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An resolution requesting that the Tennessee General Assembly authorize the naming of the Woodlawn Avenue bridge over Interstate 440 as the "Jan Bushing Bridge."
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WHEREAS, Jan Bushing has been a passionate advocate for the Hillsboro-West End neighborhood for many decades, working tirelessly to promote and restore the neighborhood's unique character, history and vitality; and
WHEREAS, as far back as the 1970s, Jan was a key figure in the neighborhood's resurgence. An original founder of the Hillsboro-West End Neighborhood Association in 1975 and its first president, Jan led efforts to encourage Vanderbilt University to invest in the neighborhood. At the time, the neighborhood was redlined by banks, who would only offer mortgages to potential homebuyers at wildly inflated rates. At the urging of Jan and other neighborhood leaders, Vanderbilt began offering lower interest rates to its employees as incentive to buy and renovate historic homes near campus; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Bushing worked with leaders across Nashville to revitalize the city more broadly. While chairing the Nashville Neighborhood Reinvestment Council in the late 1970s, she brought together older neighborhoods across the city to persuade banks to invest in previously redlined areas. Following her appointment to the Metro Planning Commission in the 1970s, she served as its chair for sixteen years. In 1980, Jan authored a booklet, "Fifteen Nashville Neighborhoods," that sought to give local real estate agents a better sense of typical homes in different areas of the city; and
WHEREAS, Jan devoted her professional life to working on behalf of the people of Tennessee, especially its children. In 1986, Jan successfully ran for and won a seat in the 95th Tennessee State General Assembly. She served as Representative for District 56 for two years. She worked for many years as the director of school-based services for the Tennessee Department of Education. In that role, she led efforts to...
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