Sustainable City

Downtown Ithaca has strong bones, but parts of it remain underutilized: trails that go unnoticed, businesses with limited online visibility, and public spaces that could better serve the community. Working in direct partnership with the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, the Sustainable City team takes on projects that make downtown more connected, more accessible, and more economically vibrant. This semester, the team advanced a heritage trail proposal along the Cayuga waterfront, supported local businesses in improving their digital presence, and explored design improvements to the Commons streetscape.

Project Overview

Stakeholders Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA), Nan Rohrer (CEO); Upson Hall Facilities; Bryan McCracken (Historic Preservation & Neighborhood Planner); Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce; Bike Walk Tompkins; City of Ithaca Engineering Department

Disciplines / Majors Urban planning, systems engineering, architecture, environmental science, government

Team Overview Sustainable City is a CUSD team focused on bringing renewed identity, community, and ownership to often-overlooked areas of Ithaca. The team collaborates closely with the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA), a New York State-chartered 501(c)3 charged with revitalization and management of downtown Ithaca. The team includes nearly thirty undergraduate and graduate students and is advised by Sirietta Simoncini. As of Fall 2025, two active project areas are the Waterfront Heritage Trail and Commons Revitalization.

Problem Statement The Cayuga Inlet waterfront lacks cohesive identity, clear signage, and accessibility; especially along the southern inlet. The Ithaca Commons similarly suffers from low visibility, outdated digital presence, and underutilized public spaces. Together, these issues reduce community engagement, foot traffic, and the connection between Cornell and downtown.

Approach The Waterfront subteam is designing a Heritage Trail along the southern Cayuga Inlet, mapping historical sites, developing consistent signage, and building a stakeholder proposal with cost estimates. The Commons subteam operates across three workstreams: Street View (capturing and uploading 360-degree footage of the Commons and business interiors to Google Maps), Branding (supporting local businesses' online presence and marketing), and Planters (exploring sustainable improvements to Commons planter design).

Key Accomplishments This Semester The Waterfront team completed a stakeholder landscape analysis and identified partner organizations across economic development, government planning, environmental stewardship, and education. Developed a first-draft Heritage Trail route and presented a formal proposal. The Street View team captured and uploaded 360-degree footage of the Commons exterior and select business interiors. The branding team engaged with Old Steel Bike Repair and Recyclery and improved their Google business profile. Previously: Ithaca achieved LEED Gold certification in December 2024 through the team's multi-semester submission effort.

Next Steps Waterfront: engage five site owners for formal letters of support, refine cost estimates and signage design guidelines, and prepare Tompkins County tourism grant applications. Branding: expand to additional Commons businesses beyond Old Steel. Planters: continue exploring sustainable planting design options. Street View: upload remaining footage.

Risks & How They Were Addressed The Waterfront project depends on securing buy-in from site owners across multiple public and private landowners and identifying grant funding for signage fabrication. The team has begun stakeholder outreach and is preparing grant applications. The Cherry Street project was paused due to the city's reallocation of the site; the team redirected effort to the Commons and Waterfront to maintain momentum.