This summer, 22 BIPOC youth use both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to Combat Displacement Along Blue Line Extension
Asian Media Access, MinneapolisACHIEVE and the Asian American Business Resilience Network work together to ensure that community voices shape the future of North Minneapolis’ Blue Line Extension project. With an intensive summer AR/VR training program at the North Minneapolis Workforce Center, 22 BIPOC young adults are using cutting-edge technology to preserve cultural identity while advocating for community-centered development.
Transforming Planning Through Cultural Storytelling
The cohort’s mission extends far beyond technical training. Participants have mastered diverse AR/VR platforms to create powerful 3D models of North Minneapolis cultural facilities along the proposed Blue Line route. These aren’t merely digital representations – they’re immersive experiences that capture the heart and soul of community institutions, complete with QR codes that provide rich cultural and historical context. By making abstract planning concepts tangible and experiential, these young advocates are bridging the critical gap between community knowledge and policy implementation.
The program represents an innovative model for integrated community development, demonstrating how major transit infrastructure planning can actively promote community health while preserving neighborhood character. Rather than allowing development to proceed without community input, this approach centers youth voices and cultural experiences as essential elements in shaping North Minneapolis’s future.
Poetry Meets Technology in Community Advocacy
Four participants earned recognition for their collaborative project showcasing NorthPoint Health and Wellness as a community anchor, surrounded by complementary institutions including a church, a school, and a restaurant. Their work demonstrates the interconnected nature of Northside culture through both visual 3D renderings and original poetry. Their collective poem “Northern Threads Seeds of Food” weaves together themes of diversity, sustenance, and community growth:
Leo opens with unity: “Different tongues and dreams we share, with open hands and thoughtful care.” Brian celebrates cultural food traditions: “Each dish is a story, bold and true, a taste of roots that hold us fast.” Khadar emphasizes community support: “Within these walls, hope is served warm, reminding us all that no one stands alone.” Teng concludes with growth and care: “The harvest comes not just in food, but in the care of what we need.”
Amplifying Cultural Identity Through Virtual Spaces
Individual projects showcase the program’s depth and personal impact. Ayuub Yusuf created a powerful tribute to his own cultural heritage – Al-Ma’uun Community Center, describing it as “more than just a building — it’s a living testament to compassion and community.” His work emphasizes how the center embodies the ideal of serving and uplifting the surrounding community, “leaving the community better than the state it was found in.”
Another trainee – Esther Allebach’s poem “North Minneapolis on a Plate” captures the neighborhood’s rich culinary landscape, from “ribs kissed by hickory” to “pho steaming bowls on a winter-worn morn.” Her verses celebrate how food traditions travel “through memory’s flame” and create “a culture of flavor that makes us whole.”
A Framework for Community-Driven Development
As the Blue Line Extension moves toward implementation, this AR/VR cohort provides both specific recommendations for coordinated development and a replicable framework for meaningful community engagement. The upcoming AR exhibition at Sept 6th Broadway Open Street will serve as a powerful advocacy tool, ensuring that community voices remain central to decisions that will shape North Minneapolis for generations.
By focusing on food accessibility, active transportation, and cultural preservation, these young technologists prove that community development can strengthen rather than displace existing cultural assets, creating a model for equitable growth throughout the Twin Cities.
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Youth’s Poems:
Northern Threads Seeds of Food
Stanza 1: Leo
Different tongues and dreams we share,
With open hands and thoughtful care.
Side by side, we build and grow—
A richer & greener field than we could ever know.
Stanza 2: Brian
From garden beds to kitchen flame,
The harvest finds a home at last.
Each dish is a story, bold and true,
A taste of roots that hold us fast.
Stanza 3: Khadar
Within these walls, hope is served warm,
Reminding us all that no one stands alone.
It takes its time, this growing art—
But feeds the hands, and fills the heart.
Stanza 4: Teng
As you tend each stem and bed,
You grow with every leaf you’ve led.
The harvest comes not just in food,
But in the care of what we need.
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North Minneapolis on a Plate
By Esther Allebach
On Broadway, smoke rises slow and sweet,
from ribs kissed by hickory, brisket steeped in heat.
Fried catfish crackles, golden and proud,
voices and laughter weave through the crowd.
Soul food kitchens with doors open wide,
greens simmered long, cornbread on the side.
Tamales wrapped tight in whispers of corn,
pho steaming bowls on a winter-worn morn.
Food trucks hum by the painted walls,
hot wings and tacos where the music calls.
From Juneteenth feasts to block party nights,
plates piled high glow under streetlights.
Here, recipes travel through memory’s flame,
a grandmother’s hands, a father’s name.
Every spice tells a story, every bite sings—
North Minneapolis feeds more than our wings.
It feeds the roots, the rhythm, the soul,
a culture of flavor that makes us whole.
