College of Architecture and Planning students and faculty make significant contributions to the city and state by working with real-world client and community members through class projects, internships, capstones, research assistantships, and funded research. 

By responsively and proactively engaging with communities throughout Colorado, we contribute to an improved quality of life - strengthening environmental sustainability, enhancing economic vitality, and increasing social and environmental justice.

Students have:

  • Designed and built micro cabins for the Colorado Outward Bound School and outdoor classrooms for urban farming education and environmental groups.
  • Helped communities recover from natural disasters in Lyons, Colorado; Houston, Texas; and the Darjeeling District of India.
  • Contributed to the development of a firstof- its-kind Community Agriculture Master Plan for the City of Arvada.
  • Worked with the Philadelphia Zoo and underserved communities in north Philadelphia to define regenerative practices with an emphasis on green stormwater design.
  • Developed ecological design principles inspired by historic Colorado ranches in Routt, Phillips, Otero, and Montezuma counties.
  • Projected affordable housing needs around the future Gold Line stations.
  • Evaluated impacts of existing affordable housing in the RiNo Arts District.
  • Helped a local school obtain a $75,000 grant to build a sensory garden designed as part of an individual student’s thesis.