PRACTICES OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
CASE STUDY PROJECTS
Columbia GSAPP Practices of Community Engagement Seminar Fall Semester 2021 | Kaja Kühl
INTRODUCTION Stakeholder Engagement or Participatory Planning have become an integral part of any democratic urban design and planning process. Yet what it means to participate, or how to ensure meaningful and inclusive community engagement; what in fact defines “community” are constant challenges for those who seek to engage ever since Sherry Arnstein’s seminal article “A Ladder of Citizen Participation” in 1969. The concept of “engaging” citizens or users in architecture, planning and urban design emerged in the 1960s out of a critique of rational planning practices as undemocratic and unresponsive to citizen needs. Arnstein described the objective for public engagement as “The redistribution of power from the “power holders” to the “have-nots.” Yet, more than 50 years of experimenting with such redistribution, have yielded mixed results and practices of engagement range from legal requirements for public hearings, where community members have a chance to raise concerns or protest to co-creative urban development processes, where designers and citizens contribute their respective expertise as partners.
TABLE OF CONTENTS The Adda Experiment........................................ 5 Starr Whitehouse’s State Park...................................... 27 Haus Der Statistik...................................... 47 Greening Bourj Al Shamali...................................... 67 Staten Island MERC...................................... 87 East Side Coastal Resiliency Plan.................................... 109 Grow Iverson.................................... 131 The Kibera Public Space Project.................................... 153 Rapido Post-Disaster housing.................................... 175 Park(ing) Day.................................... 197 LA Más: Backyard Housing Project.................................... 217 Community Boards In New York City.................................... 239 KotaKita Karimunjawa.................................... 259 Living Breakwaters.................................... 275 Theatre Of The Oppressed.................................... 295 The Makoko Sustainable Regeneration Plan.................................... 333 Sweet Water Foundation.................................... 355 Gowanus Lowland.................................... 377 A Summer Place in the South Bronx.................................... 421
THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 7
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED
8 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
•
There is an enormous gap between the ideologies of government agencies in the country’s capital and the visions that young designers and architects have for their cities. It is even more challenging as it demands a shift in the power distribution/positions/ structure.
•
It is important to involve equally and democratically public authorities and citizens in a bottom up co-production process.
•
Public space policies in fast-growing and resource-scarce cities should prioritise pursuing public space’s inequity-reduction potential by concentrating on the city’s leastequipped communities by including them in the process of city planning.
•
Well-designed public spaces will improve the quality of life in a community by supporting a higher density of events, uses, and users & have the potential to become a powerful symbol of public participation, citizenship & other upgrading interventions.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 9
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
PURPOSE
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The Adda Experiment is a social initiative that aims playfully utilize and reclaim the forgotten or avoided spaces of informal settlements to encourage a far-reaching living experience with the resources available.
India’s levels of urban happiness have been declining over the last five years, in congruence to the poor ranking in the Human Development Index. These issues can be traced to have roots in India’s deeper problems such as poverty and migration with adverse effects on the child population as well. In several cities, over 40% of the population lives in a degraded environment, which makes up less than 10% of the city’s area. While a majority of the urban population today is provided with an ideal combination of ‘live’ and ‘play’ and ‘learn,’ that is noticeably missing in the lives of the urban poor. The harsh reality is that more than 20% of the Indian population does not have access to simple public spaces and no consideration towards recreational activities. While there is an oversupply of private-public space and spacerelated amenities in the wealthiest neighborhoods, that is lacking in informal settlements.
10 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
It aims to redefine and amalgamate the concept of play spaces and public spaces and breathe much-needed life into everyday physical spaces and daily routines. This includes isolated corners, open spaces in slums and leftover spaces beneath underpasses or along streets. - It is not only about the physical idea of a ‘play zone’ but a wholesome space for the community. - Where there is play there is additionally wellbeing, drawing in more “eyes in the city” and social attachment that deflects wrongdoing. - Inexpensive yet potentially transformational strategy to create a “sense of place” in a community. - When everyday spaces in communities are activated, enhances the physical character and identity of a place along with the lives of the families living there.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 11
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT Informal settlements represent a long-running deadlock between the occupants and the landowners and are complex yet integral to the urbanization process. Like anybody else, they must also be given the opportunity to aspire, to add value to their public and private living spaces, and to assimilate. However, often, the very marginalized groups do not have a voice and identity, which has implications for the quality of their life and livelihoods and the city at large.
Although public spaces in such settlements have their limitations and opportunities, space is of the essence and its functionality differs from the public spaces in developed cities. In contrast to clearly developed zones or land uses, they appear to be multi-layered, multi-dimensional entities. They support transport, water supply, electricity, drainage, street lighting, sites for informal trade, centers of religious and cultural exchange, recreation, and social interaction. Due to the absence of space that meets residents’ economic, communal, and recreational needs, slum conditions worsen, leading to illegal encroachment into privatized spaces.
