For this semester’s Reclaim Works project,  Pratt students worked with middle school students and the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project to focus on safety throughout a specific stretch of urban space under the BQE where Park and Grand Avenues meet in the Wallabout neighborhood.  Through examinations of place, community, and conversations, they all learned to design for a better quality of life.  The middle school students were the designers and the Pratt students guided them through the design process.

Check out the designs! View the student’s innovative concepts by clicking the pdf above, and vote for the one you think would have the most impact on safety here!

Reclaim Works began as an interdisciplinary course offered through Pratt Institute’s Art & Design Education department. Through a partnership with Citizen Schools and the Urban Assembly Unison School the course ran as a program to support a youth design initiative investigating real neighborhood issues through participatory planning improvement projects.  The goal of the project became two-fold, empowering local youth and giving graduate Pratt Institute students the opportunity to see how their skills in art and design can be used for positive community development.