In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Muncie's city center was the core of urban life. It was similar to many industrial cities of the late 1800s, where the central business district was the hub of activities. The urban fabric in Muncie has changed significantly over the years, making it a city with very little activity in the city center. Downtown revitalization has therefore been an important task for civic leaders in the city. There are various revitalization strategies that aid in city center revival. Some have been classified as incremental, while some as catalysts. The first approach seeks to revitalize a city center using programs that show results over a period of time. The second approach depends on the successful development of a large project like a shopping mall, convention center or a hotel that brings back life in the city center. The goal of this study is to prove the effectiveness of colleges and universities as catalysts in downtown revitalization. Researched material suggests that various communities across the United States are harnessing the resources and forming partnerships with their host universities in order to aid in downtown revitalization efforts. Traditionally, universities and colleges in the United States developed away from the city center, but physically shifting downtown has proven effective in reviving the deteriorating condition of economically deprived communities. The proposed Integration Plan is aimed at guiding as well as providing ideas to further enhance the downtown revitalization process in the City of Muncie. / Department of Urban Planning

The decline in patronage, decrease in building density, and loss in property values suffered by Downtown Muncie, Indiana is a result of competition from shopping malls. This deterioration will continue unless there is a concerted effort by citizens, property owners, and the city to promote commercial revitalization of this area.The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Center suggest that communities can achieve commercial revitalization through a four part program which combines organization, design, promotion, and economic restructuring. Mary Jo Ruccio of the National Development Council, suggests that commercial revitalization cannot be successful unless the approach includes a comprehensive plan that addresses a downtown's unique problems.In order to create a functional commercial revitalization strategy for Muncie's downtown, the commercial district's history was reviewed, the existing buildings were surveyed, published historic preservation plans and commercial revitalization plans ware reviewed, and a variety of funding sources were studied. These efforts led to the development of a commercial revitalization strategy that is patterned after the Main Street Center's program. A major component of this strategy is the Downtown Commercial Revitalization Network that is recommended to act as a steering committee for a Downtown Development Director whose sole purpose is to direct downtown revitalization. The strategy recommends residential adaptive-use of the second stories in downtown buildings to promote economic development, and to preserve the historic structures. Low-interest loans with design standards are recommended to provide funds to create this housing stock without damaging the historic fabric. This will supply downtown with regular customers, thus strengthening existing establishments, creating the need for new businesses downtown, and diversifying the economic base.This strategy can be applied to the current downtown revitalization efforts by the City of Muncie. The ideas and general theories can also be applied by small Indiana towns which suffer from economic problems. A comprehensive plan that is tailored specifically for a downtown which account for the organization, design, economic, and promotion needs of downtown will set the course for successful commercial revitalization. / Department of Architecture

There were two starting points for this Creative Project. First, the idea of integrating photography in the design process, not only as a means of later documentation, but as a creative tool. This is a relatively new and unexplored field, thus few resources about the topic could be found. However, I was sure that this unique approach to design was worth exploration and decided to pursue it.The other idea came from research on revitalization of downtown areas which was triggered by my initial confusion and reorientation in a different culture where so ma-iv of the characteristics of urbanity were missing that I was so used to. The changes that have occurred in America's historic centers today are usually considered unavoidable and have resulted in a lifeless downtown area that seems to be the normal status. I believe that this is not just the decay of an important district of the town but, more importantly, the total loss of communication on a human level where the spatial demands of the automobile have become more important than human interaction.With those two ideas in mind I was searching for a site that would fit both. I have been living in Muncie. Indiana, long enough to understand the daily routine of the town, and the search for ideas that would lead to a change here was constantly on my grind. After some research on the entire downtown area I found an appropriate site and developed a proposal that integrates both my ideas and creates a vision of what could be. / Department of Architecture

This creative project has investigated the development potential of the "trackside" area as defined in the project. The project site is located on the south end of the central business district of Muncie. The area contains many historically significant buildings such as; the Federal Building, Robert's Hotel, Cohen Block, Marsh Building, Goddard Warehouse and Union Station to name a few. The study included an inventory process of existing conditions, urban spaces, building significants, figure ground study, assets and liabilities and analysis.This inventory process formed the basis for the urban design proposal which indicates the development potential of the area. The overall proposal is broken down into four sub-areas for easier explanation. These areas are named for the function or character trait that is significant to each: Conference Center Area, Plaza Node, Passive Cultural Center and the Railroad Node. In addition to a proposal for each subarea, the study indicates a concept analysis explaining the development idea. / Department of Architecture

This project will address the environmental and social issues associated with conventional community planning and propose solutions to these through written documentation as well as through masterplan-scale concepts of a proposed mixed-use project using principles derived from the New Urbanist movement. The site chosen to display these conceptualizations is that of the existing Delaware County Fairgrounds located in Muncie, Indiana. Two concepts for a traditional neighborhood development shall be the graphic product of the project. The concepts shall be used in a comparison of the potential for New Urbanist design principles applied within the confines of existing zoning and development regulation and New Urbanist-derived design principles applied in an unrestricted setting. The concepts will be used to illustrate the potential of the site as a primarily residential space. / Department of Landscape Architecture