2013_UMN MLA Capstone- Eidem: WEST BROADWAY AVENUE, Minneapolis MN

CO R T E I D E M UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

WEST BROADWAY AVENUE 1

SPECIAL THANKS KRISTINE MILLER UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA : Capstone Committee Chair

CO R T E I D E M

CO R T E I D E M

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

PART ONE

THANK YOU “Motho ke motho ka batho.” [ a person is a person through connections with others ]

PART TWO

-- Sotho Proverb

MATTHEW TUCKER UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA : Capstone Committee No, Really, THANK YOU! CARRIE CHRISTENSEN UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA : Capstone Committee VINCE deBRITTO UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA : Capstone Studio REBECCA KRINKE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA : Capstone Studio

I certainly could not have survived this project or the past three years without A LOT of love and support from some truly amazing family, friends, classmates, colleagues, puppies, snowflakes, and bouncy balls. Thank you dad, mom, maria, my kid sister Britni, and all extended family for the endless support. Shout out to my big family at The Clearing in Door County, and everyone at TLS!

CLASSMATES + COLLEAGUES Eric Alward, Bill Brohman, Ally Czechowicz, Coal Dorius, Brendan Dougherty, Forrest Hardy, Elizabeth Hixson, Eddie Krakhmalnikov, Jen Krava, Jessie Lannoye, Xiaoxiao Lu, Eric Maass, Mary Matze, Andrew Montgomery, Eric Olsen, Tim Panchot, Mike Patten, J.P., Bianca Paz, Nicole Peterson, Casey Riley, Mike Schumann, Anna Springer, Tim Stanislav, Matt Traucht, Dawn Vernon, Tianfang Wang, Han Zhan, and the MLA studios from 2011-2015... you have all taught me so much.

PROFESSORS + FACULTY Kristine Miller, Matt Tucker, Vince deBritto, John Koepke, Rebecca Krinke, Joe Favour, Laura Musacchio, Lance Neckar, Dave Pitt, Dean Abbott, Roger Martin, Roger Clemence, Carrie Christensen, Tony Siebenaler-Ransom, Anna Claussen, Michelle Barness, Andrea Wedul, Jonathan Blaseg, Rachel Baulder, Amanda Smoot, and Sara Grothe... thank you, thank you, thank you!

WEST BROADWAY AVENUE 2

3

PAST IS PROLOGUE OBJECTIVE + GOALS BUILDING HEALTH, WEALTH, COMMUNITY, & CAPACITY

CULTIVATE

8

PARTNERSHIPS LIKE-MINDED FOLKS

THREE

2

NARRATIVE WEST BROADWAY

10

CULTIVATE GARDENS YOUTH, GARDENS, COMMUNITY

44

ASSETS + OPPORTUNITIES YOUTH, TRANSIT

12

PLAY GROUND SCHOOLYARDS, PRODUCTION, AND PLAY SPACE

50

SITE ANALYSIS GARDENS + DEMOGRAPHICS

16

SITE PLAN FOUR BLOCKS ALONG W. BROADWAY AVE INTERVENTIONS PIECES TO THE PUZZLE

22

24

PHASING THE FUTURE TIMELINES

28

ACTIVATE

TWO

DREAM FRAMES BELIEVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT IS POSSIBLE BROADWAY OSCILLATIONS THE CADENCE OF A STREET PAINT THE TOWN ORANGE WAYFINDING AND PLACEMAKING

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ONE

32 34

38

GENERATE

FOUR

THE SOURCE SEQUENCE OF INVESTMENT

54

SUNNYSIDE UP PLAY + CAFE

58

URBAN PAD INTERACTIVE PUBLIC SPACE

62

EPILOGUE

FIVE

DETAILS STREET LIGHTING / MEDIAN BUFFER

66

APPENDIX CUB FOODS ANALYSIS

70

BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS, ARTICLES, AND MORE

72

POETRY IN MOTION THIS WHOLE CORRIDOR WAS MEANT TO BE MAGIC...

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5

6

7

HOW CAN A SERIES OF CONNECTED SPATIAL INTERVENTIONS ALLEVIATE THE ISSUES WHICH AFFLICT DISINVESTED COMMUNITIES?

BUILD HEALTH, WEALTH, COMMUNITY, AND CAPACITY OF NORTH MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENTS ACTIVATE UNRECOGNIZED SPACES + DRAW ATTENTION TO THEIR ADJACENCIES

ACTIVATE, CULTIVATE, GENERATE LOOKS INTO WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN ALTER THE URBAN FABRIC OF WEST BROADWAY AVENUE AND HOW BOTH THE STREET AND THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD OPERATE.

CULTIVATE A NEW CULTURAL NORM WHICH FOSTERS A CONTINUOUS CONNECTION TO FOOD GENERATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC INVESTMENT BY KEEPING WEALTH IN THE COMMUNITY PARTNER WITH LOCAL FOOD + YOUTH BASED ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE ACCESS FOR EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY

OBJECTIVE 8

GOALS 9

CULTIVATE GENERATE ACTIVATE

seeks to devise a framework for residents in North Minneapolis to take unrecognized public spaces and grow these spaces through gardening in order to support a healthy, active corridor.

