Design Iowa: 1993 Governors' Summit

Community Building and Design

The Governor's Summit on Community Building and Design held October 14-15, 1993 in Des Moines, addressed the issue of the physical quality and value of our environment in Iowa. A key Summit goal was to foster a "better understanding of the role that design can play as capitol investment decisions are made by government, industry, business and education." One outcome of the Summit is this report which makes recommendations intended to strengthen the quality of design and community building in Iowa. This report outlines specific strategies, initiatives and next steps required to accomplish our goals.

The Summit and this research effort was partially funded by the Design Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts. By their mission statement, the Design Arts Program promotes excellence in the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and planning, historic preservation, interior design, industrial and product design, and graphic design. In total, the design arts have a tremendous impact on the quality of our public environments.

Key Issues in Iowa

Research done prior to the Summit identified several key issues in the state:

Iowa's design arts community has many strengths, particularly in architecture and graphic design , but little is known about other design disciplines, such as landscape architecture.

State programs and services for community building are broad but uncoordinated and not widely known.

Statewide communication between designers, government and business is weak and needs nurturing and strengthening.

Rural Iowa's access to designers and design thinking is difficult because most designers work in the larger cities.

Summit Findings and Recommendations

The Summit brought together a broad range of Iowans involved in community building. Their perspectives and experiences were varied and profound. The Summit allowed us to meet together, hear from one another and discuss the relevant issues.

The group represented organizations and efforts involved in the development of communities and in the construction of the parts, pieces and systems that facilitated and underpin communities. Collectively, this group has a significant impact on how "the pieces and systems" end up looking and how they end up functioning for communities.

The Summit touched upon and unmet need in the state. That is the need and desire on the part of many to collaborate and share information and compare our progress as we go about the ongoing effort of community building in Iowa. We believe that this largely unmet need also exists in other states and regions of the country.

We are convinced that Iowa has the capability of being a national leader and model for the country. Iowa can take the lead in demonstrating how citizens can work together to build community. Already the Iowa Main Street Program is considered a national model for its many successes. The Summit leaders found that we have some key resources and opportunities to build upon.

What Do We Mean By Community Building?

"Community Building" is a phrase used to describe community-based problem solving efforts. This approach to planning seeks first and foremost to demonstrate the interconnections and strong linkages among three equally important community objectives:

• economic development
• natural resource protection and enhancement
• social, cultural and artistic needs.

Understanding and considering the complex and dynamic relationships between these objectives is key as communities seek their own successful approach to balancing sustainable economic growth and social well being within their given cultural and physical settings.

In short, Community Building is a label for how design insights can be integrated along side the political, financial and environmental forces which drive the major development decisions communities must address.

Major Summit Recommendations

We have two broad recommendations to offer for your consideration which have emerged from the Summit. First, from a statewide standpoint, there is both the need and opportunity to create a "Governor's Iowa Commission on Community Building and Design" to further explore the findings and suggestions of the Summit. Second, within the Iowa Arts Council, there is a need to develop a design arts initiative which will focus on critical statewide issues within the field of the Design Arts.

Recommendation 1: Establish An Ongoing Governor's Iowa Commission on Community Building and Design

The October Summit leaders were drawn from a broad cross-section of Iowa representing community building efforts as they relate to economic development;, natural resources, and social and cultural concerns. Wearing many different hats and with varied expertise and perspectives, all share the common goal of "Community Building for Iowa." New Commission members should be chosen to represent the varied perspectives that make up the multi-disciplinary, diverse activities inherent in community building.

Some of the possible specifics related to the Commission:

• Statewide effort of 5-8 years in length
• A public/private partnership
• Staffed by Iowa Arts Council along with other relevant state agencies
• Members will represent three main community building elements which affect the condition of Iowa and its people: economy, natural environment, and cultural and the arts
• Commission will be an advocate and catalyst for community building activities in Iowa

Initial Commission Activities:

A. Seek National Funding

The Iowa Governor's Commission on Community Building and Design, once organized, should proceed to describe its mission and purpose. Immediately after it is organized, the Commission will apply for funding from national foundations and federal funding sources to conduct an innovative national demonstration project on community building and design activities at the state and local levels.

The Summit clearly demonstrated that Iowa has many innovative programs already underway. It is the opinion of the Planning Committee that these efforts are uncoordinated as a whole and their programs and results are not well know. We see an extraordinary opportunity for Iowa to capitalize on its assets and take a leadership role nationwide. Given Iowa's demographics, resources and traditions of citizen participation, we believe that Iowa can lead the way in developing leadership programs to show the country a model for community building for the next century.

