University Connections: Part 3
By Kayla Anderson, Research Fellow
Special thanks to Mike Thompson, Anastasiya Skvarniuk, and Elizabeth Crimmins for their work on this article.
In our first blog post introducing University Connections, we told you about the history of redlining in Edgehill, Wedgewood-Houston, and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods that made it difficult for community members to navigate around Nashville. In our second post we outlined precedents in other cities that we can use to inform a Nashville that prioritizes multimodal transportation to repair the fissures between crosstown neighborhood connections.
The following post will focus on our recommendations for University Connections based on that research.
Need more context about crosstown transportation and what that has to do with universities? Read about it in the first University Connections blog post!
University Connections Route
Univeristy Connections Transportation Map
Having trouble see the story map below? Click here.
North Nashville Connections
In the next phase of University Connections, The Design Center will focus on connectivity within North Nashville, highlighting paths that support multimodal access across the neighborhoods between the area universities. This report will continue to take into account the history of the area, development patterns, existing conditions that both facilitate and inhibit connectivity and conclude with design recommendations to improve connectivity between the universities via enhanced neighborhood routes. This route will primarily explore connectivity between Vanderbilt, Tennessee State University, Fisk University, and Meharry Medical College, which besides Vanderbilt, are all prominent HBCUs.
With the completion of the Northern and Southern Loops of University Connections, the Civic Design Center will have proposed a crosstown multimodal route linking six major universities, as well as improved multimodal transit infrastructure within numerous neighborhoods, increasing mobility and improving access to civic, cultural, and educational spaces within Nashville.
This is Part 2 of 4 in the blog series. There are subsequent articles published pertaining to the University Connections Project.
Jump to University Connections: Part 1
Jump to University Connections: Part 2
University Connections Part 4 coming soon