One of the targets of the Declaration of the UN’s Millennium Assembly is making public spaces available in informal settlements and endow them with those facilities and services that most slum dwellers cannot create, manage and enjoy on an individual basis: sports areas and playgrounds, water and sanitation, health centers, schools, civic centers and places of worship.
12 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 13
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES Placemaking is a collaborative approach and can only be successful with the involvement of diverse stakeholders, including communities, experts and governmental bodies at varying stages of the process from inception, consultation and implementation, to evaluation. Through the project, the team at adda was able to develop meaningful relationships with the community while attempting to blur the invisible barriers, and creating interactive community spaces. The project was self funded along with support from private charitable organisations working in Delhi. The initial steps involved acquiring approval to execute the project on government land owned by Delhi Develpoment Authority, followed by support from the Member of the legislative assembly representing Mehrauli constituency.
14 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 15
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT
Toolkit used for workshops as part of the main bhi dilli campaign
Most participants were members of the community living at Bandhu camp, Delhi, India. The neighbourhood consists of over 5000 people or 900 + families who have been residing there for over 12 years. While all family members were interviewed at different stages, a large focus was on the children and women of the community who use the open unused spaces near their homes. In order to gain their trust, the team had to conduct various community engagement modules to better understand their needs. While the children were happy to share their thoughts, the adults were apprehensive at first. As slum dwellers are at a high risk of displacement, it requried the project team to be patient and sensitive towards the needs of the community. Various methods of engagement were involved. The larger idea aimed at inculcating the community about their rights to the city and encouraging them to use and protect their neighbourhood. Through the process of tactical urbanism, the aim was to educate the community to make their neighbourhood safe, inviting and playful.
Community engagement workshop with children of Bandhu camp, Delhi, India
16 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 17
18 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 19
METHODS & TOOLS USED
Pinwheel Game
For the community engagement programs, a game was designed called, ‘Spin the Wheels’ to learn more about the daily lives of children and adults. The outer wheel comprised of fun categories whereas the inner wheel posed questions about their friends and family (Yaridosti), nearby neighborhoods (Ados pados) and their own lives (Mann ki baat). The interactive survey intended to make sure the children and adults were comfortable sharing information about their living experiences. The team realized that such places act as an extension of various household activities such as washing, cooking, and sleeping allowing for informal encounters. While speaking to the community, the team also learned about the absence of child-friendly spaces, the hardships of living in a 10ft-by-10ft room leaving no space to unwind. Some also confirmed about the growing garbage dumps around their living zones making it unsafe for their children to play outside. Throughout our interactions, it was evident that most of the ‘play’ for all age groups happened on the streets and
informal open spaces of the community than in the homes or formal parks, which reinforced the need to create new, more imaginative public space solutions for all age groups. Through these interactions, many sketches were drawn on site based on the ideas and suggestions given by the community during interactive discussions. Other methods of communication included online learning through phone calls.
Interactive visual aids
20 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 21
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION
educating the people of every step in the process, while also keeping them informed of the next steps, they were more involved and committed towards the success of the project.
Based on the research and community discussions, the information gathered probed the need for a social space in the confined spaces of the community. The women residing there highlighted the lack of seating spaces as well as safe spaces to leave their children while they go to work. The children also highlighted the lack of play zones in their settlement, specially around the government school which was within the bounds of the neighbourhood. Despite maintaining a small park within its site area, it was inaccesible by the community children as the park was locked all through the year.The men of the community also brought attention to the alleyways of the settlement that were too narrow to conduct large gatherings or meetings involving large groups of people. The execution of the project was a interactive one, which inculcated ownership in the community. By
22 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 23
‘LADDER OF PARTICIPATION’
SUSTAIN collective ownership
CO-CREATE Ensure community is part of the execution process to bring a sense of collective ownership
COLLABORATE Encourage community to play a leadership role in implementation of decisions
INVOLVE Ensure community needs & assets are integrated into process and inform planning
CONSULT/ CONSUME Gather input from the community
24 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 25
REFERENCES 1: HABITAT.:. home: NEWS: UN-HABITAT and Nairobi City county launch PILOT public space project. (2014). Retrieved May 03, 2021, from https://mirror.unhabitat.org/content. asp?cid=12920&catid=9&typeid=6 2: United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). (2014). The “Global Public Space Toolkit.” https://urbangateway.org/sites/default/ ugfiles/Global_Toolkit_for_Public_Space.pdf 3: https://thecityfix.com/blog/public-spaces10-principles-for-connecting-people-and-thestreets-priscila-pacheco/ 4: Cantada, I. C. (2015, July 24). Public Spaces as Catalyst for Slum Upgrading. World Bank Blogs. https://blogs.worldbank.org/ endpovertyinsouthasia/public-spaces-catalystslum-upgrading#:~:text=Public%20spaces%20 in%20developing%20countries,defined%20 zones%20or%20land%20uses.&text=Over%20 time%2C%20slums%20should%20 b e , s t re e t s % 2 C % 2 0 s e r v i c e s % 2 0 a n d % 2 0 public%20spaces
26 | THE ADDA EXPERIMENT
5: UN Habitat, Public space programme, & The centre for the Future of places. (2020, January). City-Wide Public Space Strategies: a Guidebook for City Leaders. https://unhabitat. o rg / s i t e s / d e f a u l t / f i l e s / 2 0 2 0 / 0 3 / c w p s s _ guidebook_20200116.pdf 6. https://tradingeconomics.com/ india/population-living-in-slumspercent-of-urban-population-wb-data. html#:~:text=Population%20living%20in%20 slums%20(%25,compiled%20from%20 officially%20recognized%20sources 7. Brookings. (2021, May 6). Re-emerging from COVID-19: Why children and cities need play now more than ever [Video]. Youtube. https:// www.brookings.edu/events/re-emerging-fromcovid-19-why-children-and-cities-need-playnow-more-than-ever/ 8. Bratel, J. B. (2011, March 10). Why do slums need open spaces? CoLab Radio. http:// colabradio.mit.edu/why-do-slums-need-openspaces/
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Riya Chadha | 27
STARR WHITEHOUSE’S STATE PARK
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 29
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED •
The quarantine caused by the COVID-19 has result in new appreciation for outdoor public space and the public’s opinion has become more important, who become increasingly distrust the traditional top-down way of planning.
