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A Recap of 2025

Thanks to everyone for making 2025 a great year for the Syracuse Urbanism Collective! Below is a list of some of what we’ve done this year:

  • Projects
    • Urbanist Book Club
      • We read and had discussions about 2 books: Walkable City by Jeff Speck, and Building and Dwelling by Richard Sennett.
    • SWAG Bike Fest
      • We had a successful second year of the SWAG Bike Fest at Meacham Field.
    • I-81 Viaduct Project Recommendations
      • We were able to secure numerous design changes for improved pedestrian access, cycle infrastructure, and public spaces in NYSDOT’s Contract 6 of the I-81 Viaduct Project.
    • Regional Planning
      • Our regional planning team created a framework for thinking about growth at the edges of our region and developed a comic with linked resources about a child’s walk to a friend’s house in a poorly-planned subdivisional versus in a well-planned community. We’re putting the finishing touches on this and it should be available on our website in the near future.
    • Public Policy
      • We developed our Public Policy Wish List and nine policy memos. Then, we began talks with the city, county officials, and others. We also led a letter writing campaign to help secure the passage of the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan by the Common Council.
    • Mini Meadows
      • We continued the stewardship of Loguen Park.
    • Community Streets
      • We created painted pedestrian bump-outs and a temporary platform with four bike racks at the corners of Salina & Jefferson.
    • Creekwalk Wayfinding Project
      • We painted wayfinding signage on the ground along the full length of the Onondaga Creekwalk.
  • In the news
  • Events
    • Community Engagement Sessions
      • We had a community engagement session with Centro to discuss Better Bus CNY and the reimagining of public transportation in Central New York.
      • We had a community engagement event with the Downtown Committee to recommend bike rack locations.
    • Workshops
      • Our first workshop of our new workshop series was Advocacy & Activism 101 in September. In October, we had a workshop where we paddled Onondaga Creek from the Inner Harbor to Lake Onondaga in canoes and kayaks. In November, our final workshop of the year was D&D For Beginners.
    • Other Events
      • We participated in A Week Without Driving.
      • We collaborated with PBS & Syracuse Bike Party on a filmed bike ride for the PBS show Rolling Thru.
      • We had lots of guest speakers at our monthly meetings, too.
    • Social
      • We started a new group in our WhatsApp community, SUC Social. Here, we coordinate schedules and activities for fun with our urbanist friends.
      • We continued our hiking, SWAG bike rides, and board game meetup event series.
  • Growth

So, what’s in store for 2026?

  • New Projects
    • We’ll be starting new projects and workshops, including some based on conversations we had as a collective at our October general meeting. Please reach out if you’d like to lead a project or workshop!
    • Our new Design Team plans to bring together design professionals and enthusiasts to reimagine buildings, vacant lots, and public spaces in Syracuse.
    • We’ve begun brainstorming ideas for a tentative Inter-Neighborhood Bike Race Festival.
    • Some of our upcoming workshops will include Political Canvassing, Urbanism in Extreme Weather, LinkedIn for Personal Branding, Advocacy and Activism 201: Collaborative Imagination, Bike Maintenance, Kayaking Part II, and Ballroom Dance. Check our calendar for details about events.
  • Continuing & Reimagining Existing Projects
    • In January, we’ll have a joint meeting for our Public Policy and Regional Planning teams. We’ll look to expand our efforts to develop policy proposals, work with public officials and other groups, and assign individuals to stay in the loop on various committees, departments, and projects at the city and county level.
    • We’ll be applying again to create a second project for the Community Streets Program.
    • We’ll start our third book for the Urbanist Book Club early in the year.
    • We’ll have more workshops, guest speakers, & social events.
    • We plan to share more updates on the I-81 Viaduct Project & Mini Meadows.
  • We’re looking to provide new ways to get involved, volunteer, and lead (both hands-on and at the computer)! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at contact@syracuseurbanism.org.

See you in 2026!