The Friendly Streets Initiative was based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota. We facilitated community organizing through creative public engagement events. We assisted communities in visioning for positive change to public spaces, collecting and analyzing data, and helping neighbors navigate and impact city planning processes. Our work gave neighborhoods tools and resources to transform public space, with a focus on healthy, safe, fun walking and biking, and creative placemaking.
The Friendly Streets Initiative’s fiscal sponsor was the Hamline-Midway Coalition and later Transit for Livable Communities. FSI received support from the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA), the Knight Green Line Challenge, the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, and the Union Park District Council. Our project partners have included the Desnoyer Park Improvement Association, Frogtown Neighborhood Association, Hamline-Midway Coalition, Saint Anthony Park Community Council, Smart Trips, Transit for Liveable Communities, the Snelling-Selby Area Business Association, Summit University Planning Council, Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation, Union Park District Council, the Lexington Hamline Community Council, District Councils Collaborative, Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation, Community Design Group, Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®), 8-80 Cities, Team Better Block, and Rondo Avenue Inc.