Spring 2026 Sustainability Certificate Capstone Project Archway Partnership: City of Dublin Multimodal Trail
Dublin is a small, historic town in middle Georgia, founded in 1812. With a population of about 16,000, the city has a strong sense of place, but has struggled with connectivity and a limited spaces for community engagement. At the start of the Spring 2026 semester, five Sustainability Certificate Capstone students, Emmy Hayes, Dailey Jackson, Miles Miccichi, Emily Arsenault and Maria Rodriguez, took on a project titled Rails to Trails through the UGA Archway Partnership. The UGA Archway Partnership is a UGA Public Service and Outreach unit that embeds staff in communities across Georgia to connect local needs with university expertise. In Dublin-Laurens County, that connector is Valerie Dixon, the Archway Professional who identified the trail project as a community priority and brought it to UGA students as a capstone opportunity.
Their goal was to reimagine Dublin as a more connected and walkable city by designing a multimodal pathway accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists. As fourth-year Landscape Architecture Major, Dailey explains, “If they see there’s a well-designed path or a place to go, they’re more willing to walk around and make a whole day out of it.” The group hopes to transform downtown Dublin from somewhere people “drive to, park, and leave” into an experience, or what Dailey describes as “an adventure.”
Purpose & Vision: Although the original scope of the project called for the removal and replacement of the railroad, the team pivoted to better align with their expertise and timeline. Instead, they designed a multimodal pathway that runs adjacent to the rail, connecting Dublin’s popular farmers market to a nearby park and extending into a downtown area filled with local shops and businesses. Second-year Landscape Architecture major Miles explains that the pathway “provides connectivity between downtown businesses, giving people a way to comfortably walk around.” At its core, the project is creating a “third place.” A “third place” is a space outside of home and work where people can gather, connect, and engage with their community. By improving walkability, the team hopes to strengthen Dublin’s sense of place and encourage more consistent use of public space. As Miles notes, “It’s going to have a chain reaction of making the economy stronger and enhancing community connectivity.”
Student Perspective: The Multimodal Trail team is interdisciplinary, bringing together two ecologists, Emily and Emmy, and three Landscape Architecture students, Miles, Maria, and Dailey. I had the opportunity to speak with Dailey to better understand the passion behind their work. “My interest throughout my college journey has been streetscapes, this is where my interest lies,” Dailey shares. Through this project, their perspective on sustainability has evolved. “It’s important for everyone interested in sustainability to implement what they’ve learned,” they explain. Dailey now recognizes that applying sustainability in practice is far more complex than it may seem. As they put it, “You don’t realize how difficult it is to integrate sustainability into your work until you actually have to do it.” When speaking with Miles, it was clear that his passion is rooted in his upbringing. Originally from Atlanta, he recognizes the BeltLine as a defining part of the city’s culture, describing it as “a big part of what defines Atlanta for me.” He explains, “Those outdoor spaces where you can just walk through the city are really important to the overall feel of a place.” He brings that same vision to his work in Dublin, hoping to create a space that fosters connection and identity. “This project will bring identity to the space similar to that of the BeltLine,” he says.
Students from the Sustainability Certificate Capstone project in Dublin describe their project during a poster session.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: The team began the project with a site visit to Dublin, GA, emphasizing the importance of being physically immersed in a space before beginning the design process. “The site visit taught me a lot about the importance of seeing the site before design,” Miles explains. The group has remained in close communication with their project contact, Valerie Dixon of the UGA Archway Partnership, who has deeply immersed herself in the Dublin community. Valerie’s role went beyond project coordination as she served as the team’s bridge to Dublin residents and local stakeholders. “Increasing the utilization of this area was a priority for our community during our planning and infrastructure work group meetings,” Dixon said. “The multimodal project is an opportunity for us to address those concerns, while also incorporating innovative ideas from UGA students.” This is the Archway model come to life: university resources meeting communities where they are.
Valerie’s insight helped the student team recognize the importance of designing with the community in mind. As Miles notes, “I can give you what I would want, but it’s important in sustainability to give the community what they value, and also what works in that ecosystem.” Working in an interdisciplinary team has also shaped the group’s approach. Each member brings a different skillset, and that diversity has strengthened the project. As Dailey shares, “Landscape architects are used to working with each other, but it has been an interesting challenge to work with two ecologists. They propose ideas we would have never thought of and put to words what we couldn’t describe.” The team also notes that “sometimes you just need a little whimsy.” This is something the ecologists brought to the project in unexpected and valuable ways.
The Multimodal Trail project highlights the impact of thoughtful, community-centered design. Through collaboration, hands-on experience, and a commitment to sustainability, the team has worked to create a space that reflects the needs and identity of Dublin. Their work shows that sustainability is not only about connection and accessibility, but also about integrating eco-friendly design in ways that support both the community and the surrounding environment. Projects like this illustrate the Archway Partnership’s broader mission of creating lasting relationships between UGA and Georgia communities so that university knowledge translates into real, place-based change.
A rendering of the students’ final design and recommendations.
Writer: Isabelle Sharma, with additional contributions by Taylor West