16-week experiment in 'tactical urbanism' starts in downtown Lafayette-West Lafayette

The first day of a 16-week experiment called Spark: Lafayette-West Lafayette will be Tuesday, in downtown Lafayette. West Lafayette will get its first taste on Thursday on South Street, near the corner of State Street and Northwestern Avenue in the Village area.

The project is a study in what’s called placemaking – or as Jim Walker, CEO of Big Car, puts it, “tactical urbanism.” The two cities hired Big Car Collaborative, an Indianapolis nonprofit, for $55,000 to put on the weekly events featuring artists, games, musicians and anything else that would drive foot traffic in the two downtown areas.

Spark: Lafayette-West Lafayette – similar to a project in 2015 at Indianapolis’ Monument Circle – will run through October, with one day a week on either side of the river.