The University of Oregon’s (UO) Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) has worked with Oregon communities since 2010 and is a program that reinforces the University’s principles, as outlined in the Oregon Rising Strategic Plan, that prepares students for careers while impacting communities across Oregon. SCYP is a particularly innovative model that bridges the gap between universities and their communities by leveraging the resources of a large research university to solve real-world problems. SCYP helps advance local community goals while providing an applied education for university students that helps develop the next-generation Oregon workforce. Over the last decade and a half, over 5,000 students have provided 450,000+ hours of effort to over 300 projects in 20 different Oregon communities. The success of the program has spurred replications of its model across four continents.
In the 2024-25 academic year, SCYP is harnessing the UO’s wide-ranging talents to address a diverse range of community needs, partnering with multiple communities across the state including Bend, Silverton, Salem, Gresham, Lane Transit District, and Oakridge to help address a myriad of needs. In the fall term, a crossdisciplinary student cohort successfully completed several different projects, with the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management classes joining courses from the Lundquist College of Business and the School of Journalism and Communication.
Master's of Community and Regional Planning graduate students partnered with the City of Bend to apply contemporary land use planning and urban design concepts to help transition a traditional, auto-centric area on the east side of Bend to a mixed-use and climate-resilient area that is equitable and facilitates transportation options.
SCYP returned to a previous community partner from its 2019 program year, the City of Silverton, to evaluate the impact of past projects with the help and support of a Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) Americorps staff member. With the RARE assistance, additional city needs and projects that could benefit from further SCYP class matches will help the city showcase its unique character and help the city's future be identified. Three additional classes include a collaborative course between UO’s Department of Architecture and Oregon State University’s Department of Wood Science and Engineering, where students explored building methods based on a kit-of-parts concept focusing on Silverton’s interest in multi-purpose structures that include pop-up booths and emergency shelters. The other course included public relations capstone students who focused on a public engagement campaign centered on increasing community participation and expanding accessibility to news and information from the city to residents. In the final course, Strategic Social Media, students develop a listening and monitoring report that includes a competitor analysis and influencer identification with an in-depth social media audit and a social media plan to support Silverton’s community engagement goals.
"We’re thrilled to collaborate with the Sustainable City Year Program because it brings fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to our projects," explained Deputy City Recorder and Communications Coordinator of the City of Silverton, Macy Mulholland. "The recent site visit to Silverton allowed us to showcase our city’s unique character and challenges while fostering meaningful dialogue with the students. Their enthusiasm and insights are invaluable as we work together to shape a sustainable future for Silverton.”
SCYP worked with the City of Salem Police Department to help determine its level of trust with the Salem community. Students worked in teams to investigate the various values that are important and specific to the work of the Police Department while also gathering data that could then be helpful as the department works to secure future grant opportunities. Measuring trust is a primary objective of public relations firms and the partnership allowed students to gain meaningful professional PR experience, under the watchful eye of expert faculty, and to explore measurement tools and recommendations around the resulting data.
"Working with the Salem PD as a client was a deeply meaningful experience for me, as I am a proud member of the Salem community. This opportunity allowed me to not only strengthen my public relations and planning skills but also to contribute solutions to an organization and city that I hold close to my heart," said public relations student, Alexis Stinnett. "It reinforced the value of giving back to your community in a professional capacity, creating a lasting impact both personally and professionally."
As one of SCYP's first partners, the City of Gresham has an ongoing relationship with the program with numerous special projects completed throughout the years. This fall term, Gresham worked with SCYP students to explore the idea of turning part of Main Avenue into a pedestrian-only street with the addition of select community projects throughout the school year. The fall class completed an existing conditions and needs assessment and then proposed recommendations and alternatives for the City of Gresham to consider in three topic areas: parking solutions, network improvements, and complete streets.
Lane Transit District, another community partner with a storied history with SCYP, sought support with strategy, planning, and implementation for how to best engage transit users. SCYP classes developed public relations campaign ideas, community engagement workshops, survey and analysis work, and policy research on best practices in Long Range Transit Planning.
The main program partner for the 2024–25 academic year is the City of Oakridge, which will partner with SCYP over the next two years. The prolonged partnership will allow the program to match resources from existing university courses with priority city projects to create maximum impact for the community. The four unique classes for the fall term included the marketing and development for the Oakridge Industrial Park (OIP). The City acquired the OIP in the mid-1990s and still owns 13 parcels available for sale or lease. Students developed a strategic marketing program for the OIP, leveraging industrial and commercial market trends to target specific industrial sectors. A recently completed Housing Needs Analysis (HNA) by the City identified the need for higher-density zoning and middle housing to meet workforce and affordable housing needs. Architecture students in the second course for Oakridge designed and proposed higher-density housing that is contextually appropriate for Oakridge neighborhoods. The third class helped Oakridge plan to promote tourism and attract new residents to the city. Students conducted background research and created recommendations for marketing offerings that could highlight local businesses, attractions, and events. The last project for the fall addressed capital improvement planning and potential funding sources for the city’s aging infrastructure, focusing on the Oakridge Wastewater Treatment Facility. Students provided preliminary analysis, identified constraints and performance goals, identified emerging technologies, and aggregated best practice research for the city's leadership.
Winter classes begin in earnest on January 6, 2025. Faculty from across campus, are welcome to participate in future SCYP classes. SCYP staff can help support faculty teaching an existing upper-division undergraduate or graduate course with an applied learning component, who would like to incorporate a real-world project into the curriculum, or who would like to serve a community by applying student energy to their challenges. To learn more, check out the SCYP Faculty Guide or Faculty Spotlight Videos.
