East Lansing is a city of 49,000 inhabitants and is part of the Greater Lansing Area. Immediately north of Lansing is the state’s capital. Two major east-west throughfares define the site: Grand River Avenue which defines East Lansing’s Downtown and Michigan Avenue which leads West to the capital building.

East Lansing 2030: Collegeville Re-envisioned, commissioned by the Broad Museum in Michigan State University, proposes a new civic hub and urban catalyst at the crossroads of Grand River and Michigan Avenues. Select design firms were tasked with the challenge of thinking about what central East Lansing could become. WXY was invited to join as part of this effort.

Joining city and campus, our proposal reshapes a car-centric intersection into a new nexus of public transportation, cultural events, and civic activity, while improving connectivity and increasing access both in its immediate surroundings and in across the larger region.

The project was a participatory urban design exhibition that involved community outreach, public workshops, and open forum discussions.The exhibition platform encouraged visionary thinking in order to provoke discussion with a variety of local stakeholders including the MSU planning faculty, local developers, and the community at large.