The senior Applied Communications class is concluding a project where they were to develop a housing project for the city of Lexington as a way to put into practice the lessons of writing a proposal. Proposals are persuasive documents to present to groups or businesses of a plan to fulfill a need. Usually, they are a response to groups or businesses who have sent out a request for individuals or companies to perform a task, such as a housing project, or to conduct a study of something.

Since there are several housing developments already occurring around Lexington, it seemed that real life examples would be available of what they would look like. Taking these examples into consideration, the class discussed what they would like to see in a new community they would build and who they would build housing for, ranging from single family or high-density housing.

A further requirement was to include an element of recreation. Students selected parks, ponds and water features, walking paths, as well as basketball and tennis courts. Several went further to suggest convenience stores and other business options.

A day was spent looking at zoning rules and the reasons for them, that permits would need to be obtained, and if necessary, a change in zoning. Students also did research to determine costs towards building homes and recreation elements.

The end result is that each student should have a portfolio of a proposal which will include illustrations, such as tables, charts, and diagrams.