This post is sponsored by Ride Illinois.
This week, the folks behind eight community-led arts projects near transit got some great news news. Elevated Chicago, which promotes equitable transit-oriented development, and the MacArthur Foundation announced the three year program providing $340,000 in contributions to help these initiatives get rolling.
A press release for the grants lauded the donations as “recognizing arts and culture as critical drivers of neighborhood identity, economic vitality, and inclusive development. “It added, “By activating spaces connected to public transportation, these projects increase foot traffic for local businesses, amplify community voice, and help ensure that development strengthens – rather than displaces – local culture.”
“These grants recognize culture as a driver of equitable development,” stated Elevated Chicago Executive Director Juan Sebastian Arias. “By investing in artists and community-led projects near transit, we’re strengthening local economies, building shared power, and shaping neighborhoods where culture, opportunity, and belonging can thrive.”
One of the eight grantees whose mission has much in common with Streetsblog Chicago’s goals is the mobility justice nonprofit Equiticity. It’s receiving $50,000 to create programming in three vacant lots practically across the street from Pulaski Station, at 2107, 2109, and 2111 S. Pulaski Rd. in North Lawndale.
City Hall has granted Equiticity site control of the city-owned lots. The new activity space, dubbed One Lawndale Movement Plaza, will be near the future site of the group’s Go Hub community mobility center, which has not been announced yet.
“Centered on youth-led programming, community design workshops, and a public sculpture installation, the [plaza] project bridges North and South Lawndale [aka Little Village] while amplifying neighborhood culture and signaling future investment,” the news release states.
Equiticity describes the Go Hub as “a physical and digital space where neighborhood residents create community around mobility justice and environmental justice.” They add, “Explicitly designed to increase mobility in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods experiencing severe transportation inequities, the Go Hub will be reflective of both the transportation needs and cultural identity of the North Lawndale neighborhood.”
The facility will feature loaner e-bikes, e-scooters, and shared electric vehicles. Equiticity says center will also offer, “transportation information, travel training, and incentives, based on needs and preferences of both members of The Go Hub and North Lawndale residents.”
Equiticity Executive Director Oboi Reed provided an update on what’s going on with getting the Go Hub off the ground. Currently it has funding for predevelopment costs from The Chicago Community Trust foundation (a former Streetsblog Chicago funder) and The Greenlining Institute.
Reed said building the Go Hub is projected to cost $12 million. His organization plans to launch a capital campaign in the next few months to start raising that cash.
“The $50,000 grant from Elevated Chicago and the MacArthur Fund is great because it will allow us to activate lots that are currently unused,” Reed said. “That will let us tell the story of the upcoming Go Hub and the importance of transit.”
Learn more about the Go Hub community mobility center here.
Below is a full list of the other grantees, with language from the press release. For more info, visit www.elevatedchicago.org.
- OH Art Foundation (Bridgeport) — $30,000OH Art Foundation will lead the 2026 Festivals of the Cultural Arts, three month-long celebrations honoring Black, Asian Pacific American, and Hispanic heritage along the Morgan Street corridor. In partnership with Zhou B. Gallery, artists, and local businesses, the festivals will feature exhibitions, pop-ups, workshops, and performances that activate storefronts, strengthen cross-cultural relationships, and generate economic benefit.
- One Aim High LLC (Bronzeville) — $10,000One Aim High will activate a shared garden space through Sip, Paint & Garden, a series of wellness-centered, arts-based community gatherings. Residents will co-create gardens, murals, painted planters, and communal artworks inspired by nature and storytelling. Led by local entrepreneurs, artists, and restaurants, the project builds leadership, connection, and economic opportunity.
- Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (Avondale & Humboldt Park) — $50,000Puerto Rican Arts Alliance will implement Puerto Rican Cultural Corridor: Murals, Music & Marketplaces, a two-year initiative activating public spaces near CTA stations in Avondale and Humboldt Park. Through art installations, performances, markets, and digital storytelling, the project preserves cultural identity while increasing visibility and economic opportunity for Puerto Rican artists and small businesses.
- Quad Communities Development Corporation (Bronzeville) — $50,000QCDC will launch the Bronzeville Commercial Corridors Public Art Initiative along 43rd and 47th Streets. Working with community stakeholders, the project will deliver up to 10 public art installations and cultural activations that transform underutilized spaces, elevate local history, and increase positive activity and foot traffic.
- Root2Fruit Youth Foundation (Austin) — $50,000Root2Fruit Youth Foundation will engage residents in shaping the Austin Artisan Market through site activation, public art, and community-driven programming. The project empowers community members to influence their built environment while protecting and amplifying local culture and creating new economic opportunities for neighborhood artists and entrepreneurs.
- Southeast Chamber of Commerce (Grand Crossing) — $50,000The Southeast Chamber of Commerce will commission a Black and Brown Unity mural in a 79th Street parklet, designed through community-led engagement. The project transforms a public space into a shared symbol of pride, belonging, and cultural solidarity while encouraging long-term community stewardship.
- The Kehrein Center for the Arts Foundation (Austin & Washington Park) — $50,000KCAF will lead Love is on the (Green) Line, a cross-community cultural activation and narrative-change initiative connecting Austin and Washington Park. Through performances, workshops, painting, and storytelling, the project activates commercial corridors and CTA stations along the Green Line while fostering cohesion and advancing a shared narrative of peace, love, and abundance.
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– John Greenfield, editor