Projects

Teams of students from CT State Community College Capital and Trinity College have completed over thirty projects with community partners in the Liberal Arts Action Lab.

Fall 2025 Projects:

• Housing Equity Project with CT Tenants Union and Connecticut Fair Housing Center: The Connecticut Tenants Union and the Connecticut Fair Housing Center are dedicated to ensuring fair housing by combating discrimination, offering free legal services, and educating residents about their rights. How can the history of tenant organizing in Connecticut inform current efforts? Help research past tenant movements, including rent strikes, collective bargaining, and campaigns for rent stabilization and fair rent commissions, through archival research and oral history interviews. Your work will contribute to an archive that supports current tenant union organizing across the state.
• Transportation Equity and Parking Justice Project with Advocacy to Legacy, Inc.: The Hartford Parking Authority (HPA) regulates parking in the city, but its fines, fees, and penalties have raised concerns about their economic, mental health, and safety impacts on residents. How can these practices be made more equitable? Help research the HPA’s authority, ticket issuance trends, demographic data of ticket recipients, revenue generation, and the broader impact on Hartford residents. Your research will support local advocacy efforts and contribute to state and national initiatives aimed at eliminating driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines, ensuring fair policies for Hartford residents.
• Inclusive Community Cinema Project with Cinestudio: Trinity’s Cinestudio is dedicated to fostering a deeper appreciation for the art of film and creating a vibrant community space that encourages dialogue, education, and engagement.  How can Cinestudio become a more inclusive community space for Hartford residents near Trinity’s campus?  Help research barriers to participation and identify strategies and best practices for inclusive community theaters.

Current Spring 2025 Projects:

• Affordable Senior Housing Project with The Maple Avenue Revitalization Group (MARG): The Maple Avenue Revitalization Group (MARG) has observed a shortage of subsidized housing options for older adults in Hartford, forcing seniors to relocate outside of their longtime community to find housing they can afford.  This project aims to assess the current landscape of affordable senior housing in Hartford, and gather insights from seniors on their housing needs. Research the need and make policy recommendations to advocate for increased senior or multigenerational housing, ensuring seniors can remain connected to their community.
• Hartford Environmental Justice Advocacy Project with Center for Leadership and Justice (CLJ): For 40 years prior to 2023, a large incinerator plant burned the trash of over seventy Connecticut towns in the South End neighborhood of Hartford.  The incineration emitted toxic pollutants associated with asthma, cancer, and other health issues in the neighborhood, and residents successfully advocated for the closure of the plant in 2023.  Unfortunately, a plan to reopen the plant is being considered.  Work with the Center for Leadership and Justice to research residents’ experiences with the former MIRA plant and its environmental impact, and advocate for the centering of community voices in the future of the site.