Downtown Lawrence comprises about 20 city blocks between South Park and the Kansas River. This area includes a county courthouse, an art center, a library, the city hall, offices, apartments, and two hotels. It also has many parking lots and attached shops and restaurants with roofs of similar height that could accommodate solar collectors.
East of downtown is an 80-block area called East Lawrence. The western half is residential with many small houses and a grade school. The eastern half is industrial, with manufacturing buildings, warehouses, a railroad station and tracks, open parking areas, a rock-crushing plant, and the city's sewage plant. Solar collectors could cover parking areas and flat industrial roofs. With combined heat and power (CHP), this area's industry might also provide efficient heat and electricity for itself, adjacent residences, and the nearby downtown.
West of downtown is an 80-block area called Old West Lawrence. The southern two-thirds is residential and includes a grade school. The northern third has several medical facilities with large parking lots, and there is some industrial land by railroad tracks at the north end. Solar collectors could go on the school, medical, and industrial properties, and on residence roofs not obstructed by trees.
Southwest of Old West Lawrence is The University of Kansas (KU). Before switching to utility power around 1960, KU produced its own heat and electricity. Solar collectors could cover many KU building roofs and parking lots. And KU could implement a robust renewable microgrid like the one at the University of California San Diego.