About Us

Metropolitan Design Center (MDC) outreach, research, and teaching programs focus on emerging design issues across metropolitan scales in innovative interdisciplinary projects that directly enhance neighborhood and community sustainability, develop new knowledge on urban design performance, and prepare the next generation of urban design professionals.

Programs

  • Direct Design Assistance (DDA)
    Funded by the McKnight Foundation, this outreach program provides design assistance and support for underserved communities, non-profit organizations, and neighborhood groups. This year’s program focuses on sustainability and transportation.  
    Contact: Katie Thering, Project Director and Research Fellow ther0019@umn.edu
  • The Center also provides design support to the Corridor Housing Initiative (CHI), a proactive planning process to create viable development projects, through activities such as the block exercise, that include affordable housing options along corridors that meet city goals and neighborhood interests.
  • on the numbers (otn)
    MDC research assistants investigate innovative urban design and planning case study projects across the United States that demonstrate new practices and performance metrics.
  • Certificate in Metropolitan Design (CMD)
    This is a 21-credit program customized for graduate students in the College of Design and the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program of the Humphrey Institute.
    Contact: David Lowe, Coordinator lowex005@umn.edu

The Center sponsors an annual Faculty Fellowship. This year’s faculty fellow is Assistant Professor John Comazzi, School of Architecture.

The Center also houses the new Design Health Initiative and is the office of the Mississippi River Initiative of the Institute on the Environment and of the Center for World Heritage Studies.

Current Projects:

  • Visualizing Density: Conservation Development illustrations prepared for Embrace Open Space
  • Flood Area 5: Planning and design process with City of Minneapolis Public Works and Barr Engineering to create a strategy to solve the flooding problems in the Cleveland and Folwell neighborhoods.

The Metropolitan Design Center was founded as the Design Center for American Urban Landscape in 1988. The current interim Director is Lance M. Neckar, Professor, Landscape Architecture, and Fellow, Institute on the Environment.

Quick Links

 





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.