•
The process of community engagement is not only about keeping the public informed about the government’s decision, but the knowledge of the public can also help the designers to come up with a plan that suits the need of surrounding community.
•
Community-led design can even cost less since casting a wide net and allowing the public to feel more involved often leads to consensus can save clients and architects a lot of extra work instead of spending time, energy and resources backtracking to communicate reasoning behind top-down designs for public spaces.
•
A truly inclusive public process is premised on bringing together multiple constituencies who don’t necessarily agree on everything, and working to unit them around a common, tangible goal and shared vision.
https://studiotilt.com/2014/10/21/codesign-workshop-victoria-albert-museum/
30 | STARR WHITE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 31
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Anable Basin, the waterfront site that Amazon had sited for HQ2. (Courtesy the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)
Spiking distrust can be seen in top-down planning due todue to recent controversies such as East River Park, the Sunset Park rezoning, and the Amazon Long Island City deal. Even more recently, this was seen in the Stop the Plastic Park movement, which emerged in Brooklyn in response to the proposed redesign of what was formerly known as East River State Park in Williamsburg, undertaken to reflect the state’s historic decision to rededicate the park to Marsha P. Johnson, a prominent LGBTQ+ advocate and forebear of the transgender rights movement.The backlash was not against the rededication itself but rather was focused on the addition of a large thermoplastic mural celebrating the namesake. The material controversy became a microcosm of the sentiment that the community was not adequately consulted in the design process. In response, NYS Parks hired Starr Whitehouse to lead an inclusive public design process in order to balance the respectful commemoration of Johnson’s esteemed legacy while also fulfilling local resident’s longstanding dream for an open waterfront green space.
https://stoptheplasticpark.org/
32 | STARR WHITE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 33
BACKGROUND HISTORY CONTEXT Marsha P. Johnson State Park is a seven-acre waterfront park located along the East River in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. It offers visitors a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline, a delightful play area, and the green space provides many opportunities for recreation and relaxation. As the site of a 19th century shipping dock, visitors to East River may also discover unique historical remnants like old cobblestone streets and railroad tracks embedded in concrete. Historic interpretive signs are provided for your convenience. The park preserves and protects the many natural and historical resources along this beautiful city waterfront. The park is free and open to the public.
The challenge of building consensus around a single shared vision in any public project is complex and this particular case had its own unique challenges. The community involved was not simply limited to residents of the surrounding area (as seen in surveys returned from zip codes all over Manhattan): advocates, state officials, Smorgasburg vendors, Johnson’s family, and transgender leaders of color all have visions and personal connections to the space. As Michael Haggerty, Senior Associate at Starr Whitehouse added, even within these groups, opinions were not monolithic and individuals’ desired outcomes were diverse.
On February 1, 2020, the park was renamed in honor of Marsha P Johnson, a transgender woman of color who was a pioneer of the LGBTQ civil rights movement and a prominent figure in the Stonewall Uprising.
Location and site map od the Marsha P. Johnson State Park, https://www.tripsavvy.com/a-visitors-guide-to-east-river-state-park-443453#map
34 | STARR WHITE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 35
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING FUNDING ENTITIES
COMMISSION
Since the community was not adequately consulted in the design process, and so many controversy and conflict has happened, NYS Parks hired Starr Whitehouse to lead an inclusive public design process in order to balance the respectful commemoration of Johnson’s esteemed legacy while also fulfilling local resident’s longstanding dream for an open waterfront green space.
