Miami's Purple Line:
The Purple Line project is the first of what we hope will be a series of urban projects aimed at addressing transit issues currently plaguing Miami.
The Purple Line is a pop-up urban installation - specifically a pop-up transit station.
The goal of the installation is to create awareness of the need to improve transit services throughout Southeast Florida by temporarily creating a conceptual transit station in a central location along existing, underutilized rail line.
The Purple Line will provide a strong visual and symbolic representation of the connectivity, convenience and activity that a transit station would bring to this rapidly growing city. Because it is a community driven, collaborative effort, we also hope to inspire the recognition that individuals have important roles and responsibilities in the development of their communities.
What is U+Transit?U+Transit, or Your Urban Transit is a movement addressing transportation issues and the disconnect between "solutions" and citizen action, needs, and wishes.
This is the motivation behind Miami's Purple Line project, U+Transit's first. We hope to continue creating similar projects or better yet, inspiring others to address their local transit issues through community-driven initiatives.
Hanging at The Hangar Gallery
August 24th, 2012 was a turning point. We had been toying with this idea of doing a Better Block Miami project, but that idea did what any great idea would: it evolved into something even more appropriate and specific to the local need. This evolution was to be the Purple Line.
The meeting, graciously hosted by the Hangar Gallery and the spectacular Allyson Parker, was the coming out party for the pop-up transit station. It also happened to coincide with one of season's tropical storms. In short, what we thought would be a wash turned out to be a great event, with a packed house. These weren't any ordinary attendees either. We had a huge showing from EmergeMiami members, a few folks from area schools (Miami Dade College, UM, FAU), several local organizations and a few urban planners from local firms.
August 24th, 2012 was a turning point. We had been toying with this idea of doing a Better Block Miami project, but that idea did what any great idea would: it evolved into something even more appropriate and specific to the local need. This evolution was to be the Purple Line. The meeting, graciously hosted by the Hangar Gallery and the spectacular Allyson Parker, was the coming out party for the pop-up transit station. It also happened to coincide with one of season's tropical storms. In short, what we thought would be a wash turned out to be a great event, with a packed house. These weren't any ordinary attendees either. We had a huge showing from EmergeMiami members, a few folks from area schools (Miami Dade College, UM, FAU), several local organizations and a few urban planners from local firms.
Better Block Beginnings
On June 16, 2012 FAT Village Arts District saw Florida's first Better Block installation. Build a Better Block, a tactical urban installation started in Texas, has seen numerous iterations throughout the country and in Canada. Community led urban revitalization is the basic premise behind Better Block - the installations are led by community members who volunteer their time and elbow grease to temporarily transform an underused, run down block (or series of blocks) into lively, pedestrian friendly urban places. They leave behind a lasting impression of what could be as well as some basic repairs and beautification treatments.
The Better Block Fort Lauderdale event was a collaborative effort between FAU School of Urban and Regional Planning, Cadence Living, UrbanMatters CoLAB, FAT Village Arts District and numerous others organizations and individuals. The event took a warehouse-filled urban block near downtown Fort Lauderdale and turned into a walkable, vibrant place to spend the day. Better Block's impact, however, did not end there; the "event day" was not at all the largest contribution made to the surrounding area. The process of creating 'A Better Block' yielded new collaborations and connections where skills were shared and gained, new business ideas were generated and common visions found common ground. In this way, the Better Block project created an invaluable, long-term assets for this community. Having learned from this process, those of us who had the opportunity to participate in the Fort Lauderdale's Better Block bring that perspective and intention to the Purple Line project.
On June 16, 2012 FAT Village Arts District saw Florida's first Better Block installation. Build a Better Block, a tactical urban installation started in Texas, has seen numerous iterations throughout the country and in Canada. Community led urban revitalization is the basic premise behind Better Block - the installations are led by community members who volunteer their time and elbow grease to temporarily transform an underused, run down block (or series of blocks) into lively, pedestrian friendly urban places. They leave behind a lasting impression of what could be as well as some basic repairs and beautification treatments.
The Better Block Fort Lauderdale event was a collaborative effort between FAU School of Urban and Regional Planning, Cadence Living, UrbanMatters CoLAB, FAT Village Arts District and numerous others organizations and individuals. The event took a warehouse-filled urban block near downtown Fort Lauderdale and turned into a walkable, vibrant place to spend the day. Better Block's impact, however, did not end there; the "event day" was not at all the largest contribution made to the surrounding area. The process of creating 'A Better Block' yielded new collaborations and connections where skills were shared and gained, new business ideas were generated and common visions found common ground. In this way, the Better Block project created an invaluable, long-term assets for this community. Having learned from this process, those of us who had the opportunity to participate in the Fort Lauderdale's Better Block bring that perspective and intention to the Purple Line project.
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| Better Block Fort Lauderdale - Before |
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| Better Block Fort Lauderdale - Event Day |
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