B. Produce a Resource Book

One of the first projects of the Commission will be to produce a "Iowa Community Building and Design Resource Book". This document will serve as a guidebook and provide direction for citizens, agencies and organization in the state. The guidebook will utilize, build upon and expand the resource materials gathered for the Summit. The book will explain programs and provide specific contacts, phone numbers and addresses for the programs. The Resource Book will also be used as part of the fundraising effort with national foundations and federal funding sources.

C. Initiate Partnerships and Collaborations

The Iowa Governor's Commission on Community Building and Design will promote the idea of partnerships and initiate community building, design and environmental issues.

A list of specific ideas about partnerships and collaborations are included in the Appendix. In general, the Commission would be a catalyst and resource to assist those in need of advice and assistance. The Commission would be on the look out for opportunities to collaborate. Examples of potential collaborations might include IDOT, GSA, FEMA and the Iowa State Fair. Nationally, a good opportunity would be the National Endowment of the Humanities which is launching a "Vital Community Program" to sponsor forums around the country.

D. Launch a Sesquicentennial Project

The Commission, with the Iowa Arts Council, will initiate a broad reaching special project for the Iowa Sesquicentennial around the theme of the "Image of Iowa." The project is conceived of as a collaboration between the arts and design community and Iowa school children (K-12). The project will produce a broad range of drawings, maps and visual images which can be incorporated into posters and promotional materials, as well as an Sesquicentennial exhibition with a related catalog.

One broad goal of the initiative is to engage Iowans in a sustained discussion and consideration of "what is it that we value," what are the powerful images and places which represent and communicate what Iowa is like?

This initiative could be developed through Iowa Arts Council's Artists in Schools and Communities Program in collaboration with professional design arts organizations. Other interesting collaborators might be the Department of Tourism, Iowa Humanities Board, Iowa Film Board, Iowa Public Television or state newspapers.

Recommendation 2: Establish A Design Arts Initiative Within The Iowa Arts Council

The design arts, an important program of the National Endowment for the Arts and many state arts councils nationwide, is important to Iowa and should be incorporated into the programs of the Iowa Arts Council.

In 1984, Massachusetts established a state arts and design arts program with the goal of "improving the quality of design in the built environment." Their initial efforts were focused on trying to incorporate design consideration into the "routine thinking and decisions on all capital expenditures throughout state government."

Currently, the Iowa Arts Council has a modest budget and small staff. Should they take on this initiative, it is likely to be initially small but potentially important. In principle, the effort would assume a leadership role in becoming an advocate for design arts excellence, speaking on behalf of the importance of beauty, aesthetics and the physical environment in our communities.

The Iowa Arts Council could begin by looking within to discuss what general programs and specific grant programs are already in place that can be utilized to advance a statewide design agenda. For example, how can publications such as the Iowa Artist Source Book serve this goal and provide information also on design or public art? How can existing programs encourage artist and designer collaborations? How can award programs be expanded to include the design arts?

Other principals which might guide this initiative:

• Undertake highly visible demonstration projects which illustrate design excellence
• Undertake pilot projects with other state agencies
• Initiate grant programs for community design assistance
• Sponsor publications, conferences and workshops which promote design excellence
• Assist organizations and agencies (public and private sector) in the development of design arts initiatives
• Help to develop a sense of identity about Iowa and an appreciation and understanding of the built environment. Promote the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of Iowa design issues, opportunities, case studies and education
• Expand the public's notion of what design is, how it relates to the arts, culture, natural resources and economic development
• Sponsor, promote and be a catalyst for interdisciplinary problem solving which brings together design with social, economic and environmental concern.

In Closing

Over the next few months we will be discussing the implications of our findings and next steps. These ideas have been organized into the Appendix with five broad initiatives: Leadership, Quality and Excellence, Partnership and Collaborations, Communication, and Image and Vision. We are excited about the possibilities. We sense great potential in these possibilities.

Outcomes and Recommendations from the Governor's Summit on Community Building and Design

This appendix documents some ideas, recommendations and themes which emerged from the research conducted as part of the Governor's Summit on Community building and Design. The Summit was held in Des Moines, Iowa at Drake University from October 14-15, 1993.

