}
4. SUPPORT VIBRANT COMMUNITIES
Vibrant and sustainable communities enhance health, culture and a sense of place.
Fostering vibrant communities that enhance health, culture and a sense of place remains a key goal of our work. This goal weaves together interconnected priorities such as pedestrian safety, strengthening community engagement, and placemaking as vital contributors to sense of place. We aspire to create lasting improvements that elevate the quality of life for all residents, building communities where health, culture, and a true sense of belonging thrive.
Key Strategies
→ Build, preserve, and sustain thriving neighborhoods through improved access and safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users.
→ Preserve neighborhood culture and character through investments such as public art, parks, and corridor branding.
→ Strengthen community input and engagement.
→ Minimize neighborhood disruption during and after construction.
Pedestrian Safety and Access
The Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC), in collaboration with community and non-profit groups, are mobilizing to improve pedestrian safety and access in 11 key station areas. As part of this work, PLCC is hosting community led walks in 3 station areas: Long Branch, Riverdale-Kenilworth, and Takoma-Langley. These walks create opportunities for community members to share their concerns with decision makers. Please see the Frequently Asked Community Questions (FACQ) compiled for each station for answers to questions raised at these walks. To access resources from our 3 key community led walks, click below on the icons at the bottom of this section..
- Read the Purple Line Equitable Transit Oriented Development Strategy (2022) report here.
- View our Remaining Needs (2024) reports for the 11 key station areas here.
Community Partners:
Creative Placemaking and Urban Design
Creative Placemaking leverages the power of arts, culture and creativity to support vibrant and sustainable communities. Urban design shapes the physical form and social character of urban environments, integrating landscape architecture, city planning, and physical design to create functional, aesthetically pleasing, and sustainable communities.
See urban design and creative placemaking projects completed by UMD College Park faculty, students, and staff along the Purple Line Corridor.
- Ignite Your Taste Buds Tour: The Map of Greater Riverdale (January 2023) in partnership with Professor Ronit Eisenbach, Director of the Creative Placemaking minor
- Re-envisioning a Long Branch Strip Mall (Spring 2024) in partnership with professor Jana VanderGoot, AFAAR, RA
- Creative Signage in Takoma-Langley (Fall 2024) in partnership with professor Brandon Donahue
- Langley Park Asset Map (Fall 2020) developed by the National Center for Smart Growth and CASA with Langley Park residents to help them better locate utilize their existing strengths and capacities in planning for their future, particularly in light of the coming Purple Line.
- Northern Gateway Story Map (Fall 2020) Created in partnership with the National Center for Smart Growth, this storymap is a product of the Councilmember Deni Taveras’s efforts to bring together unincorporated legacy communities of District 2 to increase the quality of life and economic investment in the area
Community Voice and Power
Surviving to Thriving
At PLCC’s spring community-wide event, 100 community members and partners came together at Solid Rock Church in Riverdale to build community and talk about the Purple Line. The group explored what it would take for the Purple Line to be a positive force, ushering in new opportunities for communities to truly thrive.
Our goal in this decade is to see a meaningful and material change in the lives of people, to ensure that these beautiful places that we’re building are built for the people who have been here, not just for people who might come here ~ Cat Goughnor - Featured Speaker - Assistant Secretary for Just Communities of the State of Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
Transit and Transition Coloring Book
This year, a team at UMD used research tools, such as focus groups and PhotoVoice, to generate conversation about the Purple Line and support local organizing for positive change. Youth at the Latin American Youth Center, congregants at Solid Rock Church, visitors to Sarvis Cafe, and members of the Greater Riverdale Thrives Community Coalition shared a mix of hope and anxiety about the Purple Line and how it will change the Greater Riverdale area. A team of artists then translated their perspectives into a 14-page coloring book, Transit & Transition: A Bridge to Rapid Change.
Latest Vibrant Communities Posts
Upcoming Events
There are no upcoming events at this time.
