Blue U was selected to speak at the Rail-Volution National Transportation Conference that was hosted in Denver, Colorado. The presentation focused on educating conference attendees on the mission of Blue U, how it was developed, and the impact it has had on communities and the Blue Line Light Rail Transit project. Many local projects serve as a great opportunity to raise awareness of future development and provide school-age citizens the opportunity to be more fully engaged in the civic life of their communities. Students are not likely to participate in traditional open house formats, so Kimley-Horn started implementing school outreach activities along with more traditional outreach efforts. By bringing outreach into their schools and meeting students “where they are at,” we empower students by giving them a voice. In return, we get the chance to use their feedback to better honor and reflect the community as a whole. The presentation encouraged other national firms and organizations to consider building school outreach programs to promote STEM and help build up future transit planners, engineers, architects, and construction staff.
