HEY! Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) is looking for a community development corporation, government agency, or non-profit organization that serves middle and high school students within the City of Cleveland to be our partner on a new initiative in our award-winning Making Our Own Space program.

Making Our Own Space (MOOS) is a design/build program where young people imagine, design, and build improvements to public spaces in their neighborhoods. The program was established in 2015 and currently operates in six Cleveland neighborhoods and two first-ring suburbs.

The CUDC’s new initiative, Making Our Own Space Rapid Response Team (MOOS-RRT) is an outgrowth and expansion of the original MOOS program.

MOOS-RRT is an 18-month enrichment program for middle and high school students who have an interest in design and the desire to be active changemakers in their neighborhood. MOOS Students will learn valuable skills and have fun while earning a stipend for their participation in the program.

Student participants will conduct research and develop design-based solutions to address issues in a Cleveland neighborhood, in collaboration with the staff of Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC), guest designers, and community leaders. The program is anticipated to run from August 2021 - November 2022.

Thanks to the generous support of The Cleveland Foundation, the CUDC will operate this program at no cost to the community partner we select through a Request for Proposals.

Proposals are due June 30, 2021.

For more information, please download the RFP or contact cudc@kent.edu.