How can we foster and maintain a mutually beneficial relationship between Washington University students throughout their college careers, and corresponding age groups in the greater St. Louis community?
Shaping the Question:
After four years of being WashU students, we’ve come to realize the disconnect between WashU and St. Louis— what students have dubbed “the WashU bubble” — and wanted to understand why that was the case, and if we could change that!
First, we wanted to gain a better understanding of student’s perceptions of St. Louis, and St. Louisan’s perceptions of WashU. To do that, most of our data gathered would be from primary research— interviews and surveys.
Design Criteria
- Equal emphasis on WashU & communities
- Establish & maintain a dialogue
- Jointly run and organized by both students and community partners
- Long-term and sustainable partnership
- Events occur in revolving locations
Potential Solutions
WashU-coordinated internship program with St. Louis businesses, for credit- Skillshare event series
- Late night block parties in different neighborhoods where businesses, stores, and restaurants stay open later hours than usual
- Neighborhood exploration series, i.e. organized walks through different communities
- Interactive public art installations in abandoned spaces in St. Louis
- A platform (social media, app, etc) where St. Louis residents record stories and anecdotes
- Neighborhood food truck series
- Cooking classes at different restaurants
Design For Community Impact 