Iowa State is demonstrating a willingness to reach out to Iowa communities by implementing the Project for Partnering Landscape and Community Enhancement, or PLaCE.

PLaCE is a program to help Iowa towns look more attractive in order to draw people to live in those communities.

The program, which is sponsored by the College of Design, has projects to improve house landscapes, revamp downtown main streets, and complete signage work and watershed analysis. About 50 students and faculty have participated in the program, which started last year.

The students and faculty involved in the program have traveled all over the state to make Iowa look more appealing. They have done work in the downtown areas of Jefferson and Spirit Lake, as well as sign work in Harlan and Sibley. They also have done riverfront work in Dubuque.

Mark Engelbrecht, dean of the College of Design, the group helped turn a sidewalk in downtown Lisbon from a cracked, white-line crossing to a brick walkway.

“These projects are community-based,” he said. “They have to be approved by [each] county board of supervisors.”

The organization currently is working on a land-use comprehensive plan in Boone, Engelbrecht said.

The group makes sure not to interfere with workers in the industry by avoiding rivalries with other architecture entities.

“We try to avoid situations when you are competing with the profession,” said Tim Borich, associate dean of community and regional planning.

Engelbrecht said the program’s goal is to accommodate Iowa’s needs.

“It is part of our ongoing outreach and effort in the College of Design,” he said. “We want to support the communities in the state of Iowa.”

The experiences for students are really beneficial, Engelbrecht said.

“It is an excellent way for students to advance their studies,” he said.

Engelbrecht said the program has been going very well so far.

“Many projects are multidisciplinary,” he said. “We weren’t quite prepared for success of this program.”

Borich said the communities PLaCE has visited all have responded with some hospitality of their own.

“The communities and leaders have been very understanding. They’re offering their lives,” Borich said. “They’ve been sympathetic to students’ needs.”

The mayors, business owners or other leaders in the communities fill out applications that are available on the Design college Web site at www.design.iastate.edu. The deadline for the applications is Oct. 1.