Westside Studio Brings the Classroom into the Community

The West Side Studio at the University of Utah is a partnership between University Neighborhood Partners, the undergrad Urban Ecology majors, and the graduate students in City + Metropolitan Planning. This semester we examined the active and public transportation connectivity between North Temple and the Jordan River Parkway.

Our goal was to improve these routes to encourage public transportation and active forms of transportation, like biking and walking, in order to promote more sustainable and healthier forms of commuting. Most residents still rely on their car to get around, despite the Parkway trail and the TRAX line in place. We were interested in what improvements were desired or necessary for the residents to start using their feet or a bike instead of driving.

We found that these neighborhoods were full of devoted citizens who wanted to improve their community. The west side of Salt Lake City often gets a bad reputation, but in our research we found that is unwarranted and unfair. These neighborhoods, as their residents already know, are a vibrant and diverse community that has a lot to offer.

Luckily, we had help of community leaders to help us reach out to the residents of Poplar Grove and Fairpark. Through their connections, we met with small groups of concerned citizens and discussed the future of their neighborhood. We asked questions like “What are your favorite parts of living here?” and “What could be improved?”

In addition to our focus groups, our class handed out dozens of surveys to residents all around the west side of Salt Lake City. These surveys further cemented the vision the west side was seeking.

Many people in these neighborhoods do not take advantage of the Jordan River Parkway or TRAX because they didn’t find it convenient, didn’t even know it was there, or felt unsafe using it. There was a strong desire for adequate and improved signage along these corridors to improve navigation markers along the trail so people can it use without needing a map. Signage pointing out access to streets and places of interest like parks, restaurants, or cafés, would be extremely beneficial to increase the use of this trail. We also thought that more places of interest along North Temple would encourage TRAX ridership and promote positive economic development in the neighborhood.

While there are a lot of longterm solutions to these issues, we saw one project that could be dealt with immediately: repainting the Note District mural on North Temple. This mural is a point of cultural and geographic identity in the city. The Note District is a colorful and distinct neighborhood in Salt Lake City, and the mural should be a beautiful representation of that. Our class thought that improving the mural was a great first step to showing our love for this neighborhood. Thanks to the generous donations and help from UNP and NeighborWorks, a team from our class and volunteers from the community repainted this mural.

Thanks to all our partners who helped us accomplish our goals this semester and all of the residents that participated in our surveys, conversations and activities. We are so grateful to have worked in this project and we are all eager to further contribute to the growth and improvement of this beautiful community.

Editor’s note: while the mural was removed by new building owners shortly after it was refurbished, the process of collaboration between the university, community organizations and local residents will have a lasting, positive impact on all involved.