To understand why Southwest Lansing became what it is today, we also have to talk about the broader infrastructure decisions that were made in the mid-20th century. Like many cities across the U.S., Lansing experienced the consequences of urban renewal. The construction of I-496 in the 1960s cut through historically Black and minority neighborhoods. Entire communities were displaced under the justification of progress. Similarly, large swaths of workforce housing were demolished to make way for government expansion—again erasing working-class neighborhoods and scattering families.
 

​The neighborhood we’re working in was one of the few available areas for people to purchase homes after the Civil Rights movement. As a result, it became one of the first integrated post-war subdivisions in Lansing. That legacy of diversity and resilience is still alive today, even though segregation by block remains due to the legacy of housing policies and disinvestment.

Our project seeks to reverse some of those past harms, not just with bricks and mortar, but by celebrating the soul of the neighborhood. We're reintroducing walkability by orienting buildings toward the street and expanding sidewalks to 8 feet to promote pedestrian use. We're integrating stormwater infrastructure to heal the ecology, using green technologies and incorporating permeable surfaces to reduce runoff into the Grand River.