Designing Change In Brownsville

Program participants designing their ideas for their Dream neighborhood 

The Brownsville Community Justice Center (the Center) is happy to announce an exciting partnership with the Municipal Arts Society (MAS) to implement an exciting new initiative called Designing Change. Designing Change is an experiential program that uses design and art as a tool to engage youth in community-based planning and urban design projects in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The goals of the program is to develop the capacity of young people to lead projects that shape and support Brownsville and to empower them to participate in the revitalization of their neighborhood. The participants, who are high-school aged and reside in Brownsville, will collaborate with local elected officials, community residents and other professional designers, planners and developers.  

This initiative will support the Center’s place-based work with the Belmont Revitalization Project. The Belmont Revitalization Project is a part of the Center’s efforts to restore a crime-ridden retail corridor into a striving business district that promotes positive pedestrian activity and strong community. The Project defines the Belmont business corridor as Belmont Avenue from Rockaway Ave to Mother Gaston Blvd. The Project’s catchment will also include 3 cul-de-sacs adjacent to the Belmont corridor on Thatford Avenue, Osborn Street, and Watkins Street.

MAS Example Project 

The 16 week program focuses on following areas: 1. Planning and design concepts; 2. Understanding economic development; 3. Envision and Design a new commercial street. A culmination project will display art work in a public exhibition in a One Day Public Plaza in the Thatford Avenue cul-de-sac this Spring.