OPINION & FEEDBACK
36 | STARR WHITE
The challenge of building consensus around a single shared vision in any public project is complex and this particular case had its own unique challenges.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 37
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT The community involved was not simply limited to residents of the surrounding area (as seen in surveys returned from zip codes all over Manhattan): advocates, state officials, Smorgasburg vendors, Johnson’s family, and transgender leaders of color all have visions and personal connections to the space. As Michael Haggerty, Senior Associate at Starr Whitehouse added, even within these groups, opinions were not monolithic and individuals’ desired outcomes were diverse. The public participation process included: Listening Sessions • 35 hours dedicated to public input • 9 meetings in person and on line Conversations (Virtual Meeting and Tabling in Park) • 72 people joined the March 31, 2021 virtual meetings • 172 people signed-in on April 3, 5, 20, + 24, 2021 Surveys (Online) • 221 responses as of April 26, 2021 • 2 surveys submitted in Spanish
Community Feedback by Starr Whitehouse
38 | STARR WHITE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 39
METHODS & TOOLS USED In order to include as many people as possible, the process combined a series of online panels (in Zoom format) and on-the-ground outreach in the park itself (tabling), in order to prioritize inclusivity. Leslie Wright, head of parks of the New York City region for the state parks, and other staff from the department remained heavily involved in the 48 hours of outreach that took place over the month of April and early days of May. This dual-approach was crucial to the project’s ultimate success. One the one hand, listening to online sessions, where community members presented their ideas, enabled the various groups to hear each other out and, therefore, to expand upon one another’s ideas. On the other, the advantage of outdoor outreach in the park itself allowed the architects to engage community members and park users who wouldn’t have otherwise been involved in the process.
40 | STARR WHITE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 41
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION
Final rendering of Marsha P. Johnson State Park
This collaborative approach allowed designers and community members to look at the design and to think about it together as they explored new ideas and possibilities. Crucially, by illustrating the changes that were being made — that is, by keeping the drawings updated as the conversation progressed — the architects made clear what was happening and where the ideas were coming from.
namesake’s life and personality, it was a member of the local community who suggested that the gardens become a walkway with commemorative panels to narrate key moments in her life. While the text pre-existed the redesign, there were only issues with their form and not their content. However, as the community was engaged and a more complex narrative of the park’s history came to light, it became clear that the story could be expanded to include a nod to the North Brooklyn community’s history of activism for the existence of the green space itself.
Take for instance the idea of a commemorative walkway through the park, which was selected as an alternative to the unpopular thermoplastic mural that catalyzed the community engagement process. While Johnson’s family proposed the idea of colorful gardens that would celebrate the
Community Design
42 | STARR WHITE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 43
CONCLUSION Whether the space is new or already exists, the design and redevelopment of public parks also involves many stakeholders, making the outcome uncertain and the product of myriad collaborations. Even still, there is a general perception that community-led design is idealistic; that it looks good on paper but in reality slows the process down. Yet, the success of the month-long public design workshops for Marsha P. Johnson park demonstrate that it does not have to be so. Taking into account all of the changes included in the new design, the park is still set to re-open in the fall — just months after NYS Parks collaborated with Starr Whitehouse to undertake the community outreach.
top-down designs for public spaces, casting a wide net and allowing the public to feel more involved often leads to consensus, therefore saving clients and architects a lot of extra work. A truly inclusive public process is premised on bringing together multiple constituencies who don’t necessarily agree on everything, and working to unit them around a common, tangible goal and shared vision. As Starr Whitehouse puts it: “The process was not easy, but in the end, it was a real victory for community voices shaping the public realm.” This author would add, Yes, and… it was also a victory for the architects and the client.
As Starr explained, approaching public park design as a deliberate, incremental and community-led process allows the project to be implemented in a more direct and smooth way. All of this means that it may even cost less: rather than spending time, energy and resources backtracking to communicate reasoning behind
Power Sharing Diagram
44 | STARR WHITE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 45
REFERENCES 1 Starr Whitehouse’s State Park Transformation Makes the Case for Community-Led Design by Hannah Feniak (https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/stories/acclaimed-redesign-state-parkcommunity-led-design/) 2 Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners Website: https://architizer.com/firms/starrwhitehouse-landscape-architects-and-planners/ 3 Stop the Plastic Park Website: https://stoptheplasticpark.org/ 4 Wikipedia Marsha P. Johnson Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsha_P._Johnson 5Community Feedback by OPRHP/Marsha P Johnson State Park: https://www.parks.ny.gov/ documents/parks/MarshaPJohnsonCommunityFeedback.pdf
46 | STARR WHITE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lianghao Cheng | 47
HAUS DER STATISTIK
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 49
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Banner installed by artists quoting A center for art, culture and social projects will be created here.” 50 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
•
‘The Haus der Statistik is a building complex in Berlin. It was built in 1968-1970 as the headquarters of the State Central Administration for Statistics of the GDR. After German reunification, German authorities used the buildings, but since 2008 it has been empty.’ as per an article of Making Futures.
•
Haus der Statistik is a model project in Berlin, using vacant building as a resource to provide housing and shelter facilities for refugees. This initiative is a response to the city’s social problems (2009- 2015 the city rose by 46%). The initiative came in form with 13 smaller organizations including architects, urban planners, activists, cultural foundations and refugee aid organizers – AbBA formed a cooperative alliance in October 2015 called Initiative.