The persistence of blighted communities within the urban fabric begs the question of whether there is a better approach than the traditional topdown solutions which cities all too often apply in order to try and re-instill stability into such communities. These strategies that were once regarded as efficient solutions can now be realized as more myopic cover ups. It seems that no matter what, there will always be an uncontrollable sector of the city that is disconnected from the essential qualities of the utopian dream.

However, cities such as Denver, Curitiba, and Medellin have employed assetstrengthening strategies based in systems thinking and collective community participation in their quest to remake troubling neighborhoods.

Furthermore, many re-investment projects are unable to eliminate the problems. Rather, they all too often simply shift problems to new parts of the city, which is why community buy-in and ownership is extremely important for any project to succeed in North Minneapolis. At each phase in this project [whether cultivation, generation, or activation], we will ride this wave of momentum by building off the current assets, successes, and opportunities of the neighborhood. This can be as simple as painting a sidewalk orange, or as complex as changing perceptions about land use value and the functions of public streets. A carefully thought out series of properly implemented sitescale interventions has the potential to create a newer, better, brighter future for the neighborhood.

The project began as an investigation into the different ways in which we can affect change in North Minneapolis and thereby alter its urban fabric. But an ‘urban fabric’ can become a complicated phrase; especially if we take it beyond the material textures of a place and into the human, psychological, and more social context of place. West Broadway Avenue has always been, and will always be, much more than a business corridor comprised of asphalt, brick, and concrete. This arterial represents the lifeblood and the soul of North Minneapolis.

One of the goals of the project is to create a local urban gardening model with the intention of building the health, wealth, community and capacity of North Minneapolis residents. Obviously, gardens alone are not going to resolve decades of disinvestment along W. Broadway Ave, but they could begin to ACTIVATE underutilized spaces by creating a local, community-based food network. Growing a new cultural norm around food is important because 26.5 million Americans currently lack access to healthy food alternatives. In fact, the Twin Cities was recently named the 5th largest food desert in the United States. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the neighborhoods that comprise North Minneapolis.

Cub Foods, the only major grocer in the area, recently laid off over 2,000 employees (600 in Minnesota). In an area already lacking equitable access to healthy food, it’s worth asking “What would happen if Cub Foods went out of business?” West Broadway’s prevailing food system is comprised of fast food restaurants and a business model which draws wealth out of the community.

An objective of this project is to restore that wealth to the community while also fostering a sense of place, promoting economic development, and alleviating the burdens on the current system by establishing a local community-based food network. We have the opportunity to establish a community-centric model built around local organizations, youth, and gardening in order to foster a continuous connection to food, from production to harvesting to distribution and consumption. A new urban gardening model would establish an alternative method for providing access to food.

However, we need more than a few urban gardens to cultivate the type of new cultural norm which fosters this continuous connection to food... we need to start with community. A garden featured prominently along W. Broadway Avenue becomes an anchor and foundation for other interventions and pieces. It will then serve as a renewing gateway for creating partnerships with local businesses. A garden can also catalyze other investments and opportunities such as alterations to the streetscape itself, or the role of residents and community ownership. The end outcome of course, is not just expanded access to healthy food options, but also the creation of new public spaces and business development through interactive community design.

Gardens comprise but a snapshot, a moment in time -- but the people and our families remain rooted in this place for generations.

NARRATIVE 10

11

ASSETS + OPPORTUNITIES? ‘IF OPPORTUNITY DOESN’T KNOCK, BUILD A DOOR” - MILTON BERLE

In some neighborhoods of North Minneapolis youth represent over 50% of the population. The community is also home to prominent local leaders and over a hundred non-profit organizations. By building upon some of these valuable and useful assets we can create new opportunities for advancement and progress. We can make places where amazing things happen. The funny thing is that this is already happening in the form of small urban gardens around North Minneapolis.

But these gardens and the individuals and organizations that support them are all too often fragmented and unconnected. Let’s build upon our strengths, focus on youth, assets, and gardens, to transform the corridor into our new visions for the future.

youth

GARDEN

YOUTH

SKILLS

art textiles architecture graphic design creative thinking business development

open up future possibilities while making new futures accessible away from conventional models

GLOBAL + NATIONAL PRECEDENTS FOCUSED ON YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND GARDENING

community assets 12

First Street Green NYC Growing Power Matsun, China Urban Plan Santa Cruz Homeless Garden Project Green City Growers Detroit Summer SLUG

Cultural programming of NYC pocket park.

Provides equal access to healthy, affordable food for people in all communities.

Prime central real-estate in city utilized as community garden for quality of life.

Provide individuals with skills and tools necessary to build a home.

Evergreen Cooperative. Create jobs in Cleveland while marketing high quality produce year round.

Multi-racial, Inter-generational Detroit group working to transform communities via youth leadership, creativity & collective action.

Grassroots in SF with mission of improving the quality of life through community gardens, horticultural education, construction, maintenance, job training, youth programs.

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Weekday Rush Hour 6am-9:30am

LOCAL BUS ROUTES

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

14

Weekday 9:30am-3pm Weekday Rush Hour 3pm-6:30pm

High Frequency 7-15 Minutes 6am-7pm M-F

Saturday 4:30am-2am

ACTIVE AREA BUS LINES

TRANSIT EQUITY Public transportation is both an asset and an opportunity throughout North Minneapolis.

