From the president
Benjamin Murphy, a second-year student at Colorado College, actively works on ways to shape development that is effective and also unites community and provides societal value. Recently he worked with a collegiate consulting consortium and El Paso County, Colorado, on ways to reimagine parking garages. While researching how the garages could meet the county's growth and support the needs of business owners, local governments, and the daily needs of citizens, he also explored ways these garages might unite the community in a time of intense political polarization. His research considered ways to increase efficiency, increase revenue growth, and catalyze growth in a historically blighted area and also looked at opportunities to transform parking garages into community spaces. While collaborating with students from area college, university, community college, and military academy institutions, Benjamin and his team proposed a parking-garage public mural project that highlights values and ideas that unite the community. He sees this work as the beginning of future projects focused on local community and larger national issues.
Personal Statement
Over the last few months, I have worked extensively to research, understand, and create best practices for the critical infrastructure of parking garages. Land use is at the center of many social issues, ranging from the lasting effects of redlining and the lack of development in certain parts of the city. My research and proposals that I presented to El Paso County as a consulting intern highlight how infrastructure can be used for the development of areas of blight while aiming to retain and support important members of the community, such as artists. A couple of proposals of mine include the creation of a public mural on a garage structure and creating events in a garage such as a drive-through art exhibit to support local artists. As a Business, Economics, and Society major, I hope to explore how business and economic growth can coexist with greater equality and benefit the greater good. My hope to make a bigger impact on both Colorado Springs and the nation revolves around the idea that business requires a larger purpose than just making a profit, and this purpose for me is minimizing the negative impacts of development.