OU Institute for Quality Communities

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OU Institute for Quality Communities

The Institute for Quality Communities provides information and services to enhance life in neighborhoods, towns, and cities.

At the IQC, we seek to serve and strengthen Oklahoma’s towns and cities while educating the next generation of Oklahoma’s leaders. We collaborate with faculty and students from The University of Oklahoma, as well as cutting-edge practitioners from around the world, to enhance our understanding of the built environment’s influence on quality of life. Through the IQC’s engagements with communities a

nd civic leaders, our OU team helps the citizens of Oklahoma reshape their towns and cities in ways that improve our state’s social ties, environment, and economy.

08/24/2026

Behind the Scenes…

First day of the fall semester and we are already moving and grooving here at the IQC. Stay tuned, story loading…

08/14/2026

Hello IQC friends! A new academic year is around the corner. Before we get started with that, however, we’d like to update you on work we did over this summer.

During the months of June and July, the IQC benefited from the work of Adam Lodrigueza, a senior majoring in Environmental Design, who is starting his second year in the accelerated Regional & City Planning master’s program. Adam conducted an in-depth review of IQC records and developed a comprehensive report documenting some of our earliest community assistance projects—work that will be especially valuable as we approach IQC’s 20th anniversary in 2028.

Our team toured several Oklahoma City sites where IQC has worked in recent years, meeting with key stakeholders including Thuan Nguyen of Oklahoma City’s Asian District, Rachael Crawford, Director of the Plaza District, and Amanda Bleakly, Director of the Paseo Arts District. These conversations provided valuable insight into how communities have used IQC recommendations to strengthen and improve their districts.

Adam will be presenting his research during a Gibbs College of Architecture Brown Bag Lunch this September! Thank you for all your great contributions Adam.

08/04/2026

Did you catch IQC Director Amber Wiley and Program Manager Molly O’Connor at the Select Oklahoma Conference on Economic Development today? If not here’s a little bit about their session:

Sense of Place: A Humanities-Based Approach to Community Development

This session highlighted the humanities-based work of the Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) to inform policy and design recommendations for projects across the state. The presenters shared core tenets and methodologies and used recent IQC project case studies to illustrate the integral nature of the humanities to all aspects of project implementation to amplify
a sense of place.

07/27/2026

The City of Oklahoma City’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) is inviting the community again to support the ongoing Plat Amendment Project. On Saturday, Aug. 1, from 10 a.m. to noon, the HRC will host a volunteer event at the Ron Norick Downtown Library, 300 Park Ave.

The project flags discriminatory language—such as historic racially restrictive covenants—that remains embedded in local land records or maps. While these clauses are no longer legally enforceable, addressing this language makes the public record accurate and affirms our commitment to being an inclusive and welcoming community.

This volunteer opportunity is open to everyone; no legal or real estate experience required. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own laptops/tablets if they have one.

This project is a result of a collaboration between the Institute for Quality Communities and the City of Oklahoma City’s HRC. Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture PLAD faculty member Charles Warnken and graduate student William Willson have led this effort on the OU side.

06/04/2026

ICYMI:

Did you know that an IQC Community Assistance Project was featured on Oklahoma Educational Television Authority’s Oklahoma News Report?

In 2025, the Human Rights Commission of the City of Oklahoma City approached the IQC with a proposal to identify racially restrictive covenants in Oklahoma City plats and deeds.

Through a partnership with Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design (PLAD) faculty member Charles Warnken, RCPL student William Willson, and the IQC, a springtime workshop was held at the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County Ron Norick Library that attracted over 75 community members.

The goal is to identify, highlight, and amend plats to state that the racial restrictive language is no longer enforceable. History will not be erased, rather the work will assist in ensuring that legal protections of all Oklahoma City residents are upheld.

Check out the OETA news spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTYfVNR4O_o

Learn more about the project:
https://vision.okc.gov/oklahoma-city-plat

05/26/2026

The IQC team would like to welcome our newest member, our Summer Research Assistant, Adam Lodrigueza! During his time with the IQC he will be assisting our preparation for the 2027 Placemaking Conference and doing preliminary research to set the stage for the 20-year IQC anniversary in 2028.

Adam, a senior majoring in Environmental Design, is starting his second year in the accelerated Regional & City Planning master’s program. His upbringing in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and volunteer work with shelters for unhoused people in his hometown and in Tulsa instilled his dedication to public service. Adam channels his interests in zoning, urban design, and sustainable development into learning how real estate developers and communities can advocate for equitable futures and environments.

His experience interning as a Community Scholar with 929 Strategies and the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center expanded his knowledge on how private-public partnerships, law, and design can help communities implement their goals. This interdisciplinary perspective encourages him to improve the quality of life, public services, and housing affordability for communities that struggle with economic disadvantages and vulnerabilities.

Adam is excited to learn more about adaptive reuse, zoning reform, and community engagement to guide the development of inclusive spaces that harmonize communities’ social, environmental, and economic values.

05/19/2026

Congratulations to our five amazing OU Institute for Quality Communities Graduate Assistants: Sanjita Basnet, Afrah Faheem, Taylor Fleming, Dez Harris, and David McPherson! What a phenomenal group of young leaders who graduated this past Saturday and are going out into the world to make a difference in regional/ city planning, landscape architecture, and community development.

We’ve had a rigorous year of working in depth with several Oklahoma communities including: Poteau, Del City, Moore, Grayson, and Durant. We are truly excited for our IQC graduates.

05/12/2026

It’s that time of the year. Our IQC GAs are working hard to wrap up their projects. Soon they’ll be off in the world. We could not be prouder of this team of superstars. More graduation celebrations coming!

04/15/2026

Snapshots of the second full day at the National Main Street Conference in Tulsa with the IQC team. IQC faculty affiliate Wei Liu led a record breaking (we believe) standing room only session entitled “8-Point Visual Check for a Better Main Street.” He gave an overview of the IQC’s recent work to develop a streetscape study in Poteau, followed by an easy guide to assess areas for improvement for main streets across the country. He also acknowledged all the work that IQC GAs put into the project. The session, like Molly’s on Monday, was a resounding success.

IQC staff past and present were well represented at the conference — in addition to Shane Hampton, we got to visit with past interim director Vanessa Morrison and faculty emeritus Ron Frantz. IQC GA Taylor Fleming served as a Main Street Conference volunteer, and documented her day on the instagram page.

At the end of the second day team members debriefed about everything we learned over dinner. We were so happy to have so many OU Gibbs representatives at this important national conference.

Did we mention the tornado warning? Main Streeters got to experience an authentic Oklahoma springtime storm, taking cover in their hotels and continuing the networking and camaraderie late into the night. A time was had by all. Kudos to Oklahoma Main Street for hosting such a well attended and inspiring conference.

04/14/2026

First 24 hours at the National Main Street Conference in Tulsa with the IQC team. IQC program manager Molly O’Connor led a packed session entitled “Harnessing the Art of Storytelling for Community Engagement.” She gave a history of storytelling, case studies on how it could be used in various scenarios, and how to create an infrastructure to support story slams. Audience members were invited to share a story on the topic of “home.”

We also enjoyed the opening plenary with a performance from the Tulsa Indian Club and remarks from various speakers including Oklahoma Main Street Director Buffy Skee.

IQC leaders past and present met up at the Sunday reception, and team members generally enjoyed the sights and sounds of Tulsa.

Address

830 Van Vleet Oval, Gould Hall, Suite 165
Norman, OK
73019

Website

http://iqc.ou.edu/

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