Internship | Trimble KY 2025
Internship | Trimble KY 2025
Travel Trimble: Rediscover Bedford, the Heart of Trimble County
During Summer 2025, Blueprint Kentucky, in partnership with the University of Kentucky Department of Landscape Architecture and the Ohio River Way, led a 10-week Community Design Fellowship focused on Trimble County, Kentucky. The program brought together five students from different academic disciplines to explore how design, research, and community collaboration can strengthen rural economies and enhance quality of life.
The Fellows worked alongside community leaders, residents, and design professionals to identify opportunities for growth while honoring Trimble County’s natural beauty, cultural heritage, and historic character. Their efforts centered around Travel Trimble: Rediscover Bedford, a project designed to highlight the county seat of Bedford as a vibrant hub of local life and tourism.
Purpose and Approach
The team’s goal was to create strategies that celebrate Trimble County’s assets and expand its potential as a destination within the Ohio River Valley. The Fellows began with an in-depth study of the county’s landscape, economy, and mobility patterns. Field visits, interviews, and community surveys informed their understanding of local needs and aspirations.
Drawing on this research, students applied principles of creative placemaking and community design to envision ways Trimble County could strengthen tourism, improve public spaces, and build a cohesive county identity. Their design process followed three phases:
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Pre-Design: Assessing existing conditions, community assets, and opportunities.
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Designing the Problem: Analyzing challenges related to mobility, tourism, and economic development.
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Designing the Solution: Creating actionable design proposals shaped by community feedback.
Key Insights and Outcomes
The final plan emphasizes improving connectivity, supporting small businesses, and elevating Bedford as the cultural and economic heart of Trimble County. Highlights include:
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Downtown Bedford Revitalization: Proposals for enhanced pedestrian safety, public art, and flexible community gathering spaces.
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Tourism and Branding: A unified “Travel Trimble” identity to promote local events, recreation, and heritage tourism.
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Mobility Enhancements: Strategies for safer walking and cycling routes, and improved access to the Ohio River for recreation.
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Community Engagement: A youth-focused survey and local partnerships that guided the vision for future development.
Next Steps
The Trimble County project demonstrates how student-led design and university-community partnerships can generate meaningful, actionable ideas for rural development. By leveraging local assets and creative design thinking, the Fellows’ work provides a roadmap for community growth that honors the county’s heritage while embracing its future.
Blueprint Kentucky will continue to share insights from this project and support Kentucky communities in building stronger, more connected, and more vibrant places to live, work, and visit.
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