Aspiring to become the nation's first community powered entirely by homegrown, biorenewable energy resources, the 550-resident town of Reynolds in White County isn't quite as sleepy as it used to be.

With national media on its front porch and new industry coming down the road, this quiet crossroads near Lafayette--which Governor Mitch Daniels designated "BioTown, USA" in 2005--has sought Ball State's help to manage anticipated growth and maintain the community's quality of life.

In the next couple of years, a new ethanol fuel plant and new facilities to convert organic waste into energy for the town are expected to generate dozens of new jobs in Reynolds. That will boost the local economy but also attract more residents, traffic, housing, and businesses.

"We're worried about a lot of things coming in fast and being built quickly," says Charlie VanVoorst, town board president. "We're thinking about how BioTown might look in two, five, or 10 years. We want to plan ahead and have some idea of where we want to go. We're wanting help in deciding where housing should be and ideas on the downtown—how we can revitalize that and make it look better."

VanVoorst contacted Ball State's Office of Building Better Communities, which put together a team to help the community.

With a $48,600 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and a $5,000 local match from Excel Co-op, the town of Reynolds is tapping Ball State's expertise to create a comprehensive development plan—a legal document to guide future growth and land-use decisions in the town.

In addition to the plan, Ball State will provide implementation strategies and a digital and/or physical model of the ideal Reynolds community as envisioned by local residents.

Ball State's project team includes professors and students with skills in urban planning, architecture, historic preservation, energy, economic development, economics, and environmental sustainability. The team is led by architecture and planning faculty members Eric Kelly, Michel Mounayar, Harry Eggink, and John Motloch and students Virginia Smith, Erica Mensch, and Tracey Parfitt.

Their research and visioning work included a three-day public workshop--a "charrette"--in January that engaged residents in discussions about the town's future.

This approach to community-based planning has been replicated by Ball State's nationally recognized College of Architecture and Planning  in cities and towns across Indiana over the past 40 years.

"The process is the same, but every community is unique," says Michel Mounayar, associate dean of the college. "Part of the process is to find out what makes the community unique. Whether we're called in for growth or lack of growth, we develop plans so communities don't lose their distinctive qualities."