When Marilyn Higgins observed people of all ages playing with the musical pavements at Syracuse Stage, it sparked an idea for a competition that would help fight health issues in the Syracuse community.

“Movement on Main” is a new design competition created by Syracuse University in which landscape and architectural firms all over the world will compete for the best proposal to redesign the Near Westside neighborhood’s Wyoming Street. The winning design will help tackle the health issues in the area and promote exercise along the street.

For years, Higgins, vice president of community engagement and economic development at SU, heard Near Westside residents at neighborhood meetings talk about wanting a safe place to exercise. After watching people with the musical pavements, she realized that “streetscape could inspire movement.”

This competition is one of many efforts being made in the community to further emphasize health, nutrition and being active, said Maarten Jacobs, director of the Near Westside Initiative.

Out of the several applicants SU’s School of Architecture reached out to, three will be chosen to compete by a small jury in mid-December, Jacobs said. Two firms have already been pre-selected, he said, through recommendations made by Julia Czerniak, the competition adviser and SU architecture professor.

The five chosen firms will meet with the jury in January to visit Syracuse, specifically Wyoming Street. The firms will then submit formal proposals and the winner will be selected in April, Jacobs said. The jury will consist of residents, SU architecture professors and local officials.

He added that the jury is looking for a firm that understands the “urban context” of the neighborhood and whose idea will work well with other revitalization projects happening in the area.

“We want a design firm that is creative and gets our idea of creating an active street and that promotes health and fitness and well-being,” Jacobs said.

The Education Foundation of America provided $200,000 for the competition. Past projects that the university has been a part of grabbed the attention of the foundation, Higgins said.

Over the past years, SU developed a reputation around the country for “creative place making,” Higgins said.

“I’m getting those calls from national foundations and from other universities because they are pretty intrigued about how we’ve been using art as a strong and central component in neighborhood revitalizations,” she said.

Higgins said SU’s goal for this project is to expand knowledge about design and health, in addition to revitalizing the Near Westside. She said she personally wants this street to be the healthiest street in America and inspire movement within the community.

The winning design, Jacobs hopes, will be innovative, but also realistic. The remodeling of Wyoming Street needs to be feasible to the area and the local residents, he said. The community is eager and optimistic about this competition.

“People are just excited that this will be an innovative, kind of funky street,” Jacobs said. “And that it will be different than any other street in Syracuse.”

Published on November 27, 2012 at 2:02 am

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93