Beyond the Tracks: National Voices Join Minneapolis in Reimagining Community Through Transit

What does it mean to build beyond the tracks?

That was the guiding question on Wednesday, June 25th, when national leaders in urban design, community development, and architecture gathered in Minneapolis for Beyond the Tracks, a powerful evening of dialogue hosted by the Center for Transformative Urban Design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Moderated by the Center’s founder Paul Bauknight Jr., the event explored how the 13-mile extension of the METRO Blue Line can be more than just a transit project — but a catalyst for equitable, community-rooted development.

Shifting the Focus: Culture, Capital, and Community Power

Jason Foster, President and COO of Destination Crenshaw in Los Angeles, emphasized the importance of using culture as a tool for material impact. “It’s about giving people a reason to stay — and hope that their community can get better for them,” he said. By embedding culture into development, Foster explained, we create a deeper connection to place that helps resist displacement.

Elwood Hopkins, Managing Director at Emerging Markets, pushed the audience to consider who actually benefits from new investments. “When I learn about an investment opportunity,” he said, “my first question is: how do people in the community benefit from it? How do we spread the benefits around so it’s more inclusive?” For Hopkins, leveraging private capital is essential, but it must happen in a way that reflects community values — and puts locals in a position to profit alongside outside investors.

Taylor Smrikárova (née Cooper), Principal at Redesign, brought the conversation close to home, describing her design work on The Coliseum, a major public-private partnership project on East Lake Street in South Minneapolis. She shared, “Fighting is not the answer. Change is inevitable. The real question is: how can you be a part of it?”

Taidgh H. McClory, Founder of THM, reinforced the idea that transit is more than infrastructure. “It’s a platform for more economic and social change through a community,” he said.

A Question That Anchors the Future

Midway through the evening, Bauknight asked the panelists a central question: “What does transit development in an urban setting really look like?”

The answers were grounded in community agency and economic equity. The panelists agreed that community members must not only shape the vision but also share in the returns — whether through land ownership, small business support, or employment in the development process.

Hopkins put it plainly: “It’s up to the community to decide what happens with the development.”

Reimagining What’s Possible

Supported by the Metropolitan Council, MCAD, Reimagining the Civic Commons, and national funders like the JPB, Knight, Kresge, and William Penn Foundations, Beyond the Tracks is part of a broader effort to ensure that large-scale public investments — like the Blue Line Extension — serve as vehicles for opportunity, not displacement.

This event wasn’t just about transit. It was about power, participation, and the vision required to move forward — together.

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