Background Image Alternative Text: group poses in front of buildings (left to right): Thomas Gregory (CSTC),  Rayce Belton (4th year architecture), Chris Marsalis (Mayor, City of Ripley), Shelby Jaco (3rd year architecture), and Silvina Lopez Barrera (Assistant Professor)
Background Image Alternative Text: students Shelby Jaco, left, and Rayce Belton work with lights by a ladder

CREATE Common Ground course implements coursework in Ripley

This service learning course is the result of a partnership between the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center at Mississippi State University and the CREATE Foundation to address issues of urban development, historic preservation and transportation in communities in Northeast Mississippi.

Shelby Jaco, left, and Rayce Belton work on a light project for the alley
Students Shelby Jaco, left, and Rayce Belton work on a light project for the alley

(via Assistant Professor Silvina Lopez Barrera)

This year, the CREATE Common Ground (ARC 4613) course explored tactical urbanism in downtown Ripley using short-term and low-cost design interventions with long-term lasting impact for the community.

On April 19, students travelled to Ripley to implement their final design. They collaborated with the local government and Ripley Main Street Association to activate an underutilized alleyway in downtown that connects the courthouse square and a parking lot. 

This service learning course is the result of a partnership between the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center at Mississippi State University and the CREATE Foundation to address issues of urban development, historic preservation and transportation in communities in Northeast Mississippi.

  • Students: Nada Abdel-Aziz, Rayce Belton, and Shelby Jaco
  • Instructor: Silvina Lopez Barrera, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture
  • Teaching Assistant: Thomas Gregory, Community Planner, CSTC

See more photos from the project.