•
In 2015, awareness of disappearing spaces for city’s many artists was drawn by the Allianz bedrohter Berlin Atelierhäuser, an alliance of more than 500 artists, through a protest and installing a banner quoting “A center for art, culture and social projects will be created here.” Concerned citizens, also coming from professional practices background formed an initiative with the artists to avoid the sell of the building to private investors. The power of expression led by the power of collectiveness had the first win throughout the history of Haus der Statistik.
•
This project is very affective as per its growth because it is an example of new kind of democratic urban development, a collaboration between grassroots activists and a government willing to listen.
•
Through public participations organized during the remodel of the project, the ability to understand the demands of the neighborhood and propose activities, programs accordingly were clearer and a complete bottom-up approach was followed.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 51
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Graffiti on the Haus der Statistik building in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz district., The City Where Artists Are Fighting Gentrification
As Berlin became one of the most desirable cities, the property prices rose by 20.5% in 2017, the fastest of any city in the world. Followed by this, foreigners have been investing in high-end real estate business in the capital which has an impact on rental prices simultaneously. Between 2009 and 2015, rents across the city rose by 46 percent. The city has absorbed refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as those coming to the city from other European countries.
Fighting Gentrification’ by Emily Manthei. Housing Advocates and Refugee activists supported the act of ‘Stop Wars - on migrantions’ addressing the biggest social issue in the issue. The aim was to rehabilitate the building while tackling the probles of studio spaces, public housing and a shelter for refugees.
Berlin had a long reputation as a home to artists, but the city has become unaffordable even for the initial residents and the new migrants. “It was affordable, and [artists] didn’t have to compete with other commercial rents out there,” said Lennart Siebert, who is part of AbBA. “In one part, people are pushing Berlin as being the new urban metropolis super-city, and then there is another power pulling it back like no, let’s stay where we are and slowly, organically grow,” he added, in an article of ‘The City Where Artists Are
State of the building, image by Nils Koenning 52 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 53
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT
the Berlin Wall in 1989, by the reunified German government. The concrete shell was vacated in 2008 at the crossroads of the three central East Berlin districts: Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain.
In the heart of the Berlin is a concrete structure, completed in 1970, is full of history. The initially contradictory use concepts of politics and administration. Built with political approach and located in what was once known as East Germany, it was used as a federal statistics office first by the government of the German Democratic Republic, and then, after the fall of
History carved on the wall of Haus der Statistik.
The East German vision for Alexanderplatz., The Accidental Planners, placesjournals.org + Google Map Location. 54 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 55
Citizen Delegates
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES The Haus der Statistik initiative was supported by Dr. Christian Hanke, the district Mayor. The idea of “centre for refugees- social- art- creatives” was well acknowledged and planned to convert almost the entire building to affordable living spaces as well as workspaces for art, culture, social affairs and education. The supportvof the concept of the initiative was decided by votes of all parties in the District Assembly (BVV) of BerlinMitte. The KOOP 5: The five cooperation partners – Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing, the District Office BerlinMitte, the state-owned companies WBM Wohnungsbaugesellschaft Berlin-Mitte mbH and BIM Berliner Immobilienmanagement GmbH as well as the ZUsammenKUNFT Berlin eG – came together to work towards the common good.
Cooperation at Eye Level, Volume 1: The model project Initiative and Vision: Haus de Statistik. 56 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
As the project received political support at the latest elections in 2016, informal consultations during the election campaign helped speed the process. There formed a coalition agreement of the new Berlin government (Social Democrats, Left, Green Party) stipulated that the Haus der Statistik should be developed as a model project for administration, culture, education, social affairs and affordable housing, and that the area should be re-municipalised. Followed by this, The Federal State of Berlin acquired land and buildings from the Institute for Federal Real Estate (Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben - BImA) for further development process. This politically anchored the concept and demand of the Haus der Statistik Initiative.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 57
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT A Call for Pioneer Use: Structure of Public Participation: Volume 1: The model project Initiative and Vision: Haus der Statistik.
The KOOP 5 created structures and designed urban planning process with enabling a broad participation of the urban society. To bring this to action, a further networking council was organised, which brought the wishes and demands of the interested urban society into the process. A common agreement on implementation of “integrated workshop process” would maintain both the common values and financial obligations (plot division, cost sharing, etc).
In addition to all this, the networking council plays a major role in bringing communities demand on the planning table. It is an organization serving people all-day, through organizing meeting for interested parties, which has been functioning since 2015 by the Haus der Statistik initiative. ‘It takes place approximately every three months and serves the exchange between supporters and interested parties. Topics that are of particular importance in the process at the time are jointly discussed.’ Volume 2: Model project- Haus der Statistik.
Also, to maintain the main agenda of affordable housing with social and cultural activities, a call was made to all possible pioneers through an open portal. A simple action of filling the required form with the vision for ground floor (social activities/ cultural activities) and submitting the form to Initiative of Haus der Statistik would direct a participatory path in the project.