Residents in North invest upwards of 44% of their income towards transportation, and a lot of this is invested into public transportation [which means ‘buses’ in North]. Go to any bus stop in the neighborhood, at almost any hour of the day, and you will find people gathering, departing, arriving, or waiting. ‘Locate the bus stops, and you will locate the people’. Nowhere is this adage more true than the intersection of Lyndale and W. Broadway.

The intersection sees over 1,700 pedestrians on any given day -- more than neighborhoods in Northeast or South Minneapolis. More people per day than nearly every intersection in the city [save for downtown or the University of Minnesota].

It is understandable that the city tries to attract major employers such as Target and the YWCA to such a busy intersection, but these business opportunities are yet to take off... leaving a series of empty parking lots and unrecognized potential. A garden may not be what you think of on a busy intersection like this one, but putting an urban garden here would REALLY make a statement. A prominent food production garden has the potential to activate these unrecognized spaces and draw attention to their adjacencies. By putting gardens near major transit nodes, we are inherently placing the notion of healthy food alternatives at the forefront of people’s minds and actions.

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WEST BROADWAY AVENUE

WEST BROADWAY AVENUE

WEST BROADWAY AVENUE

parks

churches

schools

26th avenue

RIDING A WAVE OF MOMENTUM North Minneapolis is a community that is defined by adjacencies.

A person standing in the heart of this neighborhood will find themselves situated less than a mile from the economic engine of downtown Minneapolis, as well as Theodore Wirth Park (one of the city’s largest open spaces), regional transit corridors (I94, US-100), and the mighty Mississippi River. In this particular instance, a series of adjacent resources appear to be acting as insulating agents for a community that stands in stark contrast to the city and region of which it belongs. The primary goal of this capstone project is to investigate how issues of race, crime, health, poverty, education, and resource cycling are all woven together in this complex urban ecology. There is currently an opportunity to ride on a huge wave of momentum in North Minneapolis revolving around urban farming and community gardening initiatives.

With the appropriate policy changes and spatial interventions, we can harness these collective community activities to improve both development potential along with human well-being and environmental quality.

The formula proposed along West Broadway Avenue is a rather simple, easily implementable system where a flexible design solution [central urban garden) is capable of building ownership and addressing a multitude of problems while keeping a community identity intact.

mississippi

mississippi river

riverFIRST

I - 94

lyndale avenue

RiverFIRST scope

penn avenue

bottineau LRT alignment

river

lowry avenue

I-94

west broadway avenue

plymouth avenue

olson memorial highway

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BOTTINEAU LRT

N

0

1/4

1/2

1 mile

2 miles

94

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I-3

DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS 17

SITE ANALYSIS “RACE IS CARVING UP OUR LANDSCAPE, AFFECTING WHERE AND HOW WE ALL LIVE. IT REMAINS OUR DEEPEST FISSURE, COMPOUNDING DISADVANTAGE AND PERPETUATING IT ACROSS GENERATIONS.” - POLICY LINK

1980 75% WHITE

2010 30% WHITE

NORTH

10 00 0

50 00

TRAL CEN

NOR THE AS T

NORTH

GEOGRAPHY OF OPPORTUNITY

N / ISLES CALHOU

individual income ratio Census data begins to tell the story about geographies of opportunity. 2010 Census data was teased apart to show a more realistic shape of income.

This graphic shows annual household income divided by the number average household size. The individual income ratio shows the impact of lower wages coupled with larger family units in North Minneapolis. Significantly higher income levels of Downtown Minneapolis and Calhoun / Isles are are further amplified due to smaller family units.

10 0

>2x

of #

50 0

job

s

25 0 75 0

10 00

mode of transit

20 00

The personal automobile reigns supreme in North Minneapolis despite lower household income levels and significantly elevated proportions of the population [such as youth and the elderly] who are unable to drive. This suggests a lack of local employment opportunities as well as a lack of public transit and unwalkable neighborhoods.

1980-2010 N. MINNEAPOLIS BLACK POPULATION

44.2 28.1

17.4

18

13.8 kenwood

lowry hill

BUS

BIKE

bryn mawr

1.7

east isles

CAR

BIKE $74,567

logan park

holland

BUS bottineau

2.1

CAR $44,192

elliot park

BIKE loring park

north loop

BUS downtown east

1.4

$41,861

downtown west

CAR

BIKE

willard-hay

cleveland

folwell

mckinley

jordan

BUS near north

hawthorne

HOUSEHOLD SIZE 3.0

HOUSEHOLD INCOME $33,218

AUTOMOBILE

sheridan

US CENSUS (1980-2010)

st. anthony

43% BLACK

CALHOUN / ISLES

The dependency ratio represents the number of children and seniors for every 100 working adults age 18 to 64. Communities with higher dependency ratios should have higher quality access to social services due to the increased financial burdens within individual families.

16% BLACK

2010

NORTHEAST

dependency ratio

10 00 00 +

1980

DOWNTOWN

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map key

NORTH MINNEAPOLIS

one dot = 100 people

BY THE NUMBERS

Black White

PROJECT SCOPE

Hispanic

census bureau : american community survey data 2005-2009 / nytimes : mapping america project

DISTRIBUTION OF RACIAL + ETHNIC GROUPS 1990

2000

2010

data sources: Northside Achievement Zone, Northway Poverty Reduction Plan & US Census

Asian black population

251% (1980 - 2010)

asian population

23x

(1980 - 2010)

white population

62% (1980 - 2010)

am. indian population

37% (1980 - 2010)

overall population

10% (2000 - 2010)

23,000 housing units in North Minneapolis

33%

N. MPLS housing units foreclosed (2007 - 2010)

61%

child poverty rate for blacks in Minneapolis

3x

likelihood of being black & unemployed in Minneapolis (compared to white counterparts)

10 of 11

schools in the Northside Achievement Zone are low-performing

38%

of North Minneapolis population is under 18yrs old

MINNEAPOLIS

A SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHIC Minneapolis has some of the largest economic and educational disparities in the nation. The racial composition of Minneapolis has been changing drastically in the past few decades. Perhaps no where is this transition more evident than in the communities that comprise North Minneapolis.

