Design Vision Community Meeting Summary

On Thursday, residents of the Glass Street neighborhood gathered at the Glass House Collective to engage in conversation about the future of their neighborhood. The last will be held on Monday, November 12^th at 5:30pm.

To an audience of residents that included artists, laborers, architects, community organizers, school children, parents, and business owners, David Barlew presented the top 5 ideas from the AIA Conference Urban Design Workshop. He then asked for input and ideas on how to make Glass Street cleaner, safer, and more inviting. 

The purpose of these meetings is to provide a gathering space for the stakeholders of the community to come together, talk about their neighborhood, and provide input on the direction of the Glass House Collective.

The five ideas David presented were:

-Adding a park to provide community gathering space for cookouts and event

-Building public play space, such as walking tracks, tennis courts, merry-go-rounds, bike lanes, and a skate park doubling as a public sculpture garden

-Implementing better lighting, more trees, and slower traffic to improve the general streetscape

-Closing down the intersection between Glass Street and Dodson Avenue to create a plaza for outdoor festivals, such as jazz performances, storytelling, dances, block parties, and poetry readings

-Connecting the different parts of the neighborhood with better public transportation to and from the downtown area, so as to attract more business investment

David pointed out that these meetings are about getting the ball rolling. The successful and ongoing revitalizations of Main Street, the North Shore, and Brainerd have happened because people got together and held transparent community meetings. Those early conversations brought consensus and ownership to the community visioning process. The result? Energized groups of people, from all walks of life, deeply committed to overcoming the roadblocks that arise in any real effort to improve the places we call home.

This kind of commitment is now happening on Glass Street. In the warm hall of the Glass House Collective, residents shared openly their concerns, opinions, and hopes for the future before voting for their top three preferences out of the 5 presented ideas.

If you were unable to attend this time, don’t miss our next meeting on Monday, November 12^th at 5:30pm. There will be good food and conversation. We hope to see you there.

By: Fynn Glover