A form to fill and send it to Initiative Haus der Statistik to participate in the project., https://www.zku-berlin.org 58 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 59
METHODS & TOOLS USED Public participation: KOOP 5 working in collaboration with Citizen Delegates, a group of 12 candidates selected from the urban society to be the expert committee. The 12 members would vote in the colloquia on the designs and the planning strategies and team. he core of planning process was to involve and maintain the model of “integrated workshops”, a multi layered format that included colloquiums, planning labs and workshops. These three layered formats were formally conducted with three involved architectural studios, planning committee and citizen delegates to work in collaboration for ground floor use and the public spaces. These workshops took place every friday and their results were included in the planning process. Another informal format that was followed was a get-to-gether for anybody interested in bringing ideas and plans. These meeting would take place at Café der Statistik, open twice a week, and at
Structure of Public Participation: Volume 1: The model project Initiative and Vision: Haus der Statistik. 60 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
the Planning Table, weekly. Other than networking council and technical group, Formats followed in general: Logbook: A Logbook is a piblic archive, a “knowledge repository”, publication of the results of all events and reports to enable interested parties to understand the status of the integrated workshop. Public Events: To inform the broad urban society about the current planning status and give an overview of the integrated workshop process. Any form of questions or criticism can be raised to the Citizen delegates and KOOP 5 members. Formation of An Expert Committee: To assess the deisgns prepared by planning commiittee. Steering Committee: Koop5 meet under the leadership of the district office Berlin-Mitte on monthly basis to discuss the agendas.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 61
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION Planning Lab
Discussion of the Expert Committee
This appears and works to be a successfull method of layered formats to maintain the puclic participation at the most. The Logbooks churned at every events and discussions for the new participants to get an understanding of the status of the workshops, shows the transparency maintained in the whole format/ system. Starting with the planning table where new participants can join the ongoing process, is a puclic programme organized once a week for the communities and interested participants to feel comfortable to share their thoughts and ideas in the planning process.
Intermediate colloquium
62 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
First Public Event
This would be followed by discussions at the workshops, conducted on every friday in the Werkstatt which would guide the ideas and thoughts in the urban development procedure. Topics of workshops would include: integrated
forms of living and housing, building density, city hall of the future, user-supported urban development, to name a few. The further layer of discussion would go through the networking council which takes place approximately every three months and served the exchange of ideas between supporters and interested parties. This would be taken ahead in the planning lab, where the points of conflicts between the KOOP 5 and urban society be discussed followed by finding a collective solution. The planning team would incorporate the findings of urban society into their designs. The outcome of the procedure would be presented at Public events where questions to any department can be asked oppenly and then followed by another meetings of colloquim, technical committee and steering committee, before the plan is finalised.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 63
CITIZEN DELEGATES
PLANNING COMMITTEE
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
CITIZEN STEWARDSHIP
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
WHY A SUCCESSFUL MODEL •
•
•
•
•
Image caption and attribution 64 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
Starting from organized citizen protest, the Haus der Statistik was saved due to the pressure applied by the citizens and steered a collaboration with political parties and goverment. The gradual formalisation of an initiative, initially formed of artists and concerened citizens to become a cooperation constituting of state and urban bodies as a new democratic medium of planning and designing process. Consideration of formal and informal formats in the participatory practicess to be inclusive of the ideas and thoughts of diverse groups and players. Formation and selection of Citizen Delegates as a way of intertwining the non-experts but people belonging to the community itself heled the non-institutional voices in the process. A successful collaboration of citizens and state- owned companies like technical committee, steering committee, planning and project managers, to work towards community good.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 65
REFERENCES • https://hausderstatistik.org/wp-content/ uploads/201908_Haus-der-Statistik_ Volume-1_Model-Project-Initiative-andVision.pdf
• https://second.wiki/wiki/haus_der_statistik • https://theurbanactivist.com/idea/pioneeringa-circular-city-at-haus-der-statistik-nothingis-wasted/
• https://hausderstatistik.org/wp-content/ uploads/201908_Haus-der-Statistik_ Volume-2_Integrated-Workshop-Process.pdf • https://www.zku-berlin.org/projects/haus-derstatistik/ • https://www.huffpost.com/entry/haus-derstatistik-berlin-housing-gentrification-artistsrefugees_n_5ba8fe5be4b0181540df330a • https://placesjournal.org/article/theaccidental-planners/
66 | HAUS DER STATISTIK (HOUSE OF STATISTICS)
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Surabhi Dahivalkar | 67
GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 69
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED •
Aerial image of Bourj Al Shamali obtained by balloon mapping. Photo courtesy Claudia Martinez Mansell. 70 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
This project really highlights the ingenuity and creativity that comes as a result of limited resources and tools of implementation.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 71
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE An initiative that aims to green and improve the living conditions in a refugee camp in South Lebanon. The Palestinian museum digital archive project
This is a pilot urban agriculture program aimed at improving living conditions in the camp through the creation of its first public space for the camp’s residents.
authorities and international organisations who view them as potential security threats. Public maps of Lebanon depict refugee camps as grey splotches. Another problem is related to employment, Unemployment is extremely high, with seasonal agricultural work the most common source of income for both men and women.
