‘Stir It Up’ Urbanism Workshop In Glass Farm

In the Fall of 2019 Glass House Collective was selected by Project For Public Spaces to host STIR IT UP, a Glass Farm resident-designed workshop held during the International Placemaking Conference in Chattanooga.

Over the past 7 years, Glass House Collective has hosted several workshops in urbanism and creative placemaking to tap into the professional and creative braintrust of planners, architects, and designers in our collective and from around the region and the world to work alongside Glass Farm residents and envision a cleaner, safer and more inviting neighborhood.

Stir It Up stands apart from our previous workshops in several ways including and especially because it was co-created by the residents of Glass Farm. With an external focus this time, the aim of Stir It Up was to help the community translate the high-level RPA Area 3 Plan into an actionable map for resident-led change around three themes: Housing Choices, Business Viability, and Quality Public Spaces. The committee of local workshop designers also identified several guiding principles that would inform all participation including equitable development, honoring/hiring local, healthy places, celebration, inclusivity, catalytic, historic preservation, cultural reflection, and accountability.

We are still processing all of the amazing ideas and input gathered in October and will be sharing an outcomes report in the coming weeks. For a quick recap of the conference and our day, please check out the Places For Good blog, and Reginald Clack’s photos.

The experience and proven multidisciplinary process have already infused our team with fresh energy and motivation.  Lynesha Lake, GHC Community Liaison, was a part of the team who created the workshop design and participated in one of the Stir It Up teams during Placemaking Week. “The energy was amazing and refreshing. It was encouraging to know others have proof that things can change,” she said.

As more Glass Farm residents continue to take on leadership roles in our community on a variety of projects, the implementation of any ideas identified in the Stir It Up workshop will also be theirs to prioritize and pursue. We look forward to sharing the report soon and collaborating with our neighbors on what they want for their community!