About Us

The Friendly Streets Initiative (FSI) was founded in 2009 and ended its work in 2017.  Based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota, FSI facilitated community organizing through creative public engagement events.  We assisted communities in visioning for positive change to public spaces, collecting and analyzing data, helping neighbors navigate and impact city planning processes.  At the core of our projects were block parties, made possible through collaborations with neighborhood organizations, artists, and restaurants.

News & Announcements

Our final event was the Rondo Land Bridge Block Party, held June 9, 2017.

Parklet at Highland Grill


Rondo Land Bridge Block Party
Photos by Roosevelt Mansfield

Press Articles (most recent)

11.16.16 Land bridge over I-94 in St. Paul among ideas funded by Knight Foundation by Maja Beckstrom, Pioneer Press

10.14.16 – Reconciling with Rondo: could an I-94 ‘land bridge’ help heal a 50-year-old civic scar? by Peter Callaghan, MinnPost

10.8.16  Land bridge could transform a section of I-94 in St. Paul by Jessie Van Berkle, StarTribune

8.22.2016 – Friendly Streets: Bottom-Up St. Paul Project changes the way people look at their city by Jay Walljasper, MinnPost, excerpted from Jay Walljasper’s new book, “America’s Walking Renaissance.”

6.9.2016 – Creative Crosswalks in St. Paul: Slow change, but pace may now quicken by Bill Lindeke, MinnPost