The ideas are organized in the five broad categories:

• Leadership
• Quality and Excellence
• Partnership and Collaborations
• Communication
• Image and Vision

A. Leadership Initiatives

1. Identify Exemplary Models

• Identify model local, state, regional and national community building and design programs, projects and other initiatives to use in developing goals and objectives of the Commission.
• The Iowa Main Street Program in particular is an exemplary program which the State needs to build upon through enhanced funding to allow this program to reach additional communities. The program could be further strengthened through the addition of educational, cultural and natural resource components of community planning.
• The "Your Town Program" (National Trust for Historical Preservation and the National Endowment for the Arts Design Arts Program) is an educational and empowerment program that could be used as a model by the State to seek funding from NEA or foundations and adapt the regional program to a statewide model for Iowa. Additional model leadership programs include the Mayor's Institute for City Design and the Vermont Design Institute.
• Acknowledge and build upon existing successful local programs such as the tree planting programs sponsored by the utility companies.

2. Develop Educational Programs

The arts and design community should develop educational programs to translate their insights and solutions to meet the needs and language of public sector decision-makers. Design Arts should seek to explore issues and projects that specific departments might undertake. Through these types of efforts, individuals can gain an appreciation of their leadership opportunities as they relate to the built environment.

B. Quality and Design Excellence Initiatives

1. Design Recognition and Design Demonstration

• State Design Awards at the "Iowa State Fair" or associated with "Governor's Arts Awards"; recognize good design, communicate about model programs and inspire good design. Awards should recognize projects from both public and private sectors.
• Raise the level of design and quality consciousness of county and local government administrators and elected officials, through coordinated inter-regional community and State collaborations.
• Do a limited number of traditional "Iowa Community Building Projects" which demonstrate the Iowa axiom "My parents came up in hard times but they built quality things." Take these models on the road explaining the processes, players and products. Present case studies to city councils, Iowa League of Municipalities and other city and county entities.

2. Design Education to Promote Quality and Excellence

• Encourage state employees to seek well designed and creative solutions to the problems at hand, through the presentation of case studies, retraining and incentive programs. For example, the establishment of the Governor's State employee design arts and community building sabbatical, to study new approaches and models to help Iowa communities or design arts residencies with State agencies (St. Paul, Minnesota model)
• Improve and strengthen design quality of State's public and private capital investments through introducing to agency administrators and procurement officers alternative and creative tested models and options to standard generic solutions.
• The State could organize special design tour guides to help officials locate useful case studies and models which they might adapt to their locale.

3. Design Legislation, Policies, Procedures and Mechanics

• Use Public Enhancement Programs (similar to Percent for Art initiatives) as a critical arm of economic development strategies, seeking to add standard development practices the design arts and beauty of Iowa as one of the agents of community building change and economics rebuilding. Use the programs to bring new players to the development table.
• Expand the scope and process of Iowa's Percent for Art program which is now focused on state buildings, to include the enhancement of the larger public landscape for elements such as parks, plazas, open space, road and other forms of public infrastructure.
• Develop model public contracts for design and engineering services for procurement officers to define project scope, expertise and products. Models should explain how to frame the problem from the start: selection review process, set up policy landmarks to accomplish objective.
• Expand State quality design review standards and federally funded projects beyond efficiency to include economic value, community identity enhancement and environmental enrichment.
• Develop legislation and incentives to encourage "Percent for Enhancement" type programs in private sector capital construction projects.

C. Partnership and Collaboration Initiatives

1. Ideas for the Governor's Iowa Commission on Community Building and Design

• Organize and produce a resource book which will present information on the programs and organizations in Iowa involved in community building and design activities.
• Explore a wide range of community building collaborations with non-profits, Sesquicentennial, State Fair, university community, professional organizations, churches, schools, city/county and other governmental agencies. The biggest current opportunities: ISTEA, Sesquicentennial, Mississippi River Flood environment, and community rebuilding efforts.
• With regards to ISTEA, explore collaborations with the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) in providing leadership and information. Consider working with MPOs to find ways to enhance and improve their processes. Presentations to IDOT administration and staff on design possibilities would be a good start. Enhancement money from ISTEA can be used for planning purposes.
• Explore with state and national models in ISTEA and public works, such as the Phoenix Arts works program.
• Promote governmental projects which are both multi-purpose and multi-functional serving both community and department demands and local identity, such as rest stops across the State which serve both highway traveler and local interests.
• Find a highly visible and successful project from each state department as a demonstration project.

2. Partnering and Mentoring Structures

• Hometown Pride awards, build from program started by Midwest Living magazine, which recognizes, collaborative, creative, innovative programs, and volunteerism.
• Peer review of Towns. Wisconsin model, two towns periodically meet to review their progress and exchange information. Other towns will copy successful models of risk takers such as Guttenberg and Bonaparte, Iowa.

