CCDR Community Services

Working on behalf of communities, agencies, and other partner organizations, the CCDR identifies available academic resources and coordinates the development of appropriate project strategies to meet specific requests.  Faculty and students work with communities in the following ways:

• Bootstrap Sessions    A Bootstrap session is a forum for a small group of community leaders to freely brainstorm with experienced professionals about approaches to identify and address the issues and concerns facing their particular community.  The CCDR organizes the sessions, gathering the appropriate faculty to address community identified issues and concerns.
• Foundation Studios    Community projects provide rich learning opportunities for the foundation studios, which are the core setting in which landscape architecture students learn the process, techniques, and skills of design and documentation.  The CCDR partners with faculty to match community assistance requests with the academic objective and skill level of their particular design studios.  The type, scale, and complexity of the projects undertaken by the students are based on the studio focus and its level in the sequence; projects can range from programming to detailed site design.  Studio projects offer communities an introduction to the design profession and lay the groundwork for future community collaboration with professional designers and planners.
• Thematic Studios    A thematic studio is a semester-long course that focuses on a specific topic of design investigation.  Many of these topics are best studied with the participation of a community.  Faculty propose topics and may then choose to work with the CCDR to identify an appropriate community partner.
• Graduate Capstone Projects    The capstone is an in-depth semester-long project undertaken by graduate students in their last semester of study.  In the semester prior to undertaking the project, students prepare a detailed proposal including background research, work program, and schedule.  Selection of a capstone project is up to individual graduate students; however, many prefer to work on projects that will be of benefit to a real community.  Faculty participate with students and partner organizations in the development of the projects and to provide ongoing mentoring and review.
• Research Initiatives and Independent CCDR Projects    Faculty, MS, and Ph.D. students, and CCDR staff participate in research projects.  Requests and funding often come from partner organizations; however, faculty participation in statewide community programs often uncovers research needs for which the CCDR then seeks funding support.  Research often leads to the development of  educational workshops and training materials.  The CCDR is particularly interested in working on community-based research projects in which community members play an active role from the development of the research question, through data gathering, analysis and synthesis, to the application of the research findings.  This process can be facilitated through the CCDR but requires a commitment of time and participation on the part of community members.
• Internships    The CCDR works to place student interns with partner organizations to assist with identified community projects.  Typically, this occurs during the summer; however, some graduate students undertake semester-long internships as part of their academic program.  Faculty participate with the students and partner organizations in the development of the projects and to provide ongoing mentoring and review.
• Your Town: Designing Its Future    "Your Town" is an award winning rural design education program for community leaders sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.  The SUNY ESF Department of Landscape Architecture and the National Trust for Historic Preservation jointly developed the program.  SUNY ESF if the host for the Northeast Regional Your Town Center.  Participatory workshops for community leaders in small towns from throughout the Northeast are offered approximately once a year.

Working with the CCDR

The CCDR and individual faculty members receive many requests for assistance.  The CCDR is able to accommodate a few requests for assistance each year.  Projects are selected based on a number of factors, including but not limited to

• Projects must be in the public interest, be publicly owned or owned by a non-profit organization
• Appropriateness of the match between project requirements and the educational goals of a particular class, studio, or graduate student
• Faculty interest and expertise related to the project
• Project location - for studio projects, project sites should generally be within 1 1/2 hour driving distance of Syracuse
• Community readiness and excitement to participate in the project planning and design process
• Timing - most studio-based projects are done within the academic calendar and are typically completed within a two to four week time frame.
• Relevance of a project to a broader audience - since the process and outcomes of projects may be shared with other communities and students, consideration is given to whether the lessons learned on a project will be relevant or instructive beyond the specific site or community.

How can I get assistance from the Center?

If you would like to apply for our services please read the following information, print, fill out, and return the application.

• Policies and Guidelines (14.7 KB PDF File)

• Request for Assistance Application (14.7 KB PDF File)

Please feel free to call or email us with your questions.

                           The Center for Community Design Research
                            Department of Landscape Architecture
                            SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
                            One Forestry Drive Syracuse, NY 13210 - 4721

SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry     Department of Landscape Architecture     CCDR (home)   contact: ccdr@esf.edu