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Telling River Stories funded by Institute for Advanced Studies
The research collaborative, "Telling River Stories," has been funded by the IAS and will present a series of seminars and activities during the 2006-2007 academic year on themes such as memory and sense of place, urban riverfront redevelopment, interpretation and community-building, scientific and policy innovations in urban water quality management, and potential University of Minnesota involvement in Twin Cities Mississippi River initiatives. The collaborative will also develop strategies to raise ongoing programmatic funding. It is associated with the Mississippi River Initiative. More information is available on our Current + Recent Projects: Telling River Stories page.

Designing Small Parks wins MASLA Merit Award and on List of Top 10 Books in Planning
Designing Small Parks received a merit award for unbuilt work from the Minnesota Association of Landscape Architects. It was also listed as one of the top 10 books in planning for 2006.

Minnesota APA Awards
The Design Center received two awards from the Minnesota APA. The Corridor Housing Initiative, led by the Center for Neighborhoods, received a 2005 Outstanding Plan Award. The Design Center has been part of the core technical team of CHI since its start in mid 2002. The Design Center's own Direct Design Assistance Program won a 2005 Public Education Award. More information is available on our Awards page.

Sapling Commendation for Design Center Web Site
The Metropolitan Design Center web site has been awarded a Sapling Commendation by the Sapling: Architecture, Planning & Landscape INformation Gateway for the quality and scope of the resources made available on this site. More information is available on our Awards page.

Ann Forsyth publishes Reforming Suburbia
Former Design Center Director Ann Forsyth has published Reforming Suburbia: The Planned Communities of Irvine, Clumbia, and The Woodlands (University of California Press). For more information see http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9928.html and http://designcenter.cdes.umn.edu/projects/current/
newcomms/newcomms.html. Another book, Designing Small Parks: A Manual for Addressing Social and Ecological Concerns, by Ann Forsyth and Laura Musacchio with Frank Fitzgerald, will be published in October by Wiley.

Innovations in American Government Finalist
The Minneapolis Corridor Housing Strategy is a finalist in the Innovations in American Government Award. The strategy involves two City of Minneapolis funding programs and the Minneapolis Corridor Housing Initiative (CHI), led by the Center for Neighborhoods. The Design Center has been part of the core CHI technical team over the past three years. In 2005 the Initiative will be expanded to other cities. For more information about the work of the center, including who was involved, see http://designcenter.cdes.umn.edu/projects/current/current_research_areas
/housing/corridor_housing/corridor_housing.html

Andrew-Riverside International Peace Park wins 2004 Horticulture Commendation
The Andrew-Riverside Park recently received the Governor's Certificate of Commendation in the Minnesota State Horticultural Society Awards.

February 4-July 15: "Patterns in the Landscape."
The third in a series of exhibitions highlighting images from the Design Center Image Bank, this show features 36 large format aerial photographs that vividly capture landscape patterns, both constructed and natural. The exhibition is located in the Design Center Gallery, lower level of Ralph Rapson Hall.

Certificate in Metropolitan Design
The new Certificate in Metropolitan Design will be launched soon. It has been developed in collaboration with faculty in Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Students will be able to register for the program in the 2005-2006 academic year. For further information and requirements see the Certificate web site.

The Design Center's most recent annual report is now available.
Download our 2003-2004 Annual Report (1.129 KB)

	1 Ralph Rapson Hall, 89 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, Email mdc@umn.edu, Tel. (612) 625-9000, Fax. (612) 626-0600 The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer Copyright Metropolitan Design Center, 2007. All rights reserved.