College Students Bridge Two Chattanooga Centers With a Park

A stretch of green space sits between a bustling after-school center and a gathering place for older adults in downtown Chattanooga, but until now, the two centers rarely connected. Students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are changing that through hands-on community projects that bring neighbors together.

The Carver Community Center serves youth while Community Haven supports older adults just across the park. Despite being within walking distance, the two spaces have operated independently for years.

Through the UTC Honors College's Innovation Lab, students spent a semester observing, listening, and asking questions. Then they got to work designing real solutions that city leaders will hear about at a presentation in City Hall.

Dr. Jordan King, who teaches the course, says the focus is action. "Being able to go from all of these ideas to how do we actually do this on the ground," King explained.

One group noticed middle school girls at Carver who showed up daily but stayed on the sidelines. Elizabeth Lima and her teammates talked with staff and spent time with the kids to understand what was missing.

Now they're creating engagement programs specifically for those girls, plus a video showing them how to reach Community Haven. "They have different meetings with the kids in general, but we want to try to make it specifically for the girls so they have their own things to do," said Asha Lee, a junior from Chattanooga.

Another team tackled low attendance at Community Haven during the school year. George Edwards and his classmates designed a Shark Tank-style program where students develop business ideas and pitch them to local leaders.

The park itself needed attention too. Matthew Thomae's group found it underused and unsafe, with no crosswalk for people traveling between the centers.

They're working with the city to install a crosswalk, distance markers, and a bulletin board. Kids from Carver are building birdhouses that will become permanent park features, giving them ownership of the space they use.

The Ripple Effect

These projects do more than solve individual problems. They're weaving together different generations and creating pathways where barriers once stood.

Safety improvements mean seniors can visit the youth center and kids can access new programs. The Shark Tank initiative connects students with business mentors, and the girls' programs build confidence that reaches beyond the center walls.

By involving kids in building birdhouses and planning park features, the students are teaching young people they have power to shape their own community. That lesson will last far longer than any single program.

Three groups, one park, and a whole neighborhood learning that connection just takes someone willing to build the bridge.