Refugee camps are transitory solutions but as time passes they end up having a strong negative environmental imprint on the local ecosystem. Concerned with the poor environmental conditions in the camp, the local committee in the Bourj Al Shamali refugee camp decided to make this one of their priorities. Additionally, the settlement’s 23,000 current inhabitants don’t own a detailed map of their 135,000m2 area of ground. The maps which exist are classified documents protected by local
Photo courtesy Claudia Martinez Mansell. 72 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 73
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT
TYRE BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Bourj Al Shamali refugee camp is located in south Lebanon. Founded after 1948 as a temporary shelter for Palestinian refugees coming from north Palestine, now Israel. Sixty years later, it has become an overcrowded, unplanned, permanent city, with five times the original inhabitants occupying the original site, under the jurisdiction of the UN. Burj Shemali camp is located three kilometres from the city of Tyre in south Lebanon. It was established in 1948 to provide tented shelter for refugees arriving from Hawla, Tiberias, Saffuri and Lubieh. The camp also hosts displaced Palestine refugees from other parts of Lebanon. It was badly damaged during the Israeli invasion in 1982. The ongoing Syria crisis has also led to an influx of Syrian refugees and Palestine refugees displaced from Syria, further straining the camp’s infrastructure and services.
GOOGLE MAPS 74 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 75
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES
COMMISSION
Humanitarian worker and ex-UN staffer Claudia Martinez Mansell is the co-founder of Greening Bourj Al Shamali, alongside Mahmoud Al Joumma ‘Abu Wassim’, who runs the Beit Atfal Assumoud vocational centre in the camp. Many youths living in the camp were the ones mapping the areas. Among them Firas and Mustapha lead the team.
OPINION & FEEDBACK
Image caption and attribution 76 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 77
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT
Firas Ismail
Firas Ismail
Workshops
Curious kids join in on a balloon mapping excursion.
Due to the fact that this was a low-tech initiative, it allowed for anyine interested to participate. Most importantly, the youth were able to contribute to the process of the mapping. Those who live there and know the area best are actually the ones who would be most effectively able to add value to this process. The simplicity of the process allowed many to participate.
[Images Courtesy Greening Bourj al-Shamali]
Image caption and attribution 78 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 79
METHODS & TOOLS USED The main method and tool used to develop these maps was DIY aerial photography tool” developed by Public Lab. Public Lab, founded in 2010, is a network of organisers, educators, technologists and researchers that connects people to opensource DIY techniques for data-gathering and research to allow participation in important decisions affecting their communities. Among Public Lab’s various toolkits for data collection is ‘balloon mapping’ aerial photography – a cheap digital camera attached to a large balloon on a rig fashioned out of an everyday plastic drink bottle.
cradle, reusable Velcro for closing the balloon, some carabineers to attach things together, and a camera. However compared to drones, thie method was much more approachable. The digital camera needs to be one that can be set on an automated mode taking images every few seconds. It is placed in a plastic bottle for protection and secured to the balloon string. The process of launching the balloon is also simple. They tied it up, let the helium-filled balloon rise up in the air, and after a flight of 10-20 minutes brought the balloon down again.
t first, there was disappointment from the local committee and key team members at just how low-tech the equipment was: a 1.5-meter wide reusable latex/chloroprene balloon, a 300-meter long line, swivel clips for attaching the balloon and the camera, rubber bands for making a camera
Mustapha Dakhloul and Firas Ismail mapping at the edge of the camp. Photo courtesy Claudia Martinez Mansell. 80 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 81
82 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 83
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION The map was officially laun ched on 25th January 2019 at Bourj Al Shamali’s Al Houla library This project is about a map, but it is also about much more than that. Not only was the map needed in order to locate areas of water sources to provide greenery, it gave agency to the residents.
on the project, there was great appeal. They were happy to be helping with producing something useful for the community and to be given space to solve problems by themselves through experimenting. The number of refugees and refugee camps around the world is growing rapidly every year. This is a project with enormous potential to point the way towards new models for how the people living in such situations might reassert a measure of control over their own environments and futures, and improve their living conditions.
