Mobility For All By All (MFABA) is a collaborative project exploring equitable mobility in St. Louis, initiated about a year ago by three faculty members at the Sam Fox School, Assistant Professor of Communication Design Penina C. Laker, Associate Professor of Urban Design Linda Samuels, and Senior Urban Designer and Lecturer Matt Bernstine. Receiving funds from the WashU Divided Cities Grant, MFABA became a year-long endeavor into uncovering the complexities and potential opportunities of large-infrastructural investments, using the Northside/Southside MetroLink expansion as a point of departure.
We are excited to reveal the project’s progress through the recent launch of the MFABA’s website!
In the quote below, the MFABA team explains its approach to equity in public transit:
“Over the past 10 months our focus has been clearly set on finding the ideas, opinions, and indicators that are necessary to increase equity and access along the proposed Northside/Southside MetroLink expansion. We have approached this in two primary ways: by exploring alternative indicators, beyond economic development, that matter to citizens and are informed by their needs and desires; and through community collaboration projects with local artists working near proposed stops where residents can express their perspectives on mobility.”
By engaging with the people who will be most affected by this new infrastructure and setting forth a community-centered approach to transit planning, the MFABA team aims to increase transit equity and access for all.
Community partners, Creative Reaction Lab, Dutchtown South Community Corporation, and Sewcial Impact Project, have been instrumental in creating avenues for residents to share their experiences, hopes, concerns, and ideas for the future of mobility in St. Louis.
To learn more, visit the MFABA’s website.