the surrounding community. Therefore, the City of Mesa and City of Glendale collaborated with graduate Master of Sustainability Leadership students to explore opportunities provided by the development and implementation of Green Teams, as well as identify best practices and lessons learned from municipalities and other relevant organizations locally and globally. Leveraging these findings, MSL students will determine the benefits and drawbacks of implementation, then propose structures, policies, and processes that may be used to support, implement, and evaluate a successful Green Team in these communities, as well as in other communities in the state and region.

E-Sports Market Analysis for Federal Way

Ada Inman — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 18:54:35 +0000

UW MBA students delivered an e-sports market analysis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the opportunity to supplement event, attendance, and potential revenue levels at a City of Federal Way-owned building for the purpose of an exhibit hall at the Town Center in downtown that could potentially incorporate an e-sports venue. [...]