Sustainability at PSU

Placemaking Spark Award

picture of a mural painted on a street

Placemaking SPARK AWARD

Ignite your impact!

The Portland State University Planning & Sustainability Office has an awards program to fund the boldest, most creative, and community-centered placemaking ideas on campus. Projects can be awarded up to $2,500 each, covering a range of expenses to bring your placemaking initiative to life. The Spark Award is designed to empower students and faculty to lead high-impact, "low-barrier" interventions that make PSU a place where people want to stay, show up, and belong. The Planning & Sustainability Office is here to streamline PSU processes and get projects from ideation to reality.

Suggested Project Focus Areas:

The 18-Hour Neighborhood: Making campus feel like a destination after dark

Breezeways & Plazas: Fresh takes on activating our urban nodes (like Montgomery or Urban Plaza)

District Building: Projects that honor indigenous storytelling or cultural heritage

Student-Led Activations: DIY interventions, "messy" art, or pop-up hubs that build identity

What Can You Create?

Whether it’s a temporary installation, a performance series, a sculptural bench, or a new mural; if it sparks joy and fosters a sense of pride in our urban environment, we want to fund it.

Why Apply?

Funding: Receive up to $2,500 to bring your project to life

Experience: Gain tangible project management and experience design skills

Exposure: Showcase your work at the 2027 Placemakers Exchange in front of The PSU Community, Alumni, and City leaders

picture of a wand with a green start and the words "spark awards"

GUIDELINES

Please take a moment to review the guidelines before starting your application. Have questions or want to share an initial idea? Reach out anytime. We're here to help you with the details!

GUIDELINES

APPLICATION FORM

Once you have reviewed the guidelines and are ready to proceed, please complete the application form. We review all applications in batches according to the deadline schedule below:

Summer:        June 21, 2026

Fall/Winter:   TBD

Spring:           TBD

APPLICATION FORM about this content

CONTACT US

Wondering if your project is a good fit?  We value progress over perfection. Even if your idea is still in the early stages, feel free to reach out. We're here to help you clear the hurdles and navigate the details. 

Email:     planpsu@pdx.edu

Phone:   503-725-9851

Physical Address:  

PSU
RMNC
1600 SW 4th, Suite 340
Portland, OR 97201

AWARD Recipients

Indigenous Traditional Ecological & Cultural Knowledge (ITECK)

The ITECK Program partnered with United Indigenous Students in Higher Education (UISHE) to host their Annual Salmon Bake that served as both a cultural celebration and a mentorship opportunity guided by the Bruno family.

This collaborative event brought together Native and non-Native students, staff, and community members to the Oak Savanna for a traditional salmon bake. The Bruno family are longtime partners who bring this event to life with their traditional salmon keeper knowledge.

Centered around the roasting of tribally caught salmon over an open flame, this gathering honored the salmon as a vital animal relative that sustains the culture, ceremony, and continuance of local Indigenous Peoples.

Salmon Bake at Oak Savanna was celebrated on April 30th, 2026

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Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Association/Neuroscience Club

This collaborative five-day project transformed the ceiling of the 3rd floor Skybridge outside Cramer Hall into a hand-painted mural inspired by the neurological drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. 

The club hosted an event with NW Noggin celebrating the mural. The event featured activities where participants could hold a human brain. 

The mural now serves as a unifying campus landmark that celebrates interdisciplinary exchange and collaborative discovery.

Neural Mural event was celebrated on April 19, 2026

Hosted by the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Association and NW Noggin

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