Does it make sense to perform a costly and rigorous analysis? Initially, some decision-makers were skeptical of the expense of consultant research. In response to these concerns, the Center developed a new, exploratory research method – students.
Have a student do a rudimentary analysis for less than a tenth the cost of a consultant. If the study looks promising, then pursue a more formal study. Summer, fall, and spring research interns cycle through the Center.
Randy Vinson, Director of Planning for the countyseat city Covington, worked with the University of Georgia (UGA) to create the Metropolitan Design Studio. Since 2005, about a dozen Landscape Architecture students live and work in Newton County each spring.
The first class of students developed a master plan for the City of Oxford, and impressed community leaders invited a second group. The Center divided the comprehensive planning process into semester-long projects, and each class receives tasks – an overlay district, a master plan, or a connectivity study – that fit into the county’s larger process.
Students
I kept thinking this is what I wanted to do, but this is where it just clicked. It was like, you can do this? Interacting with communities can be a job?
Anna Liddick, Current Intern and
2007 UGA Design Studio Student
City Staff
“It’s not that they’re doing our planning for us. They’re keeping it alive and making it more exciting.”
Randy Vinson, Director of Planning
City of Covington
Elected Officials
What they bring in is fresh new ideas, and as older individuals it’s good for us to have that fresh new approach. Every year, we get something that is worth the money that we spent on the class.
Kathy Morgan, Chairman
Newton County Board of Commissioners
If a bunch of maps in this small town can attract some of the best minds in the country, new and old elected officials are that much more willing to keep coming back to the table.
Students working with The Center add hope to a collaborative already rich in experience.
Jerry Roseberry, Mayor
City of Oxford
