2012-2013 | Community Identity & Visioning
Researcher & Project Manager, evolveEA, Pittsburgh, PA, US | website

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Brookline Boulevard in Pittsburgh, PA has seen great change in the past 100 years and is on the threshold of changes that will determine its next century. What began as a dirt road connecting two communities later became a vibrant community place itself. As businesses rooted alongside the road, families shopped, travelers drove, and trolley riders visited the neighborhood, it became the center of community life. Today the trolleys are gone and the number of visitors have diminished, but the community has continued to support the mainline.

This Community Planning and Identity Visioning project aimed at defining what the future beholds for the Brookline community. The project was a participatory design process including three face to face co-design sessions with the community, as well as an online engagement platform opening the process up for a wider audience within Brookline to engage. Through this collaborative work, residents identified the values, activities and stories that define what Brookline is today and they envisioned placemaking events and programs that can transform their neighborhood in the future. The new vision for the Boulevard included a diverse identity that changes overtime to serve different needs of the community, with the three prevailing identities being: International Marketplace, Fun & Fit, Friendly & Accessible.

The project was realized by EvolveEA in collaboration with the Brookline Committee, the Design Center, URA and the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning.