Previous Years’ Ideas

Did-You-Know Signs About Lowell

Idea:

Create a Did You Know sign campaign to show how zoning, tax, and parking regulations and laws shape the design of Lowell. For example – Did You Know smaller buildings with a mixture of uses in Cupples Square create more tax revenue per acre than big box stores on the edge of Lowell? Or – [Read more…]

Benefit:

Getting people to understand how land use policy affects development could start a dialogue to update our zoning laws and parking regulations for a better Lowell.
Location:

Citywide, OldIdea.

Free Creative Workshops

Idea:

Volunteers could offer to teach their special skills in workshops held in an underutilized space donated by the City or by a property owner. They could teach pottery, quilting, crocheting, painting, music, gardening, photography, etc. and it would be free to the public. The DIY Lowell project would be a pilot series of these classes.
Benefit:

There are many people that have wanted to learn a craft but never had the opportunity or the resources to do so. This would encourage people to be creative, to enjoy socializing with others with similar likes, to feel useful and to maybe set up a small home business. A [Read more…]

Location:

Don't Know, OldIdea.

Design a Better City Flag

Idea:

Host a community based, community judged design competition to come up with a better city flag for Lowell. While the current one has nice symbology and meaning, it is largely a sendup to the Lowell of the 1800’s. It features the seal (which was created in the 1800s) and was adopted in 1960. A more [Read more…]

Benefit:

A flag only starts life off as a flag. A flag that is really, truly embraced finds its way into other places. Public art, murals, signage, bumper stickers, event tattoos. To that end, it is important to design with that in mind. Judges should have perspective in art, design, business, [Read more…]

Location:

Citywide, OldIdea.

DIY Movie – A Pop-Up Film Production

Idea:

A movie production where everyone can participate! We set a date and write a short script for a five-minute film. We publicly advertise the date, and anyone who wants to take part comes that day and takes on roles of film production. Cameraman, director, actors, audience, stage crew, etc. We would make sure to have [Read more…]

Benefit:

Come together as community, people learn new skills in a fun way, activate and bring attention to an unused space, maybe be multilingual to reflect Lowell's diversity, and we have a five-minute video as a memento to share and promote Lowell's creativity.
Location:

Citywide, OldIdea.

Dog Day Afternoon

Idea:

An Afternoon dedicated to all Dogs. Dogs for Adoption will be the stars of the Day, and will be highlighted with Profiles on all Social media weeks leading up to the Event. There will be parade inside Mill No.5 to kick off the event with the Stars for adoption marching down the hall to the [Read more…]

Benefit:

Finding Forever Homes for Dogs. Educating the public on Rescue Dogs. Local artists and services vending to show their dog products and gaining more customers for their businesses.
Location:

Back Central, OldIdea.

Dog Park

Idea:

The current Lowell dog park is in a difficult-to-reach location and cannot permanently stay. We should research potential locations for a new dog park, and perhaps even do a day-long event in the space for dog owners and their dogs, serving drinks and food, to generate support for a new park. If a new dog [Read more…]

Benefit:

Make Lowell pet-friendly! The current Lowell dog park is in a distant location from downtown. Some homeless people have pitched a tent next to it as well, creating challenges for volunteers who clean the park. Currently we have to drive to Hudson or Andover to use their dog parks. We’d [Read more…]

Location:

Don't Know, OldIdea.