3. Workshops and Conferences to Promote Collaborations

• Each year, Iowa rehabilitates existing bridges and builds new ones representing millions of dollars in State expenditures. Capture this opportunity through a joint design conference on bridge design, community building and aesthetics with departments of public works, civil engineers and policy makers.
• Explore the opportunities for connecting design/art to city managers, League of Cities, Mayors and Public Works directors.

D. Communication Initiatives

1. Directories (printed, video, interactive CD, fiber optics, electronic Kiosk)

• Organize and distribute Community Building Resource guide for the State of Iowa. One comparable example is the Heritage Tourism Guide prepared by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
• Complete directory and mailing list. Document what agencies are doing and would like to do.

2. Newsletters and Newspapers

• Provide a newsletter resource kit to send to Iowa communities. Topics include community betterment, extension services, main street, decision making.
• In small towns, there is a need to educate and draw from the resources of newspapers through information networks and creative competitions or demonstration projects.

3. Media Arts (audio and video), Fiber Optics and Telecommunications

• Lecture series on design through public TV and radio.
• Community Building Speakers Bureau - speakers and informative videos.

4. Workshops, Conferences, Satellite and Fiber Optic Conferences

• Conduct community building forums - What on what Iowans value? What do Iowans consider to be quality?
• In small towns there is a need to link farm families who are intelligent, educated citizens with Main Street and other community building efforts.
• Seek ways to sensitize Iowans through community sessions about design. Community sessions can be conducted at all scales - from a community to a town or a region.

E. Image and Vision Initiatives

1. General

• The upcoming Iowa Sesquicentennial should be organized around the theme of Community Building. This event would help Iowans understand the natural and cultural landscapes which underpin their image and how they might build upon this legacy a vision of Iowa in the 21st Century.
• Possible community building themes: Pride in Iowa's places; built and natural patterns and structures, as giving a "sense of the past traditions that have not yet been discarded"; a designed landscape built to represent "practical courage and beauty" -- resources to build upon How do we explain and pass along this tradition to our youth and newcomers" How do we update and build upon this heritage to meet the new economics, cultural and environmental challenges?
• Do not forget the chance of losing the farm and rural landscape, which is so fundamental for its key role in creating the Iowa image and vision of itself. "Save the Barns" program should be built upon and expanded to make vivid the connections between farm and community.
• In considering the design arts, Iowans should not preclude environmental and landscape issues. What is the role and impact of the landscape in forming Iowa's character, long-term environmental health and background to community stability. As one Iowan stated, "lighting and thunder is our Grand Canyon".
• Redesign Iowa's public brochure material to illustrate the state's cultural and natural resources. The civic tradition of community building, architecture, and the arts is not clear to the outside national community. Iowa's community images and vision of value need to be better portrayed.

2. Community Vision and Planning

• Iowa's intimate community attachment to the land should be used as a platform to become a leader in sustainable planning and technology. Iowa should use the recent floods and federal funding to become a leader in ecological design and community planning. The State should seek counsel from leaders such as Wendell Berry and support from foundations such as the Kettering Foundation, Ford Foundation and Kellogg Foundation.
• The active trail groups in Iowa indicate a fundamental Iowa principal of constantly finding common links and connections between different communities. Take this community bridging spirit and reverse the view that Iowa is a dispersed point of isolated communities, moving towards a cultural fabric of small town jewels woven together by clear natural and cultural lines of community. For example, the Iowa River Greenbelt links communities together into a new relationship and is a system attraction to development and tourism.
• Iowa's response to the flooding of 1993 offers a unique design opportunity to become a leader in environmental design and community rebuilding. As the State engineers the landscape for fiber optics, Iowa should enrich the natural water systems and resources, to protect precious water and lay down a new community infrastructure to attract residents and business.
• As Iowa constructs a long range vision of what the future looks of Iowa should be; construct a set of suggestions along the lines of "50 things citizens and communities can do" to help shape Iowa.
• Iowa contains 900 communities, each with a population of less than 500. How can these individual communities find a common ground from which to share services and resources to restructure these towns which are inseparable from the land?

