Class of 2029
Cahokia Public Library District
The 2029 CODES cohort will partner with the Cahokia Public Library District to strategize innovative approaches to advocacy and outreach and assess equity in meeting the needs of the diverse community the library serves.
Libraries have always been crucial sites for information, but in the 21st century, they have become community hubs where people come together; public libraries offer social and civic services for their communities and fill equity gaps in communities for underfunded school districts. In a city like Cahokia Heights, the public library district must consider how best to serve the needs of a complex and diverse group of library patrons while facing a challenging funding landscape that often requires fast, creative thinking.
CODE Scholars will learn about the values and ethics of the profession from the American Library Association. Over the period of two years, the students will develop relationships with the Cahokia Public Library Director Mr. Devon Harris the Cahokia Public Library Programming Director and Ms. Arianna Norris-Landry. While the challenges of CPLD are emblematic of a greater global issue in valuing libraries, the needs of the people in Cahokia Heights are no doubt unique and plentiful. CODE scholars will help CPLD design frameworks to prioritize community needs using an equity lens and create assessments for programs and services. The teams of students can build upon Mr. Harris’ advocacy efforts to increase visitor counts through a social media campaign or marketing materials. Mr. Harris also wants to address the “hope divide,” the disconnection between the older generation who are passionate about the community and the younger generation. The goal for CODE Scholars is to support CPLD by increasing community engagement and participation across the city, and to design intergenerational programs to bridge the gap between older and younger generations.
The Full Cahokia Public Library District Description
City of Alton Child Friendly Cities Initiative
The 2029 cohort will partner with the City of Alton’s UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative to prioritize the needs of children and young people, combat discrimination, and advocate for child and youth voices in local governance and decision making.
Youth in Alton have high rates of mental health challenges and exposure to gun violence. According to Dr. Anne Scheer, a resident and advocate for youth, many children report not expecting to live to the age of 25. The cohorts working on this project will focus on youth personhood in two ways: increasing youth participation and voice in government and translating data about Alton’s children into a format that tells a story about the current experiences of students in this city. Over a two-year period, CODE Scholars will gain familiarity with research on rural mental health, child development, community building, trauma-informed practices, youth civic engagement models, and evidence-based intervention strategies. Scholars will work with Alton’s youth at the middle and high schools to learn more about what they would like to see change in their city to support their mental and physical health and help them to thrive.
As an outcome of their two year project, students will create a series of digital stories that address some of the primary issues raised by Alton’s youth. The goal is to support the City of Alton to increase civic engagement and participation across the city, and to transform data into meaningful and impactful formats.
The Full Child Friendly Cities Initiative Description
St. Louis Art Place Initiative
The 2029 cohort will partner with the St. Louis Art Place Initiative to honor and acknowledge untold stories of past residents through multimedia narratives and nurture collective engagement in the Gravois Park community.
This cohort will be working with the St. Louis Art Place Initiative (API), an organization that is revitalizing vacant parcels in St. Louis's Gravois Park neighborhood to provide affordable housing for artists while creating art and green spaces. API wants to increase knowledge of the neighborhood's history and link the legacies of historical residents with plans for the future. Gravois Park was once home to members of First Nations. In the nineteenth-century, Irish, Italian, German, Bohemian, Polish, Czech and other immigrant groups settled there. After World War I, the Great Migration brought Black families from the South to the neighborhood, bringing another wave of culture. Cherokee Street has been the heart of St. Louis's Latino population. Research teams may create installations, digital maps, or exhibits. By integrating art and historical awareness, API fosters a deeper sense of connection between the community’s past and its evolving future.
The Full St. Louis Art Place Initiative Description
The Wedge
The 2029 cohort will partner with The Wedge to create an asset map for the Riverbend area by utilizing state-of-the-art generative AI technologies. They will utilize AI at various stages of the project with an understanding and awareness of its ethical implications and consequences.
Asset mapping is the process of analyzing and visualizing how a community perceives its cultural assets, including physical spaces, activities, and people (such as artists, musicians, and poets). Such an understanding can be used to improve cultural and social dynamics as well as inform revitalization efforts throughout the community. In collaboration with the Wedge in Alton, Illinois, this project aims to create an asset map for the Riverbend area by utilizing state-of-the-art generative AI technologies. The project consists of the following main phases.
We aim to gain a critical understanding of how AI can be applied in community-oriented projects and answer the following questions: Can AI interpret cultural maps in the way humans do? What implications could this have for asset mapping? What kind of biases could AI inherit from human data and/or introduce to the data?
Our desire is that the results will be analyzed and critically examined to assess whether the asset map accurately represents the data and provides insights for future decision-making and strategic planning to aid in community planning, revitalization and economic growth. Revisions to the AI-generated map will be made as needed.
