The Chattanooga Department of Transportation, in partnership with Glass House Collective, was awarded a $25,000 grant in 2020 from Bloomberg Philanthropies as a part of their Asphalt Art initiative, which is designed to help cities use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces, and engage communities.
The City will paint a mural at Crutchfield Street, between Glass Street and Dodson Avenue, because of its central location to neighborhood assets like Hardy Elementary, the East Chattanooga Youth and Family Development Center, and the new Save A Lot grocery store. The grant funds will be used to create a welcoming atmosphere and bring attention to the new neighborhood grocery store.
“CDOT’s mission assures that streets are also great places to be; this initiative not only supports that but more so empowers the community to create a street for them and by them,” said Blythe Bailey, CDOT Administrator.
In addition to the asphalt art piece, Glass House Collective is working with local artists, designers, community members, and stakeholders to design and implement tactical interventions in what has been termed the “Glass Street Gateway” area, which is defined as a 5-minute walking radius of the Crutchfield Street site. This fall, Glass House Collective, along with project collaborators Chattanooga Design Studio and AIA, hosted the Planning-By-Doing workshops to explore ways to improve connectivity, comfort, and access in the Glass Street Gateway area.
The ideas generated in the initial planning workshop will result in two “doing” outcomes: first, these workshops will provide the basis for the asphalt mural designs; second, these workshops will generate ideas for low-cost, tactical interventions that can be implemented quickly throughout the Glass Street Gateway area.
“GHC has been exploring how art can alter behavior and perceptions, and improve connections in the Glass Street Gateway area,” said Teal Thibaud, Director of Glass House Collective. “This grant will advance long-term goals related to street safety, enhanced public spaces, and resident participation. We appreciate all of our residents' involvement in the process and are excited to see the community-driven plans come to life with this grant.”
Through a creative community engagement process and feedback from more than 300 residents, Glass House Collective identified sidewalks, street trees, and an asphalt mural as community priorities in the Glass Street Gateway area.
This winter, CDOT completed construction on the new streetscape design, installing sidewalks and streets trees along Glass Street and Dodson Avenue.
Three mural designs were developed based on a series of community-based workshops. This is a project that is being done in collaboration with the community, and we are enlisting community feedback to choose the final design for the mural. If you would like to learn more about the project and the other work being done by Glass House Collective, please visit their website and you can also vote to help choose the final design, deadline to vote is Monday, Feb. 15. The asphalt mural will be installed on Crutchfield Street in the spring of 2021.
Like this story? Click here to subscribe to more like this delivered weekly to your inbox!