Troy, N.Y. — Architecture students in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Community Planning class invited Troy residents to join them at a book-release party held at Gallery 83 — located at 83 3rd Street in Troy — on Thursday, June 22. All event attendees received a free-of-charge guidebook of ideas for alley revitalization.

The book-release celebration marks the culmination of the Alley Project, a research project to develop and compile specific alley improvement plans to share with Troy residents, funded by a Rubin Community Fellows grant.

Called Alley Improvement Project 2006, the book features ideas, plans, cost estimates, and sources of help and materials for parking, garage, low-maintenance landscaping, lighting, and safety and security alley enhancement projects. A six-page spread about last month’s “Up Your Alley” event — hosted by Rensselaer students in the Williams Street alley — also is included in the guidebook.

The book was written by the Alley Project researchers, which includes Rensselaer students and faculty, as well as members of the Osgood Neighborhood Association and the Institute of Cultural Affairs.

To compile revitalization ideas for the book, the researchers held two community design workshops — interactive forums where students, community representatives, and professional architects and designers identified areas for alley improvement and devised strategies.

“Our hope is that this book inspires homeowners and residents to view their alleys as valuable assets,” says Sid Fleisher, one of two faculty members who lead Rensselaer’s Community Planning class. “A well-cared-for alley can increase human connectivity and provide parking, passageways, and a safer place for children to play.”

According to Fleisher, 750 copies of Alley Improvement Project 2006 have been produced, and an online version of the guidebook is forthcoming.

“This project has the potential to make a real positive splash,” says Barbara Nelson, an adjunct professor of architecture at Rensselaer who teaches the Community Planning class with Fleisher. “Our hope is that neighborhoods in other towns will pick up on our idea and implement it in their own areas.”

Rensselaer’s Community Planning course allows students to interact directly with residents, professional planners, urban advocates, and community leaders to explore neighborhood revitalization through various community-based initiatives.

Contact: Amber Cleveland
Phone: (518) 276-2146
E-mail: clevea@rpi.edu