Walk [Detroit] is inspired by the National Walk [YourCity] Movement/Organization. (walkyourcity.org) The project consists of a series of sign installations, which serve as way-finding tools and a means to increase the walk-ability of an area. These signs inspire people to choose foot as a means of transportation in an overly vehicular oriented city. The benefits of this are innumerable, including improvements to congestion, pollution, public health, social connection, local economic development, and human-scale urban design.The signs make walking seem manageable by providing the "walk time" to several neighborhood destinations, as well as directions, maps, neighborhood info, and destination info through QR codes on each sign.

I am currently implementing 20 signs as my initial installation in the Villages of Detroit, in partnership with the Villages CDC. This initial installation phase will occur by the end of July, 2014. This portion of the project is being completed as my Challenge Detroit personal Community Impact Project. Following the installation, we plan to ask the community for feedback on the project at a neighborhood meeting, Aug 6th. Continuing my partnership with the Villages CDC, I plan to do another round of 16 signs prior to / in conjunction with the Detroit Design Festival, using the impact received from the meeting, The Detroit Collaborative Design Center is currently playing an advisory role in this portion of the project.

After the second installation of signs in the conjunction with DDF, I would love to continue to grow the project into other neighborhoods within Detroit. In doing so, I would like begin to make connections between adjacent neighborhoods with the signs, encouraging walk ability between several major "nodes" within the city.

** Note: Similar projects have been funded through Awesome Grants successfully in other cities (http://awesomeottawa.ca/2013/11/walk-bike-your-city/)