This region is surrounded by a series of intriguing adjacencies, is home to one fifth of the cities’ entire population, and represents one of the most diverse communities in the metropolitan area.

DEMOGRAPHICS 20

Of course, shifting demographics are nothing new to neighborhoods like North Minneapolis - which has a rich cultural history that includes housing large immigrant populations since the city was founded.

21

SITE PLAN 2

A’

3

LYNDALE AVENUE

6

ALDRICH AVENUE

21st AVENUE NORTH

JUXTA

4

A

8 5

9

7

BRYANT AVENUE

DUPONT AVENUE

FREMONT AVENUE

EMERSON AVENUE

1

CUB FOODS VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA

>

18th AVENUE NORTH

N

0 50’ 22

150’

250’

500’ 23

B ROA DWAY

AV E N UE

HIGHLIGHT KEY SOCIAL SPACES

E WEST

C

B ROA DWAY

B

AV E N UE

D

Sculptural frames designed by youth in collaboration with local artists activate unrecognized social opportunities. Residents take ownership of these spaces by painting their visions onto plywood canvas which are displayed along Kemp’s Dairy’s 387’ long white wall

NO [Ea)RTH GARDENS

LYN DA LE

CREATE MOVEABLE URBAN GARDEN MODEL

DREAM FRAMES

2

A AV E

WEST

LYNDA LE

AVE

1

A 1.5 acre garden helps spark W. Broadway Avenue’s production opportunities. This ‘garden’ model prepares the ground for future development and is part of a full scale system incorporating production + distribution + youth apprenticeships.

3 AV E N UE

CONNECT TO LOCAL ASSETS D

AVE

C

B ROA DWAY

THE SOURCE

A

LYNDA LE

WEST

B

A pocket park is sited along Emerson Ave. between Juxtaposition Arts and Urban Homeworks. The park is fastened to the Mississippi River via the artistic ‘Tributary’ & is programmed to teach youth about urban water resources

INTERVENTIONS 24

25

TRIBUTARY An iconic thread of art will fasten the amenities of N. MPLS to the newly created public spaces along W. Broadway Ave. This thread simultaneously functions as a community table, public bench, gateway, buffer, and wayfinding device connecting residents to the Mississippi River.

5 THE STRAND An orange strand painted through the Cub Foods parking lot creates an important connection between local community assets [schools, churches, employment centers, etc] and a new cultural norm centered around food.

6 SUNNYSIDE UP [ PLAY +CAFE ] In the heart of the social table is an expansion of the North H.S. ‘Youth Cafe.’ The cafe is located adjacent to an urban playground, ice cream stand, and chai tea shop which features outdoor dominoes tables frequented

by Somali elders.

26

INTERVENTIONS

4

7 YO[ur]! SPACE Gathering areas for large groups can be difficult to locate in North Minneapolis. ‘Yo! Space’ fills this gap and can be utilized for outdoor BBQ’s, pick-up basketball games, or Farmer’s Markets.

8 -B- LINE The southern two lanes of W. Broadway Ave. are malleable and have been programmed to oscillate between automobile and pedestrian usage. This serves as an impetus for slowing down the cadence along Broadway while also slowly phasing in TOD associated with streetcar development.

9 LAUNCH [pad] n i c e

The Launch [pad] creates an active public space on one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the city.

Kinetic pavers and an interactive light installation promote physical activity and eyes on a previously neglected space.

27

THE ORDER OF THINGS “Begin at the beginning, and go on until you come to the end: then stop.”

- LEWIS CARROLL

ART FRAMES 2013

2014

2015

2030

The landscape of North Minneapolis today looks very different than it will 30 years from now. By starting small [painting sidewalks, creating sculptural frames, giving space to pedestrians, growing food locally, etc], we can create a phasing program which fulfills the needs of area residents while also satisfying the goals of city planners and developers.

A couple of the city’s goals for W. Broadway Avenue’s future is to develop higher density housing and also to reestablish a historic streetcar line down the corridor. Traditionally, this model of development has displaced the lifeblood of similar communities in order to attract new investment. The phasing of this particular project looks for simple ways to build upon the health, wealth, and capacity of the neighborhoods residents in order to absorb some of the shock that outside TOD funding can place upon disinvested communities.

2022

2026

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ING

IPS

RINT

RT W

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PS A

KEM

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2014

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2015

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TRIB Y/S UTAR

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SPAC

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OCIAL

ANTE

MAR

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R] YO[U

ERS

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A PA JUXT

TREE

FARM

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AINT GE P

TC MEN PAVE

ORAN

TABLE

2014

2015

2016

2017

2030

CAFE

DING

. FUN

D T. O.

