Project Overview The City of Elk River is home to over 40 parks, each with trails and other amenities. The City’s park system provides open space, land conservation, and recreation opportunities for the community and beyond. However, the City’s current GPS technology is difficult to use in parks due to dense tree coverage, and the […]
University: University of St. Thomas
Wetland Buffer Assessment
Project Overview The City of Elk River is home to 1256 wetlands, according to the National Wetland Inventory (NWI). Wetlands play a vital role in our community’s flood management, water quality, wildlife habitat, and aesthetics. In 2006, the city updated their ordinance to include a 25-foot Wetland Buffer Strip around all wetlands and stormwater ponds. […]
Green Roof Design
Project Overview The City of Elk River is home to an impaired lake and two impaired rivers. The City has been focusing on stormwater runoff reduction to these waters as well as pre-treatment techniques to improve water quality. However, the City has not implemented an alternative treatment system on city property, such as a green […]
Bike Route Analysis
Project Overview Elk River is home to 25.63 miles of paved trails and 52.15 miles of sidewalks as well as popular bike trails and a mountain biking park. The Parks Master Plan addressed various gaps in the trail system and determined future trails. However, a study has yet to be done on bike lanes on […]
Evaluating Current Solid Waste Rate Structure
Project Overview The City of Elk River has organized solid waste collection for its residents through two haulers (Randy’s Environmental Services and Republic Services). The haulers are under contract with the City of Elk River until 2022. Residential accounts are set up and billed through Elk River Municipal Utilities. Customers pay a monthly fee on […]
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Using Models to Analyze Sustainability Goals and Tradeoffs
PLACE would like to analyze of how well current operations and future design ideas meet their sustainability goals. Students will model several different sustainability objectives through coupled economic/energetic/mass balance models to analyze how goals are currently being met and recommendations to better meet goals. Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner. […]
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Designing an ‘Energy Champion’ App for PLACE’s Ecovillage Development
PLACE would like to encourage residents to engage in sustainable behaviors and to create community at the same time. Using a user-centered design approach, CISC 321 students will design a prototype EcoVillage ‘Energy Champion’ app to encourage energy conservation and create community through friendly competition. Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community […]
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Analyzing Sustainable Infrastructure
PLACE’s Via development in St. Louis Park, MN will be a “mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented community demonstrating profound environmental design.” The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure has developed Envision criteria to assess the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure. The Envision rating system consists of “60 sustainability criteria that address the full range of environmental, social, and […]
Designing Bike Racks for the University of St. Thomas
One component of the Bike Master Plan is the design and placement of bike racks, including during winter months. Students will design bike racks for campus, based on criteria provided by Facilities and background research on bike racks and available technology. Preschoolers at the University of St. Thomas Child Development Center will collaborate on the […]
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Improving Customer Satisfaction for Native Spanish Speakers
Metro Transit would like to improve response rates to their customer satisfaction surveys among native Spanish speakers to improve service and amenities for this community. Students will conduct interviews in Spanish with native Spanish speakers to both gather information about where and how to distribute customer satisfaction surveys, as well as to gain feedback about […]
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