3. Arts and Design Arts

• The arts and design arts needs to explore new technological and community participation approaches to help Iowans visualize future possibilities through unique programs, events and electronically enhanced imagery. Efforts should empower Iowans to describe what the future Iowa countryside might become if economic, cultural and environmental values are balanced and considered.
• The arts and design arts should help Iowans "visualize" what they have, through maps, images that describe the dynamic cultural and natural resources which Iowans have at hand to renew their communities and land. What are the physical characteristics? What re the assets which we might market? What are the obstacles or negative images we need to improve or eliminate?
• Engage Iowa youth in mapping, describing and envisioning a future community environment which they would like to be a part of as adults. Iowa vision design arts projects should collaborate with schools, from K-12 and higher education programs. Translate the National Endowment for the Art's "Our Town" ideas to high school studies, Junior Achievement and Four H programs. This effort could become part of the Sesquicentennial.
• The design arts and artists need to work with the humanities to collaborate in both word and image to capture those design and art values which have built Iowa communities and shaped the land.
• Use arts and design arts to help communities identify what exists. What is valuable physically and perceived? What do they have which can be used as a basis for building community? The Iowa Arts Council could develop a Iowa statewide version of Planning to Stay, which would be about learning to see the physical features of Iowa's natural and cultural landscapes.

Summit Agenda

"Public Work - Public Art - Public Amenity"

On Thursday, October 14, 1993

• Summit Opening Addresses
• Building Civilized Cities: Infrastructure in the Public Domain - Introductory remarks by William R. Morrish, Dayton Hudson Professor of Urban Design, University of Minnesota
• Making Place The Artwork: The Phoenix Experience - Keynote address by Deborah Whitehurst, Executive Director, Phoenix Arts Commission, 1985-1993
• Panel Response and Questions

On Friday, October 15, 1993

• A Vision for Iowa: The Notion of a Transcendent Self Image for a State Tom Martinson explored the unique physical and cultural resources Iowa has to build upon. Martinson presented ideas to answer the questions: How do we understand what we have? Why do we have it? What can we do with it?

  Case Studies: Iowa's Cultural Resources

  • Department of Cultural Affairs: Iowa Arts Council, State Historical Society of Iowa
  • Cultural Resource Emergency Attack Team
  • Iowa Humanities Board
  • Barn Again!

• A New Era of Community Building - Will Fleissig discussed how communities might approach developing their own vision for economic growth and social well being based on a specific history, culture and physical setting. He discussed what are the interconnections and linkages among the equally important objectives of economic growth, social well being and a physically amenable environment; and how can design insights can be integrated alongside political, financial and environmental forces which are driving community development decisions.

  Case Studies: Iowa's Economic and Community Development Resources

  • Iowa Department of Economic Development: Community and Rural Development, Community Builder, Iowa Community Betterment, Main Street Program, Tourism / T.E.A.M.
  • Iowa Department of Transportation: ISTEA
  • Silos and Smokestacks

• Community Building Design Principles: The Role of Infrastructure and Place - William R. Morrish explored an expanded definition and notion for community infrastructure. He presented a process and approach for achieving infrastructure which enriches the sense of place, bridges community and enhances ecological functions.
• Building Within the Community Watershed - Gina Bonsignore presented a case study of Farmington Minnesota, a rural farm and railroad community founded in 1865 which is in the process of developing "prairie waterways" as an environmental framework for development.

  Case Studies: Iowa's Natural Resources

  • Iowa Department of Natural Resources
  • Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation

  Case Studies: Iowa's General Resources

  • Department of General Services
  • Institute for Design Research and Outreach
  • Iowa Cooperative Extension Service
  • Institute for Decision Making
  • Iowa Business Council
  • American Institute of Architects

• Phoenix's Vision to Reinvent the "Town Dump" - Deborah Whitehurst told the story of the recently opened Solid Waste Management Center in Phoenix Arizona and the process which led to its realization. Considered the nation's most imaginative recycling center and public art project, the innovative structure serves its functional requirements while at the same time being aesthetically pleasing, community friendly and a place of public education.

  Case Studies: ISTEA and Iowa

• What Would I Do If I Were Governor? - Terry Goddard discussed his views on the role of design, the arts, historic preservation and the environment from a state wide strategic planning viewpoint. He addressed the question of how should these elements influence policy, vision and a mission for a state? Mr. Goddard drew upon the insights he gained on Iowa during the day and his own thoughts about what he would do if we were governor of his home state, Arizona.

Acknowledgements

 Sponsors:

• Governor Terry E. Branstad
• Iowa Arts Council
• Iowa State University, College of Design
• Site Host: Drake University, Graphic Design Department
• Funding: Iowa Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, Design Arts Program