Target Texas Program

The Target Texas Program, in the College of Architecture's Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, not only gives students real-world experience but also provides comprehensive plans for Texas communities.

Target Texas Program is evolved from an earlier program (Texas Target Cities Program) established by Dr. David Pugh. The earlier program primarily focused on planning related issues with a limited engagement from the other programs within the department. The newly revised, Target Texas Program, widen this scope by broadening its emphases to both design and planning related issues. The revised program envisions to engage all programs in the Department of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning. The program offers mainly graduate students from various programs within the department a chance to put classroom theory into practice. This program is an opportunity for students to apply classroom-based knowledge to real urban and regional problems. Target Texas Program provides research and technical assistance to communities within Texas and beyond.

Some examples of Target Texas Program projects are:

Project Title: A Neighborhood Revitalization Study of the Fox Avenue Corridor in Lewisville
Project years: fall 2005 – spring 2006
Project Location: Fox Avenue corridor in Lewisville
City: Lewisville
County: Danton
Region: the Fox Avenue corridor in Lewisville
State: Texas
Researcher: Dr. Elise Bright
Students Involved: MUP - Tariq Al Busaidi, Leslie Chady, Christina Croxell, Stephan Gage, Kevin Gifford, Himanshu Grover, Kristina A. Harpst, Ji Li, Sze Lun Li, Jordan Maddox, Dipti Mathur, Madhu Narayanasamy, Rajat Parashar, Lee Ann Roman, Jon Toffer, Sudhish Verma
Project Sponsor: City of Lewisville
Project Summary: A neighborhood revitalization study of the Fox Avenue corridor in Lewisville was conducted in the fall of 2005 and the spring of 2006 by the Texas A&M University Target Cities Program. The Fox Avenue corridor neighborhood study area is bounded by Main Street on the north, IH-35E on the east, Bellaire on the south and Old Orchard on the west, with Fox Avenue being the central east-west road. The study area was further divided into seven sub-areas according to the block group areas defined by the U.S. Census for further analysis. Following link will take you to the final report of this study...[more]

Project Title: Sustainability Indicators for Texas
Project years: 2006
Project Location: Texas
State: Texas
Researcher: Dr. Sam Brody
Students Involved: LDEV 671 students, - Joel Allen, James Baker, Jacob Browning, Andrew Burleson, Jung Eun Kang, Jae Sue Lee, Matthew, Hilgemeier, James Tu
Project Summary: Sustainability is essentially a question, an important question affecting our communities, our nation, and the world. The question is: how much can we consume right now without compromising our future? At current rates of consumption—of raw materials such as land, fossil fuels, even water—the earth’s capacity may be unable to sustain future population growth. Sustainability is a relatively new subject of study and has been defined in several ways. Following link will take you to the final report of this study... [more]

Project Title: City of Castle Hills: State of the City and Recommendations
Project years: Spring 2006
Project Location: Texas
City: Castle Hills
State: Texas
Researchers: Dr. Elise Bright
MUP students: Tariq Al Busaidi, Leslie Chady, Christina Croxell, Stephan Gage, Kevin Gifford, Himanshu Grover, Kristina A. Harpst, Chao-Yuan Hsiao, Ji Li, Sze Lun Li, Jordan Maddox, Dipti Mathur, Madhu Narayanasamy, Rajat Parashar, Lee Ann Roman, Jon Toffer, Sudhish Verma
Project Summary: This report has been a collaborative effort of eighteen graduate students of Texas A&M University’s Master of Urban Planning Program. The students have come from a wide variety of backgrounds and countries, and nearly every student has professional experience. This combination has provided an excellent range of expertise for the project. Following link will take you to the final report of this study…[more]

Project Title: Woodway Park
Project years: 9/2002 ~ 12/2002
Project Location:
City: College Station
County: Brazos
Region: Central Texas
State: Texas
Researchers: Dr. Christopher D. Ellis,
LAND 601 Design Studio
Project Sponsor: College Station Parks and Recreation
Project Summary: A 14 acre overgrown site with a 3 acre pond located within a high density residential area was designed to accommodate a large pavilion, playgrounds, tennis, basketball, volleyball, walking paths, and parking. Twelve design alternatives were presented.

Project Title: Castlegate Park
Project years: 3/2001 ~ 5/2001
Project Location: College Station
County: Brazos
Region: Central Texas
State: Texas
Researchers: Dr. Christopher D. Ellis, Dr. Taner R. Ozdil, and Dr. Ming Han Li
LAND 319 students
Project Sponsor: College Station Parks and Recreation
Project Summary: A 4.5 acre park centrally located within a single-family home subdivision was designed to accommodate children’s playgrounds, basketball, tennis, a small pavilion, and walking paths. Ten design alternatives were presented.

Project Title: Labyrinth Meditation Garden
Project years: 3/2001 ~ 5/2001
Project Location: Galveston
Region: Coastal Texas
State: Texas
Researchers: Prof. Jody R. Naderi and Dr. Christopher D. Ellis,
LAND 321 students
Project Sponsor: William Temple Episcopal Center
Project Summary: Designed a 1 acre garden to support spiritual meditation and healing around a labyrinth.

Project Title: The Haven Medical Facilities and Equestrian Ranch
Project years: 1/2001 ~ 2/2001
Project Location: Millican
County: Brazos
Region: Central Texas
State: Texas
Researchers: Prof. Jody R. Naderi and Dr. Christopher D. Ellis,
LAND 321 students
Project Sponsor: Lifelines Foundation for Eating Disorders
Project Summary: Conducted a site selection exercise followed by siting of roads, buildings, equestrian facilities, a parking. Detailed site designs included a healing and meditation garden. Twenty-two design alternatives were presented to the Lifelines Foundation Executive Board.

Project Title: Veteran`s Memorial Park
Project years: 10/2000 ~ 12/2000
Project Location: College Station
County: Brazos
Region: Central Texas
State: Texas
Researchers: Dr. Christopher D. Ellis,
LAND 601 students
Project Sponsor: College Station Parks and Recreation
Project Summary: An 11 acre site was designed to accommodate a memorial for veterans of war. Four design alternatives were presented.

Project Title: I-45 Corridor Beautification Project
Project years: 9/1998 ~ 12/1998
Project Location: Woodlands
County: Montgomery
Region: East Texas
State: Texas
Researchers: Dr Jon Rodiek and Dr. Christopher D. Ellis,
LAND 320 and LAND 620 students,
Project Sponsor: Town Center Improvement District
Funding: 30000
Project Summary: A 6 mile stretch of Interstate 45 north of Houston had been reconstructed and required a masterplan for landscape edge treatments. Graduate and undergraduate landscape architecture students worked together to develope a detailed set of plans for both sides of the freeway.