Pop Ups, Placemaking Polls, and Parklets… Oh My!
Loyola Spotlight: Student Led Engagement
To close out March, Elevate Devon’s Student Ambassadors hosted a pop up on Thursday March 31st, at Loyola University Chicago’s Damen Student Center. Big thanks to everyone who stopped by to share. We heard tons of great insights and will be sharing a summary of feedback soon!
Elevate Devon Pop Up Tour
The Elevate Devon Pop Up Tour is just getting started! Be sure to visit us on April 13th at Nori Sushi in the outdoor patio from 2:30 to 4pm, and at Devon Market near the entrance from 4:30 to 6pm. Whether you’re getting a California Roll, stopping by to pick up some produce, or just in the neighborhood, slow your roll and share your feedback! These pop ups are an opportunity for you to identify priorities for different projects on Devon.
Phoenix Article on Elevate Devon
Shout-out to the Loyola Phoenix for publishing a wonderful article about Elevate Devon! Student engagement and involvement is important to the Elevate Devon process, and we are thrilled to be reaching more students. Our very own Steering Committee member, Jennifer Clark and Loyola Student Ambassador, Riley Kelly, shared their thoughts and hopes for the project below:
“I love the stretch of Devon from Sheridan to Ravenswood and I know it has the potential to be a very vibrant area, so I’m excited to be a part of seeing that process come to life…”
Riley Kelly
loyola university chicago student, steering committee member
“It’s about creating a vision for Devon… an environment that is inviting and ripe for business, where businesses feel supported, where pedestrians and students feel comfortable, and want to walk down Devon because they feel safe and because there are cool businesses to go to. Do people want to see more artwork? Better bus stops and crosswalks? Better landscaping?”
Jennifer Clark
Associate Vice President of Campus and Community Planning
Moving From Mini Poll to Placemaking Poll
More than 640 of you shared your thoughts with us on the future of Devon as part of the first poll, which closed the morning of April 4th – you told us what works, what doesn’t, and what you’d like to see happen. We’ll be sharing a summary of our first poll with you soon. If you haven’t already, subscribe below to have the results emailed to you.
Using the feedback from the first poll and insights from the comment map, we put together a “Placemaking on Devon” Poll, which is going live on this website on April 6th. This online visual survey will build on the feedback generated as part of mini-poll to further understand urban design preferences and placemaking priorities.
Definition Spotlight: The Power of Parklets
Did You Know: As highlighted by the images below, a parklet provides more space for seating, dining, community events, bike parking, and more! They temporarily reclaim street parking to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment, boost foot traffic, and help make drivers more mindful of speed limits. The Chicago Department of Transportation has a dedicated program called ‘Make Way For People‘ to help install more parklets in Chicago. The upcoming “Placemaking on Devon” Poll will explore parklet amenities to understand those features you favor most!
Elevate Devon 