BY DARLENE WALSER, OF THE LAKE STREET ALIGNMENT TEAM
As Minneapolis and the Lake Street community navigate the continued impact of the pandemic and the pain of George Floyd’s murder and the uprising that followed, we know that how our community rebuilds is just as important as what we build.
Launched in September 2021, Lake Street Alignment is a collaborative community engagement and planning process designed to reimagine and rebuild Lake Street with racial, economic and environmental justice at its core. Generously funded and coordinated by the McKnight Foundation, the participants in the overall planning include: Allina Health; Building Dignity and Respect Standards Council; CANDO (Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization); Cultural Wellness Center; Lake Street Council; Lake Street Latino Business Association; Longfellow Rising; MIGIZI; Minnesota Somali Chamber of Commerce; New American Development Center; RARE Productions; Tending the Soil; and Unidos MN.
Lake Street Alignment meeting
The process brought together over 400 community members who participated in listening sessions and testing workshops to develop joint solutions and plans to address priorities identified by the community: investing in local businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, and people of color by expanding access to grants and loans; making the corridor a destination for arts and cultural events; creating an environment that feels safe for everyone with deeper engagement, empowerment and sense of community, and more.
Community members included businesses, property owners, residents, neighborhood organizations, nonprofits, city and county staff, elected officials and funders. The process focused on four key intersections: Nicollet, Chicago, Bloomington, and Minnehaha.
Lake Street Alignment meeting
On April 12, Lake Street Alignment held a community meeting and celebration at the Midtown Global Market to share the results of this process and the specific strategies to achieve the community’s collective dreams and visions for the future of Lake Street. Next, participants will be moving forward to collectively put these ideas into action.
From the website, https://www.lakestreetalignment.com/:
“Stakeholders in each area will test ideas for physical projects and improvements, strategies to get people the support they need, solutions to assist existing businesses and property owners and proposals for infusing Lake Street with new energy, including the increase of BIPOC ownership on Lake Street. Residents, community members, and stakeholders will participate in aligning these ideas into a shared framework that everyone can work from.”
Moving toward implementation: “Based on the aligned strategies from the testing phase, the team will develop a detailed approach for funding and building projects, changing policies, and working together in new ways to implement the community’s vision for Lake Street and see it come to life.”
