Iowa State University
IN-24: Innovation A

In the Spring of 2018, ISU Landscape Architecture students from Professor Julie Steven’s design studio collaborated with staff and inmates at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women to convert the previously fenced-in, concrete outdoor visiting area into a Children’s Garden. The intent was to alleviate overcrowding during visitation and create a green space that allowed incarcerated mothers to bond with their children. Research suggests that fostering parent-child relationships during incarceration provides significant value in several facets of the rehabilitation process, with profound positive effects on the emotional and cognitive development of children as well as a significant reduction in the recidivism rate of incarcerated mothers. These outcomes allow families to break the cycle of intergenerational incarceration.

Students visited the prison several times throughout the semester to integrate input from staff and inmates into their design proposals. Line-of-sight considerations helped to ensure the security of staff, inmates, and their guests. Students brought models of their designs to the facility during visitation days in order to obtain input directly from inmates and their children, which allowed for the implementation of several features to provide a more ‘backyard feel’ to the space. The completed project is a living landscape of trees, native prairie, and gardens serving as habitat for several native butterfly and small animal species. Paved walkways lead to several features, including play equipment, outdoor instruments, flower beds, and vegetable plots.

Initial surveys of inmates show nearly a 75% appreciation and usage rating for the new landscape spaces created.

Through this collaboration with ICIW, Iowa State University joins only two other universities in the United States (University of Washington, Seattle; and University of California, Berkeley) in making this unique connection toward incorporating a systems approach to facility design – encompassing water management, ecology, and social factors.