R ETCA STRE

ND /

GROU PLAY

R RME

U RT M

A STIV

T FE

E STRE

ILE A

MOB

OPEN

BALL

T ARKE

KS

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CRAW

E B.

HSID

NORT

TRUC

ART

M ERS

FARM

FOOD

FLOW

L

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ACTIVATE

TWO

ACTIVATE

DREAM FRAMES BELIEVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT IS POSSIBLE

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BROADWAY OSCILLATIONS THE CADENCE OF A STREET

34

PAINT THE TOWN ORANGE WAYFINDING AND PLACEMAKING

38

ACTIVATE (v.)

30

1. Energize and engage in operative pursuits

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BELIEVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT IS POSSIBLE

IMAGINE THE FUTURE Artistic frames designed by youth in collaboration with local artists bring focus to key social spaces along the W. Broadway Avenue corridor. These ‘Dream Frames’ are sculptural elements in the landscape which highlight unrecognized spaces by asking residents: ‘what could go here?’ The frames eventually serve as gateways of future possibilities by engaging community members in public art exhibitions which not only activate these underutilized spaces, but also get neighborhood residents to take ownership of these spaces.

The frames themselves can be further adorned by simply hanging pieces of plywood or mesh fabric from them and drawing, etching, or painting future dreams for the spaces.

These locally created artworks become a canvas for area artists and youth. Each piece is then displayed publicly on the 387 foot long white wall which faces Broadway and houses the Kemp’s Dairy daily operations.

Community residents and youth working together with local artists, landscape architects and designers can collaborate together to imagine, represent, and create futures that are better than the present.

PLACES TO BEGIN There are many opportunities to create successful public spaces along W. Broadway Avenue. Below is a short list of recommendations on where to site the initial ‘Dream Frame’ sculptures:

1. West edge of the Cub Foods parking lot.

2. The intersection of W. Broadway Ave + Lyndale Ave [all four corners].

3. Northeast Bryant Ave and W. Broadway Ave parking lot.

4. Hawthorne Crossing parking lot.

5. Small parklet / open lot between Juxtaposition Arts + Urban Homeworks.

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EXISTING CONDITION

FLOW ART CRAWL The North Minneapolis Art Crawl known as FLOW is now entering it’s 8th year of existence and continues to grow. Why not give FLOW adequate room to grow by creating new public space for temporary art galleries and installations that guide users all the way to the Mississippi River?

SIDEWALK

8’

PARKING

EAST BOUND TRAFFIC

9’

WEST BOUND TRAFFIC

21’

21’

PARKING

SIDEWALK

9’

8’

200’ parking lot

WHAT THE TRUCK ?

Minneapolis was recently ranked the 5th largest food desert in the United States. Local options to healthy food are limited and many residents simply do not have access to automobiles for grocery shopping. Instead of leaving the neighborhood to find food, why not bring food into North? Adapting the “Off the Grid” Food Truck model from locations like Berkeley, California would activate the street on weekend evenings.

STREET PARKING REMOVED

SIDEWALK

12’

EAST BOUND TRAFFIC

5’

21’

BUFFER

WEST BOUND TRAFFIC

3’

SIDEWALK

26’

12’

NORTHSIDE BALL

Devean George & Khalid El Amin are two former NBA basketball players interested in contributing to the revitalization of North Minneapolis. George is currently working on plans to construct higher density housing at Penn & Broadway, while El Amin’s family has run a local restaurant for decades. A Broadway Streetball Tournament could fit within 2 lanes of traffic and engage community members in the street and healthier living.

STREETCAR LAYOUT

THE -B- LINE SIDEWALK

FLEX SPACE

24’

STREET CAR

14’

BUFFER

3’

EAST BOUND

13’

WEST BOUND

13’

SIDEWALK

12’

The city of Minneapolis has not let go of long-term plans to reintroduce a streetcar line along W. Broadway Avenue. The series of oscillations mentioned earlier could play a role in economic investment by reactivating storefronts along Broadway. An ancillary benefit of this would be a gradual calming of automobile traffic along Broadway Avenue and dedicated space for a permanent streetcar. This would provide W. Broadway with TOD benefits and new development opportunities.

BROADWAY OSCILLATIONS 34

35

EVENT PROGRAMMING

BROADWAY OSCILLATIONS Is a 60 foot wide road really what we need along W. Broadway Avenue? Sometimes, the answer is yes because we have designed a system that needs to move upwards of 20,000 automobiles per day to the Northwest suburbs. However, the auto traffic here is highly situational and automobile counts drop off significantly during weekends and non-rush hour commutes.

SIDEWALK

PEDESTRIAN FLEX SPACE

BUFFER

EAST BOUND

WEST BOUND

SIDEWALK

During these non peak traffic times the street can better serve pedestrians and local foot traffic [the intersection of W. Broadway Ave and Lyndale Ave has more pedestrians than most other parts of the city outside of downtown Minneapolis or the University of Minnesota].

There is an opportunity here to make the corridor even more successful by slowing down the cadence for certain programming events such as FLOW Art Crawl, Farmer’s Markets, Food Trucks, Basketball Tournaments, and more!

The section below shows how the street can be altered in order to accommodate more pedestrian friendly event programming during non-peak auto transit times.

This has the dual benefit of calming traffic and making it safer for the area’s thousands of youth to cross, while also engaging transit dependent residents in new activities while creating new opportunities for local businesses.

