Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the City of Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) a $2,693,160 Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) grant. The grant will help mitigate the barrier and impacts of Interstate 40 for seven historically African American and disinvested neighborhoods in North Memphis.

Because of the egregious conditions of the intersections and their significant neighborhood impacts, community-driven planning has been conducted over the last 5-10 years, and this planning grant builds on that foundation, with a focus on working out the design details and to prepare as much as possible for implementation. Important elements for consideration will include improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, reimagining perilous pedestrian bridges, and exploring measures to turn adjacent vacant lots into a network of environmentally beneficial green spaces with trails.