‘Drawing on the community’s needs’: UK landscape architecture students help transform Bourbon County neighborhood

PARIS, Ky. (May 2, 2025) — At the Westside Neighborhood in Bourbon County, Kentucky, a community development project is reimagining and revitalizing a local neighborhood that has been impacted for decades by its proximity to a city dump.

Vanessa Logan, local resident and now president of the Paris Westside Neighborhood Association, shared how the city dump’s original location at the Solid Waste Transfer Station, which included an incinerator as part of the operation, impacted her growing up as a kid in the late 1960s.

“You could smell it, and you would see this black smoke,” Logan said. “The land was just taken. There used to be a baseball field here. It was a place where people came to play and have a picnic.”

After graduating from Bourbon County High School, Logan left Paris, then returned 48 years later.

“I then realized what was actually going on here, and something needed to change in my neighborhood,” she said.

In 2019, Logan along with county residents, city and county officials, community members, consultants and state legislators, came together to discuss what they could do to recapture a place that meant, and still means, so much to them.

The city dump’s location was never an “ideal location,” according to city manager Jamie Miller.

“It’s right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, so we’ve been working hard to relocate it to a more appropriate facility — it’s been a long time coming,” Miller said.

Through continued conversations, what was happening in this neighborhood eventually found its way to Bill Henkel in 2022. Henkel, a University of Kentucky alum and current Bourbon County resident, was a faculty member in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE).  

Henkel was looking for experiential opportunities for his students in his site design course. He believed that this project could help bridge the gap between what he was teaching in the classroom and giving his students an opportunity to apply it in a real-world scenario.

“I realized that this could be an amazing experience for my students to take what they are learning and create hope and inspiration for others,” Henkel said. “It was perfect because of the impact on the environment, neighborhood and the city. It offered huge game-changing opportunities for my students to take this experience forward in their professional and personal lives.”

The Paris project

In 2023, a group of sophomore UK landscape architecture students in Henkel’s class came together and traveled to Paris to meet with city officials and local leaders at the Solid Waste Transfer Station. The first goal was to understand the project scope then offer some master designs and drawings to help the community visualize a path forward.

After gathering all the necessary information, the students presented their proposals to the local city officials, community members and representatives of the Paris Westside Neighborhood Association. Their proposal included detailed master plans for new green spaces, a pavilion and amphitheater, community garden, walking trails, walkways and other features. This moment was the spark that the city needed to reimagine the current Solid Waste Transfer Station and the surrounding area and eventually chart a plan for moving the city dump.

“When the students arrived, they were so excited,” Logan said. “They brought drones, took pictures, asked questions and walked around with us. The students listened to what people wanted and made it happen. Their drawings were just phenomenal and even included bringing the old baseball field back. We are using their ideas and drawings with the National Park District to help transform our community.”

Miller reinforced the importance of working together on projects like this and appreciates the UK students’ approach in wanting to get to know their city.

“My favorite thing about this project is that it really has shown the power of collaboration, and the University of Kentucky students have been a critical piece,” Miller said. “The students came and took the time to come in, talk and listen to the neighborhood. Their designs have been used to help pull the neighborhood back together and think about what this will look like in the future.” 

Returning to the site 

The students, who will graduate at this month’s UK Commencement, recently returned to the site and had an opportunity to stand in the brand-new $4.5 million Solid Waste and Recycling Convenience Center.  

The new location of the recycling center is one phase of a larger plan to revitalize their community, which all began a few years ago when the UK students laid some of the groundwork.

“This was such a heartwarming and eye-opening experience for me,” said Madeline Lowe, UK landscape architecture senior. “Seeing the communities take our work and be used in an actual plan means a lot to me. It really solidifies what I want to do after graduation and what landscape architecture is all about.”

UK senior Christian Fischer says he appreciated being on the forefront of something exciting.

“This began as just another class project, but from there, it grew into something different,” Fischer said. “There always needs to be a catalyst for a project to start, and we’re happy to be that for this project.”

UK senior Magdalena Sirek reflected on her experience.

“We started the design process by drawing on the community needs and then creating a vision,” Sirek said. “We knew that this was something that was really going to be influential and make a difference. Today, looking back on the work we did is something I’ll never forget and will carry into my future career.”

Pathway to progress

Paris’ pathway to progress on reimagining the West Side Neighborhood has spanned 60 years. The city has planned a May 31 ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially introduce the brand-new recycling center to the community. Visit https://www.paris.ky.gov to learn more.

To learn more about the landscape architecture program and department at Martin-Gatton CAFE, visit https://ukla.ca.uky.edu.