FutureVU is turning Vanderbilt’s Central Neighborhood, located between the E. Bronson Ingram Studio Arts Center and Branscomb Quadrangle, into a pop-up park April 2 through April 6. The park will be a space for community events and recreational activities throughout the week.
“These pop-up events are opportunities for us to come together as a community, preview future changes, spark discussion about how we can better utilize our space, test ideas out to see what works and doesn’t and have fun together,” Leigh Shoup, Chief of Staff to the Vice Chancellor for Administration, said.
Events will be spread out across the four days and are aimed at creating an interactive space for students. In a press release regarding the pop-up parks this past week, the university said that this will be the third in a series of pop-up events, the main focus of which is to activate outdoor campus spaces with community involvement and environmental sustainability.
“When we did the Kensington pop-up event, our goal was to bring awareness to future plans and provide an opportunity for fun. In the case of our Green Roof event, the purpose was to draw awareness to the green roofs on campus,” Shoup said. “So each pop-up is slightly different, but all are with the aim to align with the FutureVU principles.”
In addition to the programmed activities, the space will operate as a normal park and will include seating and areas for activities.
“Pop-ups are also a great opportunity to test ideas out in a non-permanent way,” Shoup said. “We can test out where to place furniture, as an example, to see how the community responds. It is a similar approach to how Times Square was transformed to a pedestrian-centric space, through testing and the concept of ‘tactical urbanism.’”
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Monday, April 2
4 pm: Free FutureVU tshirts for the first 200 visitors, free ice cream floats
Tuesday, April 3
7:15 am: Free breakfast on-the-go
5-5:30 pm: pound class hosted by the Vanderbilt Recreation and Wellness Center
Wednesday, April 4
12-12:45 pm: yoga on the lawn
1:30 pm: free s’mores from S’more Love Bakery
7 pm: movie night with Wonder Woman and a popcorn bar
Thursday, April 5
10:15-10:45 am: guided meditation with the Center for Student Wellbeing
12-2 pm: plant your own succulent
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