Framing the future of Duluth: The city as canvas
Framing the future of Duluth: The city as canvas
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Article Intro From safer crosswalks to waterfront revitalization, students in the University of Minnesota Duluth’s "City as a Work of Art" course are turning classroom designs into real-world community impact.
How many of us, when we think about cities, think of them as a work of art that can inspire people, bring them together, or simply keep them safe? Jennifer Webb is an associate professor of art history with the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), and her City as a Work of Art course asks students to reimagine the ways cities shape our lives, and how we, in turn, can shape them to bring about positive change in society. “It is an unconventional art history class, but it really is thinking about: How do we describe a city?” says Webb. “Just like we would describe a work of art — how does the form of the city reflect our values, our environment, our cultural practices? I encourage them to step out of their lane and use the school, the classroom, as a way to challenge themselves.” Opening up new avenues – in the mindWyatt Warner hopes to work in data analytics for the NBA or NFL.
Early in the course, students examine ancient civilizations and cities around the world, then ask themselves why these cities look the way they do. “We talk about the features, and they make these connections that they've never thought about before,” says Webb. “I love the idea that we have our students thinking about cities and places as things that we craft, just like we craft paintings, or sculptures, or textiles.” As one example, in studying a Chinese city, students explored how it had been meticulously structured to reinforce cultural hierarchy and the importance of the emperor. But as students in the course have found, cities can be crafted in many ways, from building climate-resilient communities, to nurturing and growing homegrown businesses and jobs, and bringing communities together. “This class has changed my perception of a lot of things,” says Wyatt Warner, ’26, a consumer insights and analytics major. “Researching these cities, I’ve learned everything is there for a reason,” he says. “It's cool to see how much time and effort are put into each city.” From class project to construction project After coursework early in the spring semester, students take to the streets of Duluth to make their own observations, writing about and sketching streetscapes and buildings, and eventually making recommendations about how to improve manageable slices of the city. The students often connect with nonprofits and the City of Duluth’s Planning and Development Division, and their work has sometimes moved from class project to construction project as designs are discussed and implemented. Jenn Reed Moses, a manager with Duluth’s Planning and Development Division, says that beyond keeping them in tune with upcoming trends, students bring energy and excitement to the city’s project teams. “Because of their ability to think without real-world restrictions, they can be creative and make out-of-the-box recommendations,” says Reed Moses. “That inspires me.” Building on past successesStudent plans for reimagining 6th Avenue East in the Hillside neighborhood include safer road conditions, bike lanes, crosswalks and green spaces.
A past student course project had students reimagine Duluth’s 6th Avenue East, which slices through the Hillside neighborhood. At the top of the avenue is a school, but the crossing had long been considered unsafe for schoolchildren and treacherous for non-motorized users. “They were busing the little ones four blocks because of this roadway,” says Webb. Students in the City as a Work of Art course partnered with Zeitgeist Center for Arts and Community, a Duluth nonprofit focused on bringing communities more fully into decisions about health, transportation, and street design. The 6th Avenue East redesign aimed to improve pedestrian safety, foster community, and create a cultural corridor showcasing the diversity of Duluth and its people. “And last year, [the city and Zeitgeist] rebuilt it,” says Webb — at least the initial phase, with further improvements in the pipeline. A previous course also focused on the commercial core of West Duluth, known as Spirit Valley, an area Webb calls “the last truly walkable neighborhood in Duluth.” The neighborhood was built around industries like cement, steel, meat processing and toolmaking, but lost many of those as heavy manufacturing closed or downsized during the 1970s and 80s.Student plans for Spirit Valley include a plaza showcasing public art, a greenway, and signage to help give the neighborhood distinct identity.
In the Spirit Valley plans, Webb asked students: “What might [you] propose as young people living in Duluth to fill some of the missing storefronts? What might [you] do for open space or connectivity?” Students leaned in, creating visions for a vibrant downtown area where the current community can gather and thrive. The plans were ultimately shared with the Spirit Valley Visioning Committee, sparking ongoing discussions and planning. New visions for Duluth’s iconic waterfront This spring, students in the course are creating plans for a commercial waterfront known as Lot D that has stood vacant for decades. Lucy McKirdy ’26, an engineering physics major, says she took the City as a Work of Art course to help with her hobby as a digital artist, hoping to learn “how cities are set up, how everything interacts, and how people move through it,” she says.Lucy McKirdy plans to go to graduate school in Fukuoka, Japan, for nuclear engineering.
During a visit to the waterfront area this spring, student teams took notes and photos and divided into teams to fill out different areas of the plan, including housing and recreational options. “This is a great opportunity to look at how we would design something … and take advantage of this perfect straight shot view of one of Duluth's most iconic structures, which is the lift bridge,” says McKirdy. Warner’s team, meanwhile, is focused on developing transportation and tourism opportunities. “The scale and scope of this project has kind of blown my mind,” Warner adds. “I thought it was just gonna be another art class, I thought it was gonna be pretty chill, and it is pretty chill, but we're doing important work.” Webb says that one reason the course works so well is that it attracts students from a wide variety of disciplines, including art history, but also studio art, geography, environmental sustainability, graphic design, and even consumer and data analytics. "I think a lot of people in their lives, they're trying to leave a mark, whether it's in their field or in their city. It's really cool that we're given the opportunity by the University and by the city to express ourselves and potentially influence what actually gets built there." —Wyatt Warner '26 Reimagining neighborhoods across Duluth is one example of how the University of Minnesota is redefining the power of art through hands-on learning and meaningful community impact. Tags College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Labovitz School of Business and Economics Swenson College of Science and Engineering
