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Q: What is the role of Joslyn Castle Institute (JCI)?
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A: Around the world there is a growing recognition that we cannot continue to develop our cities and communities the way we have in the past. If we are going to halt the decline, or maintain, or improve our living standards in the future, new approaches to development must be implemented. Intuitively, we know that changes are needed to provide opportunities for the long-term future and, more immediately, that the environment we experience from day-to-day can be improved significantly. Improving the living environment around us is a challenge in itself; development which also provides for the long-term is referred to as sustainable development. In order to achieve sustainable community development, it is imperative that we reverse the decline in the natural and built environment, bringing human systems into balance with natural systems.
To this end, JCI has identified the following goals and priorities:
- To search for connections and relationships between issues of land, water, populations and culture, technology and the environment.
- To promote an integrated approach to sustainability through dialogue, visioning, partnership and coordination.
- To bring a design approach not only to improving the living environment, but also to an integrated decision-making process.
- To promote public participation to create and work toward a shared vision for the future.
- To facilitate learning from and the transfer of best practices for improving the living environment.
- To develop indicators of sustainability and to monitor our progress.
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Q: What is JCI's relationship with the University of Nebraska?
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A: Although the Joslyn Castle Institute was created by the University of Nebraska College of Architecture, today JCI is an independent non-profit organization. Because our work involves studying issues of land, water, populations and culture, technology and the environment, many of our projects bring together professionals from all facets of community planning and development, including professors and students from the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, Omaha, and the Medical Center.
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Q: What is sustainable design?
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A: Sustainable design is development which honors nature, conserves resources, and provides community services and infrastructure without unnecessary duplication, and without limiting the resources available to future generations.
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Q: Who are the Friends of the Joslyn Castle and how are they affiliated with JCI?
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A: The Institute has offices on the ground of the Joslyn Castle estate and, by authority of an agreement with the State of Nebraska, manages the daily operations of the site. With the assistance of the Friends of Joslyn Castle, a group of volunteers, the Institute is coordinating the restoration and preservation of the buildings and grounds. The Castle is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part to the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.
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Q: Is the Institute concerned only with Nebraska and the Midwest?
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A: The Joslyn Castle Institute engages in sustainable development at the architectural, urban and regional scales. Forging partnerships between public, non-profit, and private organizations, the Institute provides conceptual recommendations and direction toward sustainable development. The Institute’s projects may be located locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally. The projects conducted by the Institute serve not only as real projects with tangible results but also as models of sustainable development for national and international application. As a partner in the United Nation's Best Practices and Local Leadership Program, the Institute is a point of dissemination for best management practices in the built environment on an international basis.
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Q: What is the source of funding and support for the Joslyn Castle Institute for Sustainable Communities?
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A: The JCI operates a promotional program for gifts and bequests through its Sponsorship Program. Otherwise the projects, research, and educational endeavors of the Institute are supported from specific applications to foundations and units of government for grants and contracts. The operations and maintenance of the Castle buildings and grounds are primarily supported through fees-for-use and rents for business, social and educational purposes. The Institute also strives to support much of its work with the assistance of educational interns and citizen volunteers.
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Q: Can JCI accommodate any long-term interests for personal/professional research in the fields of green design and/or sustainable development?
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A: The original Charter for JCI outlines an objective to accommodate “JCI Fellows” who may wish to be affiliated with the personnel and the resources of the Institute for some defined period of work/study. Each case must be presented to the President of the Institute and subsequently approved by the JCI Board of Directors.
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