Madison Park

Before the advent of air conditioning, the southern home was not complete without a front porch. Neighbors could easily communicate and, from porch to porch, build community. This project installs porch swings as amenities to bring together Charlotte's millennial and immigrant communities and commercial centers at or near school bus stops and bus transit stops on Central Avenue. Porch swings installed along Central Avenue will create a unifying element, making the sidewalk and bus stops a new civic front porch.

The Central Avenue corridor was chosen for this project due to it being one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse areas in the City of Charlotte. The CATS Number 9 Bus serving this corridor has one of the highest riderships of any Charlotte line. The porch swing project will begin at the Plaza Midwood Business District, a vibrant area serving a diverse set of young creative class singles and families. It will continue out Charlotte's east side, one of North Carolina's most diverse communities with immigrants and houses of faith from Central and South America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.  Placing swings in these areas would use the South's unique front porch swings to welcome and unite these diverse communities. 

While new light rail lines often provide comfortable waiting areas filled with art, bus riders aren't usually treated with the same amenities. By reenergizing and activating public space such as bus stops with swings, we can create places where people enjoy waiting and new opportunities for community interaction. We can move bus stops from lonely places to "porches" where interaction is encouraged and celebrated.