COMMUNITY / NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION

* Neighborhood efforts to create community gardens and other green spaces from abandoned or contaminated land is often the first step in reclaiming and revitalizing urban neighborhoods.

Trust for Public Land. Background materials.

TPL's Banana Kelly project in the South Bronx was the first successful neighborhood improvement in a devastated community. Inspired by their success in turning a vacant, rubble-strewn lot into a thriving garden and park, a group of residents went on to sponsor a series of housing and community developemnt initiatives.

Knack, Ruth Eckdish. July 1994. "Dig These Gardens." Planning.

In July, 1994, Seattle's city council reviewed a draft of a new citywide comprehensive plan that officially encourages the creation of community gardens. Comprehensive planning was mandated in Washington in 1991 to manage growth in the state's largest cities and urbanizing counties. "Seattle's response was an 'urban village' strategy, aimed at creating denser, pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, with open space--including community gardens--as an armature. 'We are working with the idea that community gardens are essential public facilities', says Stephen Antupit, an urban designer in the city's planning department."

Fox, Tom. 1990. Urban Open Space: An Investment that Pays. The Neighborhood Open Space Coalition, New York, New York.

In 1974, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society created Philadelphia Green, its community gardening program.

"Over three years, Philadelphia Green invested about $332,800 in materials, staff, construction and labor, to help community residents plant 25 community gardens, 20 garden blocks and eight blocks of street trees. This investment was matched by thousands of hours of local volunteer labor and several more blocks of street trees were planted by the City of Philadelphia. With the active involvement of local residents, Philadelphia Green has improved North Philadelphia's streets, vacant lots, and backyards. The Greene Countrie Towne program has helped to stabilize and revitalize Francisville and three other low-income neighborhoods in North Philadelphia."

Littman, Margaret. May/June 1996. "Green City." The Neighborhood Works, v.19, no. 3.

"In Dayton, Ohio, the Grow With Your Neighbors program has helped low-income neighborhoods acquire, design, and construct community vegetable gardens on vacant lots, lowering their food costs by having greater access to fresh vegetables, says Lorka Munoz, program director."

Beardsley, John. "Into the Open." Landscape Architecture, v. 85 (10).

"Signs of Barcelona's rebirth are apparent in new housing, in new traffic arteries, in new parking facilities, and in the restoration of architectural treasures_... most notably those of Antonio Gaudi. But the most conspicuous transformation has been effected by the creation of more than 150 public open spaces_... spaces that include plazas, parks, playgrounds, and promenades as well as refurbished streetscapes."

"Barcelona's new public works demonstrate a commitment to both quality urban design and mixed-use development. The objective: to revitalize the neighborhoods that formed the basis of the city's traditional social structure." The new public spaces are "not concentrated in the ceremonial heart of the city but instead are scattered in an effort to disseminate the benefits. They often feature spacious paved areas for sports set off from equally large landscapes of grass, shrubs and trees intended for refuge or leisure. Some of the parks are situated in blue-collar neighborhoods where they provide a focus for renewed community life; others are prominent features of the central city."

"Barcelona has accumulated a debt on its infrastructure improvements -- including open space, transportation, and cultural facilities -- that amounts to approximately 1.3 times the city's annual income. But the payoff is considerable. Barcelona has the feel of a dynamic, healthy city with a public landscape equal to those of the other eminent cities of Europe. Rebuilding urban infrastructure is expensive, but well worth the expense if one believes that cities hold great hope for the future."

Boston Globe. June 8, 1996. "New Boston Garden."

"...(Boston Mayor) Menino can still see the forest for the trees. His 'broom to bloom' beautification efforts are part of an overall environmental plan for the city that covers the cleanup of contaminated lots, expansion of curbside recycling, urban wilds upkeep and a $40 million, four-year project to improve the appearance, traffic flow and pedestrian access along the city's major boulevards.

Menino has been rapped for lacking a big vision of the city. The city's 1996 environmental blueprint, however, looks ahead to open space acquisition, Emerald Necklace Improvements, a seaport plan that upgrades waterfront tourism and an expanded environmental strike team to stop illegal dumping."

"It's getting so that no Bostonian need be far from the respite of green space or park land. Today, city officials are scheduled to dedicate the $1.2 million Dudley Town Common at Blue Hill Avenue and Dudley Street in Roxbury, an area that will benefit greatly from the addition of tranquil places and newly opened businesses. By summer's end, work should be completed on Pagel Playground, along the barren stretch of Hyde Park Avenue once owned and largely neglected by the Metropolitan District Commission."

Chacon, Richard. June 9, 1996. "Dudley Area Celebrates Common Bond." Boston Globe.

Massachusetts Governor William Weld, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and other politicians and citizens gathered for the opening ceremony of the Dudley Town Common, Saturday, June 8, 1996.

