SPEA class hopes to plan, establish new city

Seven students in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs course Seminar in Urban Management will use the semester to attempt to create a new town near Center Grove, Ind.

Professor Orville Powell said the class is one of a few Capstone courses offered through SPEA this semester. The project-oriented classes can be taken as a substitute to completing a masters thesis.

“It should be a good experience for these students,” Powell said. “It’s not every day you get a chance to create a new city.”

The town, however, is a long way from being created, he said.

Students began work prior to winter break, researching topics such as the cost of services the new community might want to provide and options for structuring the new city.

The decision to make the city a reality, however, will ultimately be up to the citizens.

“We’re not advocating whether they incorporate or don’t incorporate. It’ll be a good learning experience for the students either way,” Powell said. “Of course, we’re secretly hoping to create a new city. I’ve been in the business for 33 years, and I’ve never had the opportunity to create a new city. It doesn’t happen very often.”

Powell said part of the reason a new city might be a possibility is the construction of Interstate-69, which is projected to pass through Johnson County near Center Grove and will likely attract businesses.

The students research, plan and perform the necessary steps, which must be completed before the end of the semester.

“The state has a very detailed list of procedures you need to follow,” he said.

Students are working closely with citizens’ committees near Center Grove with each student acting as an advisor to a citizens’ committee.

Past capstone courses have called upon students to create emergency management plans, annexation plans and beautification plans for cities in Indiana.

In 1999, SPEA students assisted the town of Corydon, Ind., in responding to a Klu Klux Klan rally set to take place in their community. Powell said Capstone students helped community members devise a security plan and a “post-Klan plan” to identify reasons why the KKK chose Corydon as a rally site. Since then, the plan has been used as a model for other communities.

“We get to do some really fun things with these Capstone projects,” Powell said. “And it’s our way of giving back to the citizens of Indiana for their assistance in funding IU — so that’s the reason we do it.”

— Kirsten Clark