Design Collaborative asks Memphians to consider city improvement

A new University of Memphis initiative is asking Memphians to think deeper about their relationship with the city. This new initiative, the Design Collaborative, is preparing for a spring launch event titled “Let’s Stay Together, Memphis,” billed as “relationship therapy for the city and its citizens,” according to Dr. Charlie Santo, Director of the University’s Division of City & Regional Planning.

“One of the long-term relationships that is most important to our happiness, but often overlooked, is our relationship with the city we live in,” said Santo.

This initial event is the first in a series of conversations around improving Memphis communities. The end result will be a plan that can be executed by collaborative partners.

The Design Collaborative is a joint venture between the Division of City & Regional Planning and the University of Memphis Department of Architecture focused on critical community challenges in urban design and community development. The program will be built on collaborations between different disciplines at the University, and partnerships between the University and the community including grassroots organizations, non-profits like the Hyde Family Foundation (sponsor of the launch events), practitioners, philanthropists and government.

The launch event will be held on Saturday, Mar. 21, at the Amtrak Central Station’s Hudson Hall. An open house session starting at 11 a.m. will be followed by an afternoon session from 2 to 4 p.m. with structured conversations about specific topics to improve those citizen-city relationships. Entertainment will be provided throughout, with performers from Visible Music College and other musicians. 

Michael Hagge, Chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Memphis, explained, “We want the event to be fun, and we want to showcase some things that we love about Memphis, like the music. But ultimately, the event will be informative and used to drive Design Collaborative programming.”

Both Hagge and Santo know that comprehensively improving communities involves a variety of components such as transportation, hardscape, green space, walkability, infrastructure, codes, historic preservation, safety, health and education. Memphis growth over the last 50 years has left a legacy of reactionary development that’s primarily seen population and service redistribution, resulting in a Memphis with two times the land area of Detroit and half the population density. 

Santo wants to open a dialogue that asks, “What has happened? Because we have not planned in the past. And [we need to] be realistic, so we can set a vision for the future.” 

“We want all of our activities to be forward-thinking–focused on what we want Memphis to be–and comprehensive, so that we’re promoting public projects that complement each other and drive a common community objective,” said Hagge.

The vision set allows the Design Collaborative to functionally draw on resources from across the University of Memphis in the fall, when developing a plan for that vision becomes part of the graduate coursework.