The Irrigate initiative in Saint Paul, Minnesota turned the city’s disruptive Green Line light rail construction into multiple Placemaking opportunities. The City, along with Springboard for the Arts and the Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation, led the campaign to not only mitigate the construction project’s impact, but also  foster long-lasting neighborhood revitalization.

To accomplish this, Irrigate hosted training sessions on Placemaking with artists who live or work along the light rail’s right-of-way. These sessions equipped the artists with the concepts, connections, and resources needed to implement their interventions. This usually entailed an alliance between artists and small businesses who stand to lose business as a result of the construction. Other tactics, such as the creation of murals on buildings, outdoor dance classes, photography exhibits in store windows, and concerts at restaurants, have become mechanisms for activating the neighborhood through creative entrepreneurship. The project involved 600 artists and supported 120 collaborative Placemaking projects. It also worked to enhance the public perception of adjacent Green Line neighborhoods. Due to its success, Irrigate organizers created a toolkit to encourage others to develop the Irrigate program. It has since been replicated in Mesa, Cleveland, and Nashville.

Photo credits, from left: Peter Haakon Thompson via Facebook, Peter Haakon Thompson via Facebook, Peter Haakon Thompson, Irrigate via Facebook, Irrigate, Peter Haakon Thompson

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Website: springboardforthearts.org/community-development/irrigate

Facebook: facebook.com/irrigatearts

Twitter: @irrigatearts