Southwest - Heart Of The Community

Southwest - Heart Of The Community

Southwest Airlines is known for its folksy, quirky, egalitarian ethos, from its cut-rate fares and jokes from the flight attendants to its ticker symbol - LUV - to its unique corporate culture. For example, as part of its social commitment, Southwest Airlines works with communities around its network in order to bring additional community benefits beyond just flying to/from these destinations.

Launched in April this year, Southwest’s most ambitious CSR initiative to date is called Heart of the Community , which has been developed to support and activate public spaces in the heart of American cities. The program aims to support Placemaking – a movement that reimagines public spaces as the heart of every community.

After successful pilot projects in Detroit (transform an underutilized lawn in Campus Martius Park into a seasonal beach with a deck and seating) and Providence , Southwest and nonprofit organisation Project for Public Spaces (PPS) will help transform multiple places this year in cities the airline serves.

The latest initiative of Southwest and PPS has taken place in San Antonio where both organizations have re-activated the city’s historic Travis Park, which has been provided with new amenities including a sandbox, umbrellas, moveable tables and chairs, as well as public programming such as fitness classes, free movies and game tournaments.