Hundreds showed up to the third City Park master planning public meeting led by the landscape design firm Michael Van Valkenburgh.
This was a much larger turnout than the previous two meetings. Most attendees were there to express support for Grow Dat Youth Farm, an organization that has engaged teenagers for the last 12 years in the meaningful work of growing food.
Why were people so frustrated? Because they have felt unheard in the process. The second public meeting focused on circulation. In that meeting, three maps were unveiled that introduced a new road for vehicular traffic through the park. All three options went right through Grow Dat’s campus.
This information came as a shock to the organization. No one from City Park or MVVA had reached out to discuss how to meet the goals of circulation while preserving the campus. Instead, they simply laid out three options and requested feedback on which people liked best, never once acknowledging that all three options proposed eradicating the only space in City Park where young adults have an opportunity to develop leadership skills while growing food for their community.
This is not true public engagement; this is an example of the kind of planning that assumes there is a blank canvas to work from. However, City Park is not a blank canvas; it is a beloved public space with a significant and complicated history. The park is full of incredible community-serving institutions and organizations. As a city, these are our spaces. They hold our memories. They are not simply “programming;" they are community institutions that many people have worked hard to help thrive. The park’s process would benefit tremendously by ensuring that they are embedding these important places into their master plan as they design for the future.
JOHANNA GILLIGANÌý
founder, Grow Dat Youth Farm