SECTION A - A’

0

36

4’

8’

16’

24’

12’

26’

3’

13’

13’

12’

37

265,000 ft2 : IMPERVIOUS SURFACES The Cub Foods site has is responsible for a massive area of impervious surface. The result in Minneapolis is an annual $1,700.00 fee for pushing stormwater offsite through heavy city owned infrastructure such as storm sewers.

36,425 ft2

18th AVE NORTH

Asphalt area is cut and is replaced with gravel base allowing water infiltration to occur on site and saving over $233.00 per year from the impervious surface tax.

PAINT THE TOWN ORANGE Sidewalks Saving Lives is a community project to instruct people in HIV/AIDs awareness. First started in 2007, the project has continued intermittently throughout N. MPLS in subsequent years.

The event began as an effort to raise awareness around HIV related issues, but had the positive side effect of providing residents with a sense of ownership in public spaces.

URBAN ECOLOGY Sporobolis heterolepsis Panicum virgatum Monarda fistulosa Stonecrop sedum spp.

Schizachyrium scoparium

By applying the same strategies [Paint + Pavement], we can begin to connect scattered sites and local resources to one another with the added benefit of strengthening community.

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40

41

CULTIVATE

THREE

CULTIVATE

PARTNERSHIPS LIKE-MINDED FOLKS

2

CULTIVATE GARDENS YOUTH, GARDENS, COMMUNITY

44

PLAY GROUND SCHOOLYARDS, PRODUCTION, AND PLAY SPACE

50

CULTIVATE (v.) 1. Prepare and use the land for crops or gardening

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GARDEN [B]

W. BROADWAY AVE

BRYANT AVE

CUB

VACANT LAND + UNDERUTILIZED SPACE

BROA DWAY

A

AVE NUE

WE ST

C

B

AVE NUE

GARDENS CAN MOVE The Cultivation Garden gives a space in a prominent urban location where food-based organizations can pool their resources. The garden then becomes this axis around which future interventions can latch onto and pivot around. But nothing lasts forever. Gardens are temporary. This is perhaps simultaneously the greatest attribute and most significant downfall of many urban gardens. However, if we can activate unrecognized spaces along West Broadway Avenue through youth gardening, then we have already taken a giant step towards a safer, healthier corridor.

44

CUB

D

LYNDA LE

E

45

PARTNERSHIPS Project Sweetie Pie Community Tables North High Youth Cafe

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP Before any seeds take root in the ground, there needs to be a campaign to make gardening sexy through posters, screen printing, and public awareness.

LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION While certain businesses have trouble getting off the ground, fastfood restaurants thrive in North Minneapolis. There is a demand for affordable food alternatives.

We Can Grow Juxtaposition Arts

OPEN-SOURCE FOOD Nearly 1/2 of all food grown in local gardens is donated to shelters and food banks. Establish policies that embrace open-source food options.

Northside Food Hub Varnardo Printing

WHY GARDENS?

Praxis Marketplace

26.5 million Americans currently lack access to healthy food

Gardening Matters

The Twin Cities recently ranked as the 5th largest food desert in the United States

SALES Cub Foods gets on board and healthy locally grown alternatives are sold both in the store and at local farmer’s markets

SKILLS TRAINING

Farm 2 School

Limited food alternatives if Cub Foods goes out of business

Culinary training programs and a cooking school are embedded in the North High School Youth Cafe

The prevailing food system draws wealth out of our community

Downtown Restaurants

Seeing something as simple as a garden come to full fruition can have positive outcomes in an area where promises can often go unfulfilled.

Minneapolis Public Schools

LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

Putting food near primary transit and pedestrian areas places can simultaneously activate under utilized spaces and also change public perceptions on gardening

University of Minnesota

One great thing about local employment is that it gets people to take ownership of a space. Murals don’t get tagged... maintained, wellcared for gardens can have the same effect on a community.

Get youth planting, cooking, distributing, and learning employable job skills DISTRIBUTION Local restaurants and the Minneapolis Public Schools become partners as vegetables are distributed throughout the city.

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CULTIVATE GARDENS

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PRECIPITATION

H2O Cistern Bladder Play Surface

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Compressed Air Water Jets

School Garden

PLAY GROUND

PLAY GROUND

Responds to the opportunities in North Minneapolis centered around youth and gardens while layering in ecology by containing all precipitation on site. PLAY + GROUND takes unused space at area school yards [Hall’s Elementary and Nellie Stone Johnson] and creates a place for food production and fun! The design uses large sculptural funnels combined with water storage bladders which can hold fifty thousand gallons at any given time.

The school gardens are part of the Broadway Gardens network and support the Community Table contract to supply 300,000 lbs. of vegetables to Minneapolis Public Schools. Students are able to work with local non-profits such as Project Sweetie Pie to establish the gardens as well as their own skill sets including business entrepreneurship, gardening, food production, cultivation, maintenance, cooking, and distribution.

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GENERATE

FOUR

GENERATE

THE SOURCE SEQUENCE OF INVESTMENT

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SUNNYSIDE UP PLAY + CAFE

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URBAN PAD INTERACTIVE PUBLIC SPACE

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GENERATE (v.) 1. Produce a sequence of items following initial action

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EMERSON AVE

1,729 PARKING SPACES Within a two block radius of the project scope despite the fact that the majority of residents do not own a vehicle. Many of these parking spaces sit empty and present obstacles for human and environmental ecology.

