01341201

Component

Integrating public art into transportation projects has been on the rise nationwide since the 1990s, as many state transportation agencies have used Transportation Enhancement Grants to fund public art projects. Urban freeway corridors containing bridge crossings and retaining walls serve as the ideal canvas for incorporating aesthetically pleasing images, textures, or color to concrete or steel. Public art, when integrated with pedestrian friendly facilities, also has the ability to transform spaces and elements into landmarks for the members of the community who may walk, drive or bicycle by the artwork while going about their daily lives. The focus of this paper is to provide guidance on holding a public art competition by presenting the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) I-75 Ambassador Bridge Gateway Public Art Project. The authors will present the process used to define the public art scope of work and to structure a competition to select an artist to create and integrate public art into the East Apron of the newly constructed Bagley Street Pedestrian Bridge. The process will highlight how community forums and public participation enabled the “The Spiral of Life” (1) and the “Spiral Kinship” (2) to be born. The collaboration between Detroit artist Hubert Massey and the community engaged people from both sides of the bridge in a process that inspired the works. This collaborative and community-based effort helped to reconnect neighbors through public art.

The DVD lists the title of this paper as: Ambassador Bridge Gateway Public Art Project Case Study: Connecting Neighbors Through Public Art.

01329018

11-4002

English

21p

2011

Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting

DVD

Figures; Photos; References (3)

Aesthetics; Art; Bicycling; Bridges; Community action programs; Footbridges; Humanities; Planning and design; Retaining walls; Walking

Ambassador Bridge (Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario)

Landmarks

Detroit (Michigan)

Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2011 Paper #11-4002

TRIS, TRB

Feb 17 2011 6:43PM