Projects to help create a gym under The Underline, a pop-up park along Biscayne Boulevard and a user testing group for local government technology all received funding as part of the Knight Cities Challenge.The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation on Tuesday announced the 37 winners of the second annual Knight Cities Challenge, a national call for ideas to make the 26 communities where Knight invests more vibrant places to live and work. Three of the winners are from Miami-Dade and one is from Palm Beach County.Open to innovators of all types, the Knight Cities Challenge asked applicants to answer the question: What’s your best idea to make cities more successful? More than 4,500 applicants from across the country applied and 16 South Florida finalists were announced in January. Submissions came from many nonprofit and government organizations, as well as design experts, urban planning organizations and individuals.In Miami, The Underline project, a proposed 10-mile linear park under the Miami-Dade Metrorail from Brickell to Dadeland, received $250,000. Submitted by Meg Daly and the Brickell Backyard Friends of the Underline, the plan for the Knight Cities funding is to create a sports field and gym as part of the Underline to provide quality-of-life incentives to young adults. The Underline also recently received a $2 million grant in the state budget, bringing total funding to about $7 million. That’s enough to begin construction on the first phase of the project, which could start next year, Daly said in March.Read more here