THREE ACRES Out of 7 acres of land is unnecessarily devoted to parking spaces. 3 acres is also the amount of land that can be readily converted for urban gardening opportunities.

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

THE SOURCE BROA DWAY

B

A

AVENUE

WES T

C

AV E NU E

CUB

D

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LY NDALE

E

By converting under-utilized land for food production, we are able to provide both health and environmental benefits while also establishing a system that is able to absorb the shock and impacts of TOD upon the arrival of a streetcar line.

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THE SOURCE Over 779 vacant lots are located within walking distance from the project area and present opportunities for not only urban gardens, but also other interim uses of space such as pocket parks.

The space between Juxtaposition Arts and Urban Homeworks [Garden ‘E’ on the previous diagram] holds the potential to act as a catalyst for the urban gardening movement. JUXTA could potentially partner with Varnardo Printing and begin a graphic design campaign which ‘makes gardening sexy’ while also engaging youth and the building expertise from Urban Homeworks to create planting boxes, tool shed sharing programs, etc. The end goal of course, is not just expanded access to healthy food options, but also public space and business development. The garden could easily transition into new small scale site opportunities.

Another interesting option for site development is to create an overlay zoning district in the residential vacant lots just off Broadway Ave. These districts would create opportunities for families to sell vegetables, or run a small business out of their home once vacancy rates on the block reach 33%. Rather than vacant lots becoming a hindrance to property values, they become new opportunities.

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SUNNYSIDE UP [ PLAY + CAFE ]

BRYANT AVE

West Broadway is part of the larger fabric of North Minneapolis that houses over 200 child care centers, 25 schools, and 110 non-profit organizations, and 40 youth groups. Children are not only the future of design in this neighborhood, they are the present! By building upon the urban gardening model, activating unrecognized spaces, and cultivating growth - we are able to gradually phase in design interventions which suit the people who actually live in the neighborhood.

Youth and children must be at the forefront of design in North Minneapolis. Not only as a response to the disproportionately large numbers of residents under 18yrs of age, but also as an indicator of ownership and public safety. A well designed neighborhood for children is easy to identify because you will see the children, and they will feel safe enough to play outside.

The Sunnyside Up Play Cafe provides a public playscape adjacent to the an expansion of the North H.S. Youth Cafe. The area builds upon the orange ribbon which flows throughout the neighborhood and features a play mound, ice cream shop, shaded seating and play areas, and outdoor dominoes tables which are frequented by Somali elders. The playground is unique and still low maintenance. The cafe allows youth to run a business, provides opportunities for culinary training, and activates the playground through the night.

WEST BROADWAY AVE

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SUNNYSIDE UP [ PLAY + CAFE ]

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www.citiplay.org

URBAN PAD

ACTIVE CORNERS

The Urban Pad is a 25’ x 35’ x 5’ display screen that individuals can interact with via a kinetic paving surface. Users movements on the pavement are translated to designs on the illuminated wall. Every 12-40 minutes when a bus arrives, the screen is reset allowing new designs to be displayed. These images are then transferred down to subsequent bus stops informing waiting passengers that the bus is about to arrive.

The Pad takes an active role in giving space back to the public along busy street corners. It addresses issues of public safety, obesity, public transportation, lack of dedicated gathering space, and creative public expression.

The Pad is a temporary graffiti wall that combines creative public expression with physical activity, public transit, and social gathering space. It serves as an icon gateway for the entrance to North Minneapolis and makes space safer by activating the corner and encouraging thousands of people to look at the space everyday.

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ELEMENTS kinetic paving + interactive design + etch a sketch + public transit + light installation

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URBAN PAD

n i c e

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DETACHABLE ALUMINUM HEAD ASSEMBLY

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

BASE 3'-3"

3'-5"

PHOTOVOLTAIC

2'-0"

SURFACE GRADE

SAUNA TUBE CONCRETE FOOTING > 3’-6” BELOW GRADE

SUBGRADE

2'-0"

17'-7"

20'-4"

4'-2"

1/2” X 8’ ELECTRICAL GROUND ROD + CONDUIT

LED PANEL

2'-9"

2'-0" SK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

5'-5"

AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

3'-5"

#4 REBAR [3’-0” LONG]

1'-10"

0'-4"

APPENDIX 10"

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

1'-10"

17'-7"

5'-5"

E O TAHDE W A TAEYR W EGSU TT H RBI R

1'-4"

10"

20'-4"

1'-4" 3'-3"

REMOVABLE ALUMINUM PANEL FOR ACCESS TO ANCHOR PLATE

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

17'-7"

POST

4'-2"

ANCHOR BASE PLATE

ANCHOR BOLTS

2'-9"

2'-9"

67 2'-0"

LED DISPLAY PANEL

Street lighting down the W. Broadway Avenue median will build upon the typical functionality of street lights. This is done by attaching large scale mesh canvas or printed banners to the new light fixtures which further separates pedestrian and automobile street programming.

ADJUSTABLE PIN SLOT

2'-0"

PARVEES N E NUTES...

ADJUSTABLE PINS

ONE PIECE TAPERED CAST ALUMINUM POLE

EH E TA H A T PE RR E SPERNETSS...

E N T S...

