Luce County, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, holds a unique timber lease agreement with the State of Michigan for the purpose of operating a forest management demonstration program. The revenue generated from this program is used to support local economic development initiatives, including a revolving loan fund managed in partnership with the Luce County Economic Development Corporation(EDC). As the county prepares for future lease renewals and long-term planning, there is a need to digitize and analyze historical financial records to better understand the economic impact of the program. The goal is to generate summary reports and visualizations that help the county understand how timber lease revenue has been allocated—particularly what percentage has been reinvested into loans and other economic development activities.​

This project aims to better understand and address issues of food access, housing, and economic opportunity in Southwest Lansing by building a prototype for an open-source, user-friendly tool that allows community members and local organizations to explore publicly available data about Southwest Lansing.

This project will assist the City of East Lansing in updating the East Village plan to better reflect current commercial and residential market conditions. The practicum team will design and implement a comprehensive community engagement strategy involving residents, landowners, and businesses, and develop preliminary planning concepts informed by that engagement. The work will also identify barriers to implementation, including zoning or regulatory considerations, in support of the City’s vision for a student-oriented, mixed-use district.

This project will conduct a citywide inventory of bus stops in Grand Rapids to assess existing shade coverage and identify opportunities for improvements, such as shade trees or shade structures, to enhance comfort and accessibility for transit users. The resulting baseline dataset will inform future planning for pedestrian and transit amenities, with particular attention to the City’s Neighborhoods of Focus (NOF) to support equitable climate adaptation and infrastructure investment.

This initiative will produce a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plan centered on housing repair, blight elimination, infrastructure improvements, and expanded economic opportunity for residents. Grounded in community engagement and aligned with citywide priorities related to health, safety, youth development, and economic mobility, the project will deliver a strategic roadmap for sustainable neighborhood transformation.