Every year RCP Summer Scholars are selected to collaborate with government partners through various projects that will better meet community needs and innovate change.
This summer we had six Scholars and one Humphrey School of Public Affairs capstone class work on projects that addressed a wide range of issues from preservation of natural systems to fostering better connections with manufactured home park residents. Through each project students were able to create actionable plans that will be used for either continuation of their project or be applied for future planning for each government entity.
Traffic Safety and Community Accessibility (Centerville)
The Empowering Small Minnesota Communities (ESMC) program is a collaboration between the Center for Transportation Studies, Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, University of Minnesota College of Design, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. ESMS was established by the State of Minnesota during the 2023 legislative session to support small Minnesota communities and local government units with added capacity to develop resilient, sustainable, and adaptable infrastructure projects.
Graduate research assistant David Thebus worked with RCP director Mike Greco, the University of Minnesota ESMC team, and Centerville City Administrator Athanasia Lewis to support a project focused on housing, traffic safety, and community accessibility in downtown Centerville. Thebus conducted an analysis of housing stock in Centerville and peer communities in the Twin Cities region, interviewed long-time residents of Centerville to understand the development history in the community, and helped to map demographic and other characteristics of Centerville, including housing values, motorized and nonmotorized transportation networks, hydrology and flood hazards, and community amenities such as parks, schools, recreational opportunities, and local businesses.
The ESMC partnership with Centerville will continue through the spring in 2026.
Heat Risk Assessment Map GIS Project (Hennepin County)
RCP and Hennepin County’s goal for this project was to test and validate an agent-based model that was designed to predict whether residents of Hennepin County move to a local cooling option during an extreme heat event. 2025 RCP Scholar Lifeng Ren worked over the summer to validate data and assumptions for the model, as well as test its performance in recent heat events.
He worked closely with Jessica Spanswick, Resiliency and Adaptation Manager at Hennepin County, and Dr. Bryan Runck, Associate Director of GeoCommons, Geography, Environment & Society. Ren’s research identified multiple barriers for residents accessibility to cooling centers. He was able to identify opportunities for how the County can help them while improving equity and resilience.
The findings from this research will help the County support residents during future heat waves and develop cooling resources that meet community needs.
Manufactured Home Parks Engagement (City of New Brighton)
A team of graduate students in Dr. Jeannie Entenza's capstore course PA 8081 partnered with the City of New Brighton to investigate best practices for building stronger relationships with residents in the City’s two manufactured home parks (MHPs). The student team featured Deidre Coleman, Constance Carlson, Sakaria Ashiro, and Washington Chimuzu.
Through their research, the students uncovered issues residents face including language accessibility for outreach and research (with a lot of the residents having English as their second language), housing instability, and government distrust.
The team recommended the City develop multilingual and culturally relevant print and web communications, create a manufactured home park advisory committee, invite residents from the parks to participate in city boards and commissions, and expand partnerships with community-based organizations.
The students reported their findings in August and displayed their research during CURA’s 2025 Summer Poster session on September 16th.
RCP Program Evaluation and Program Development (RCP)
The RCP Program Evaluation & Development project was focused on assessing how well the Resilient Communities Project meets the needs of our University and local government partners, and identifies opportunities to strengthen or improve the program. Our RCP scholars Ezgi Ozcelik and Vongrathayuth Hingphith worked on this project, alongside support from Mike Greco, Stina Kielsmeier-Cook and Cynthia Mattias.
Their recommendations included improvements to outreach and communications methods so that our programs can continue to understand and connect with stakeholders. Their research helped us outline next steps for better supporting the development of the RCP Program’s strategic vision.
We look forward to implementing their recommendations in the near future.
Natural Systems Preservation (Hennepin County)
The goal of this project is to provide technical assistance around natural systems planning to support Hennepin County communities during the 2050 comprehensive planning cycle in the Twin Cities metro area.
Project leads Karen Galles (Hennepin County, NRPC), Audrey Robeson (Hennepin County, NRPC), and Jami Markle (Three Rivers Park District, NRPC) worked with RCP Scholars Jen King and Aaron Whittlemore to research and document profiles and case studies that describe policy approaches communities in Minnesota and elsewhere have taken to preserve and restore natural systems, develop model comprehensive plan and ordinance language cities can adapt for their use, identify and document best practices and implementation resources for environmental management, public works, and other city staff for protecting, conserving, and/or restoring natural systems, based on academic literature and professional practice, and develop guidelines for cities to ensure their natural systems protection approaches advance environmental justice and equity.
We are excited to see where this project will lead as it continues through spring 2026.
This story was written by Maximus Jennings, RCP Student Storyteller and Communications Assistant.