TE ER

20'-4"

3'-3"

1'-4"

1'-10"

GUTHRIE

LENS

THEATER

LUMINAIRE

DETAILS

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

17'-7"

REFLECTORS

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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODES

PRESE

38o PHOTOVOLTAIC PANEL

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIO

APPENDIX

E O TAHDE W A TAEYR W EGSU TT H RBI R

20'-4"

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

17'-7"

PARVEES N E NUTES...

3'-3"

1'-4"

1'-10"

DRAINAGE NOTCH TO BE 1” LOWER THAN STREET AND SLOPED TO MEDIAN THICKENED CURB AND GUTTER

10"

3'-5"

3’-0”

3/4” AGGREGATE

5'-5"

6” BENCH FOR CURB CONSTRUCTION EXISTING SUBGRADE

2'-0" 1-1/2” AGGREGATE

IMPERMEABLE LINER ELECTRICAL CONDUIT

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0.54 mi

Cottage Park

0.55 mi

North Commons

PARKING

Jordan Park

Farview Park

0.17 mi Hall Park

0.95 mi

Willard Hay Park

BUS STOPS

0.28 mi I-94

APPENDIX

L Y N D A L E 0

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JUXTAPOSITION ARTS

0.72 mi

ADJACENT SCHOOLS

0.92 mi

Glen Gale Park

parking spaces

PEDESTRIAN SPACE

0.54 mi

418

FENCE BARRIER

531 ft

ADJACENT PARKS

566 ft

t

INTERSTATE DISTANCE

151 ft

1f

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WALKING DISTANCE

Surrounded by parks, non-profit organizations, assets and resources, framed by an iron fence, ensconced by more than twice as many parking spaces than it needs, separated from the sidewalk and street, adjacent to multiple bus stops, and with stunning views of downtown Minneapolis... the Cub Foods parking lot is simultaneously a tabla rasa and an enigma.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER

CUB FOODS

A L D R I C H 50’

100’

200’

400’

B R Y A N T

D U P O N T

0.58 mi River

0.24 mi JXTA

0.49 mi

North Star School + Boys & Girls Club

0.54 mi

North High School

E M E R S O N

0.52 mi

Nellie Stone Johnson CommunitySchool

0.11 mi

Hall International Elementary School

SOUTH BROADWAY Looking South along W. Broadway Avenue there are multiple areas of intervention which ACTIVATE public space including the Center of Collective Imagination and a temporary reclaiming of traffic lanes.

800’

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Bell, J. and Lee, M. (2011). Why Race and Place Matter: Impacting health through a focus

on race and place. PolicyLink Executive Summary.

Bunt, L. and Harris, M. (2010). “Mass Localism: A way to help small communities solve big

social challenges”. NESTA. London, UK. Carter, T. and Polevychok, C. (2006). “Understanding Disinvestment and Decline”. Canada

Research Chair in Urban Change and Adaptation. University of Winnipeg. de Souza Briggs, X. [2005]. Geography of Opportunity. Brookings Institution Press.

Drier, P., Swanstrom, T., and Mellenkopf, J. [2013]. Place Matters. University Press

of Kansas.

Feinstain, S., [2011]. The Just City. Cornell University Press.

Books to the ceiling, Books to the sky, My pile of books is a mile high.

How I love them! How I need them!

I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.

Hawken, P. (1993). The Ecology of Commerce: A declaration of sustainability.

Harper Collins.

- Arnold Lobel

Jacobs, J. [1961]. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Vintage Publishers.

Nelson, K. and Cummings, D. [2011]. Putting Creativity to Work. CURA Reporter.

Orfield, M. and Luce Jr., T. [2010]. Region: Planning the Future of the Twin Cities.

University of Minnesota Press.

Orfield, M. [1997]. Metropolitics: A Regional Agenda for Community and Stability.

Brookings Institution Press.

Ramirez-Barrett, J. et. al. (2007). North Minneapolis community listening project.

Sennet, R. (1990). The Conscience of the Eye: the design and social life of cities.

W.W. Norton & Co. Smithson, R. [1967]. The Monuments of Passaic. ArtForum.

The Collaboratory for Community Support (2002). Northway plan for poverty reduction

and wealth creation in North Minneapolis.

Tuan, Y. (2001). Space and Place: Perspective of Experience. University of Minnesota Press.

University Northside Partnership. (2006). North Minneapolis asset mapping and community

indicators for 2006: A preliminary assessment of economic, health, and

educational assets and indicators in North Minneapolis.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 72

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WINTER View facing South down Emerson Avenue. The background shows the intersection of W. Broadway Ave + Emerson Ave with Juxtaposition Arts to the right, and Hawthorne Crossing to the left.

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POETRY IN MOTION Our neighborhood used to be an afterthought.

Dotted with vacant store fronts -and parking lot... after parking lot... after parking lot.

But that was the old way, when W. Broadway used to just be a street.

Cars moved people from ‘Point A’ to ‘Point B’ right through my neighborhood while I was left standing on a six foot sidewalk... barely wide enough for my own two feet!

There weren’t any playgrounds, youth cafes, benches or seats.

Hell, damn near all you could do was find some greasy food to eat.

Now why... why would we design such a singular function for such a great street?

I mean, why make a road which moves only traffic.

When this whole corridor was meant to be magic.

Yeah, that’s right, North Minneapolis be goin’ green.

And I tell you what... it’s a welcome sight after what these eyes have seen.

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