One interview subject remembered Henry Street as a bumpin', jumpin' place.

Virginia Tech students involved in an oral history project in Roanoke's Hurt Park neighborhood shared that colorful snippet Thursday during the first Roanoke Collaborative Symposium.

Students from Virginia Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Studies, as well as other specialized fields of university study, offered presentations about a variety of projects conducted within the city.

As envisioned, collaboration among the city, faculty at Virginia Tech and students there, both undergraduate and graduate, can be mutually beneficial, said John Browder, a professor and associate dean.

To wit, the students gain access to a living urban laboratory and the city reaps a free harvest from their data, their feet on the street and their insights about projects city employees might be able to pursue.

The audience of about 50 included members of the city's planning division.

Chris Chittum, planning administrator, said the students' work is important.

"I think there's real value in having people from the outside give us perspective and a fresh set of eyes, especially from a younger person's point of view," Chittum said. "They can do a lot of the things we don't have time to do."

Topics ranged from brownfield redevelopment along the Shenandoah Avenue corridor to a design concept for the rehabilitation of the Can Company/Heironimus Warehouse north of the Walnut Avenue bridge.

The event occurred in a fitting setting -- the Claude Moore Education Complex, a reclaimed and celebrated "green" building on Henry Street.

Students in an undergraduate class and graduate seminar taught by Karen Till, an associate professor of urban affairs and planning, tackled two separate projects in Hurt Park, including the oral history effort.

The other focused on incorporating the input of Hurt Park residents in planning for community development work in the neighborhood. The students conducted surveys among residents, asking them to name things they would like to see change in the neighborhood and what they would like to stay the same. The students worked with Total Action Against Poverty to poll the residents, compile data and identify trends.

Till said later that the residents of predominantly black neighborhoods in Roanoke, including Gainsboro and a portion of Northeast Roanoke, once had no voice in redevelopment decisions that effectively destroyed whole neighborhoods. Her students said they encountered skepticism among many older residents in Hurt Park about whether they will truly have a say in guiding redevelopment projects.

Race and related housing segregation have historically split the city.

So have the Roanoke River and railroad tracks. Ahmed Ali, a professor of architecture and design research in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, introduced a related project. Mike Loschiavo, a master's degree student in architecture, was part of a team that included professionals and students. He cited one tangible example of a possible solution to neighborhoods separated by both the river and railroad tracks -- Old Southwest and Walnut Hills.

As envisioned, a pedestrian walkway could be added to the Walnut Avenue bridge and other area amenities and redevelopment would encourage contact between the neighborhoods. Coincidentally, or ironically, the Walnut Avenue bridge is undergoing renovations and will be closed until early June.

Nearby, the Can Company/Heironimus Warehouse attracted the attention of Stephen Smith, a fifth-year student in architecture. Incorporating the vision of owner Katie Wallace of The Wallace Agency, Smith produced a design concept that would include galleries, studios and affordable housing for artists while retaining the buildings' historic exteriors. He would add high-tech "billboards" that could promote the development and events around Roanoke, with the latter having the potential to generate revenue.

Stuart Mease, the city's special projects coordinator, helped organize the symposium. One of his primary duties involves trying to attract and retain young professionals.

The collaboration could serve that mission too, he said, by introducing Virginia Tech students to Roanoke and to possible job opportunities in the region.

The students' work did not investigate how much money it might take to move their projects forward.