"...the project cost $1.2 million in state and local funding and took three years to design and build."

"'The common is the gateway to this community,' said Gregory Watson, executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, which is designing economic development plans based on the concept of an urban village. The Dudley Town Common will also be a site for live theater, concerts, dances, and other events for surrounding communities."

"State dollars have built new transit stations at Dudley Square. And city funds, such as Menino's Blue Hill Avenue Initiative, have rebuilt parks, repaved streets and sidewalks, and created 50 housing units.

There is a revival going on in this community every day," Weld said. It's not just about capital dollars, but about building baseball fields and bus stations."

"City officials say that about $300,000 has been spent over the past five years on nearby parks and playgrounds. Menino added: Sometimes, a good park is as important as a good small business."

Rodriguez, Alicia. September 1996. "An Uncommon Common." Landscape Architecture.

"The Dudley Street section of Roxbury was a thriving working-class community until the 1960's when white flight, neglect from city hall, misguided 'urban-renewal' policies, arson, and redlining by banks left the neighborhood full of vacant buildings and trash-strewn lots. The neighborhood started to turn around in 1984 when the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), a resident-led, multiethnic neighborhood group, was formed."

DSNI approved a plan to develop their town common- before it was adopted by the city. The theme of the common was "a celebration of the cultural diversity of the neighborhood over the course of its 350-year history. With its almost entirely paved surface, south park was envisioned as a place for celebrations, gatherings, arts and performances, and festivals In contrast, north park, which is nearer to Dudley's residential streets, would be softer and more passive, a grassy oasis with plenty of seating where the historic aspects of the neighborhood would be emphasized."

"Formally dedicated on June 10, Dudley Town Common has already exerted a positive effect on the area. Surrounding businesses have spruced up their storefronts, and a full slate of performances and festivals has been scheduled. the common's most significant impact may be as a powerful symbol of neighborhood unity and accomplishment."

Lockwood, Charles. September 1996. "Urban Oasis: City Parks Reborn." Hemispheres.

"Ten years ago, midtown Manhattan's Bryant Park (behind the New York Public Library) was rundown, dangerous, and little used, except by vagrants and drug dealers. Today, Bryant Park is an internationally acclaimed model of how to reclaim neglected, crime-ridden city parks. After five years and $9 million of renovations, nine-acre Bryant Park now has attractive lawns and flower gardens, news and coffee stands, food pagodas, a restaurant, and hundreds of chairs set in random, movable groupings to encourage social interaction under the canopy of trees. More than 10,000 office workers and tourists flock to Bryant Park every day in good weather."

"Every year, more than 15 million people visit Manhattan's beloved Central Park."

"At the beginning of this decade, the handsomely terraced, Italian Renaissance- inspired Meridian Hill Park, located on 16th Street N.W., a little more than one mile north of the White House, was the dangerous, trash-strewn haunt of drug traffickers and muggers. Today, crime is down more than 90 percent and Meridian Hill is one of America's loveliest big-city parks, filled with sunbathers, joggers, musicians, giggling children on day-care-center outings, and tourists from all over the world."

Bookout, Lloyd W. May 1994. "A Road Map for Grass-Roots Revitalization in New Orleans." Urban Land.

"New Orleans's rich multicultural heritage was built around once-thriving neighborhoods that today are struggling for survival. The city promotes tourism, port development, and other revenue- and job-creating industries; but its quest for growth often lacks any thoughtful linkage to New Orleans's neighborhoods and its colorful past. Overlooking the neighborhoods threatens to dilute the benefits of economic development efforts.

This struggle between the past and the future is being played out in the Lower Garden District, one of the most extensive 19th-century Greek Revival neighborhoods remaining in the United States. Because of decades of neglect, disinvestment, and uncoordinated growth of tourism, much of the community's history is being lost to abandonment and demolition."

"Bringing about the revitalization of the Lower Garden District requires going beyond the bricks and mortar to address the social, economic, and physical problems that face the community. In the end, the efforts of the CRP (Community Resource Partnership) must aim at producing healthy people, not just healthy buildings. In this spirit, the panel identified nine principles that should be reflected in all future plans and actions undertaken by the CRP:"

"Strive to create a growing, fully integrated, mixed use community.

"Establish the Lower Garden District as a model for revitalization and economic development for other neighborhoods throughout New Orleans.

"Embrace a holistic approach to community planning

"Preserve and enhance the historic resources that are found throughout the community.

"Enhance and expand upon community amenities, especially access to the riverfront.

"Capitalize on existing street patterns to create linkages, remove barriers, and end the isolation experienced by some residents.

*** "Create a series of interconnected linear greenways around and throughout the community to enhance its garden image."

Page last updated 04/03/2000