Sustaining Our Legacy: The Future of Ramsey Town Hall

Report completed by students enrolled in PA 5211: Land Use Planning, taught by Fernando Burga in fall 2017.This project was completed as part of the 2017-2018 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Ramsey. Only a few of the original houses and structures built in Ramsey remain today. The most notable structure of historic significance is the Old Ramsey Town Hall/District No. 28 Schoolhouse, located west of Highway 47 just north of County Road 116, in the far southeastern corner of the city. The structure was built in 1894, and was originally used as a one-room schoolhouse. The building served as the Ramsey Town Hall government building from 1947 to 1977, when the community finally outgrew the facility. The structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and underwent some renovation in 1996, but the building currently sits empty, with no plan for its future use or disposition. Students in Dr. Fernando Burga’s Land Use Planning class researched the role of the building in Ramsey's history, as well as previous renovation efforts; explored what is involved in creating a historic preservation commission to protect and preserve historic structures and landscapes; identified structural and site issues or limitations related to the building and potential adaptive reuses, and made recommendations for restoration and repair; identified potential adaptive reuses of the building in its current location; and considered the feasibility and propriety of relocating the building elsewhere in the community. The students’ final report is available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance community resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu

Extracellular matrix in lung development, homeostasis and disease

The lung's unique extracellular matrix (ECM), while providing structural support for cells, is critical in the regulation of developmental organogenesis, homeostasis and injury-repair responses. The ECM, via biochemical or biomechanical cues, regulates diverse cell functions, fate and phenotype. The composition and function of lung ECM become markedly deranged in pathological tissue remodeling. ECM-based therapeutics and bioengineering approaches represent promising novel strategies for regeneration/repair of the lung and treatment of chronic lung diseases. In this review, we assess the current state of lung ECM biology, including fundamental advances in ECM composition, dynamics, topography, and biomechanics; the role of the ECM in normal and aberrant lung development, adult lung diseases and autoimmunity; and ECM in the regulation of the stem cell niche. We identify opportunities to advance the field of lung ECM biology and provide a set recommendations for research priorities to advance knowledge that would inform novel approaches to the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic lung diseases