In 2019, The Civic Innovation Lab welcomed new faculty affiliates and community partners. We collaborated on ongoing projects, wrote research proposals, and shared ideas through the Metrolab Network. Our summer internship program was the largest yet, with 54 interns in South Bend and Elkhart. We thank our mentors for their continued support. Now in its fifth year, the E2 internship program worked with community organizations and local institutions to address community issues through multidisciplinary projects.
Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem (BCe2)
The Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem, which was once a project focused singularly on environmental sustainability, now has a larger breadth and depth of projects surrounding quality of life issues.
Environmental Data Lab
The goal of the environmental data lab teams was to integrate a weather monitoring station at Riley High School and Bowman Creek, insta l creek flow monitoring sensors, and beautiful the area. The data co lected from both the weather station and sensors will be used by both City departments and educators at local high schools for an environmental outdoor classroom experience.
Stormwater Management Project
The mission of the stormwater management team was to develop a mechanism to categorize commercial buildings in the City of South Bend in order to better analyze the current commercial stormwater landscape. In order for more buildings to adopt green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), a cost effective protocol was created to estimate costs and long lasting benefits of choosing a greener solution.
SE Community Development Project
The Southeast Community Development team worked closely with 466 Works to organize a cohesive home buying process and marketing strategy for five new homes in the neighborhood. Marketing material was developed including a neighborhood website (SoutheastSb.com), brochure, banner, and stickers. With plans for the United Way Early Childhood Development Center planning for 2020, the team researched various cost estimates and design plans for the future natural playground to be included in the plans.
Safe and Healthy Homes Project
The goal of the safe and healthy homes team was to further develop effective and low cost methods of conducting lead paint tests to reduce the risk of lead dust exposure. The team utilized methods such as vacuum HEPA filters, wiping windowsills, wiping contaminated shoes on doormats, water line mulching, among other protocols on seven homes in the South Bend area.
The CARE Network for Reintegration Project
The mission for the CARE Network for reintegration project was to interview members of the community that use or are in need of social services related to reintegration. After the interview and research process, the team presented design recommendations for the CARE Network, a new way to refer to social services for members trying to reintegrate into society.