One of the underlying stakes of the mapping initiative has been that the local camp committee is very keen to shift perceptions of their community, and of themselves, from being seen as passive beneficiaries of outside authorities, to being seen instead as partners and co-creators of the solutions to their problems. For the youth from Bourj Al Shamali who worked
After the launch and distribution of the completed map. Photo courtesy Claudia Martinez Mansell. 84 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 85
REFERENCES https://publiclab.org/notes/ claudsmm/08-23-2015/lessons-from-mappingbourj-al-shamali-refugee-camp http://scs.aho.no/Bourj%20Al%20Shamali.htm https://assemblepapers.com.au/2017/05/12/ whats-in-a-map-greening-bourj-al-shamali/ https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/lebanon/ burj-shemali-camp https://notanatlas.org/wp-content/ uploads/2019/06/A-View-from-Above.pdf
86 | GREENING BOURJ AL SHAMALI
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lamisa Haque | 87
STATEN ISLAND
Maritime Educational Recreational Corridor (MERC)
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 89
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED
Regional Plan 90 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
•
Starting from the community ask for rezoned the Bay Street Corridor Zoning Plan, the Let’s Rebuild Cromwell Community Coalition proposes the designation of the north shore Maritime Education & Recreation Cultural Corridor, also known as MERC, all along the north shore border of Staten Island.
•
MERC as a unique corridor or district would provide a cohesive long-term guide for shaping the waterfront community as it relates to numerous aspects of neighborhood life such as public access, sustainability, developing new economic development opportunities, and assurances that the waterfront remains a centerpiece for the community that surrounds it. Anchored by public spaces like parks, piers, and recreation centers as hubs, MERC provides connectedness and assurances of public open spaces, recreational and educational facilities, and opportunities on our waterfront for everyone.
•
Although the government didn’t take the whole MERC plan, the result was positive. In addition to adopting the proposed zoning changes, the Bay Street Neighborhood Plan represents $250 million in investments – including $100 million in dedicated new funding - in housing, public space, waterfront access, education, transportation, economic development, and infrastructure.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 91
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE - Deepest affordability to match neighborhood demographics of the BSC targeted area
Government’s proposed plan in community’s eye
- No private development on city-owned properties and reserve for projects that provide public good - Create a plan for new economic industry like our MERC Corridor Proposal (Maritime Education, Recreation & Cultural corridor) with opportunities for an unprecedented number of new jobs and careers - Build a state of the art public aquatic center in the footprint of the former Wheel Investments in existing and new schools serving the BSC area - Substantial investments in transportation through and around the North Shore to include many options of travel and wayfinding
Community’s proposed plan 92 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 93
“We’re a waterfront community, and we want to begin acting like one.”
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT
CONTEXT MAPS + IMAGES
According to the NY Dept of Labor, New Yorkers only capture about 12% of the NY Harbor workforce, and there’s a shortage of maritime professionals in NYC. Local young people deserve to have education about and access to these local jobs, especially because many of these jobs pay well, are stable, and have room for growth. The shore faces New York Harbor from the Verrazano Bridge to the towers of Manhattan. This shore is the last open waterfront with a view of the entire harbor. Along the shore, four cityowned parcels will be upzoned and sold for midrise and high-rise residential housing.
Plan of MERC 94 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 95
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING The counter-proposal of the Bay Street Corridor Zoning Plan, MERC Plan, grew out of the Let’s Rebuild Cromwell Community Coalition. The proposed corridor’s hub -- or anchor -- will be a rebuilt Cromwell Recreation Center, located above or around the Lyons Pool complex in Tompkinsville. They greatly expand the educational components of the Lighthouse Museum, the Billion Oyster Project, Maritime Museum of Navigation and Communication, Noble Maritime Museum, Staten Island Museum, and others like SI Kayak or Makerspace.
Stakeholder map 96 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 97
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT Community: The Let’s Rebuilt Cromwell Community Coalition keeps updating posts on social media (FB/ Twitter) and posts posters in local public spaces such as on the street and Lyons fitness center. Government: Members of the public were invited to spend as much time as they wanted to view, discuss, question, and debate the information provided with representatives from DCP, HPD, EDC, DEP, DOT, SCA, and NYC Parks.
Poster on The Let’s Rebuilt Cromwell Community Coalition’s facebook 98 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 99
METHODS & TOOLS USED Community: • North Shore Open House • Community Board/Civic Group Meetings • Stakeholder Group Meetings • Local Advisory Committee
Community Meeting
Let’s Rebuilt Cromwell Community Coalition asked the community to envision what they would like to see at a new Cromwell and a designated MERC and to write it on a post it note. Government: • Workshop: Issues & Visioning Workshop Zoning & Housing Workshop Draft Neighborhood Strategy • Meeting: Public Scoping Meeting The Department of City Planning recreated the cafeteria into a public showcase of demographic information about the Bay Street Corridor and the work currently underway by City agencies.
Community Meeting
Outcome of the government workshop
100 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 101
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION On June 26th, 2019, the City Council voted to approve the Bay Street Corridor Neighborhood Plan with modifications. The zoning changes are now in effect.
Bay Street Corridor Rezoning Plan
Communiry activity
Communiry activity
Lyons pool
102 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
In addition to the adoption of the proposed zoning changes, the Bay Street Neighborhood Plan represents $250 million in investments – including $100 million in dedicated new funding - in housing, public space, waterfront access, education, transportation, economic development and infrastructure.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 103
UNDER THE REZONING PLAN:
Ladder pf Participation 104 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
•
Approximately 2,600 new homes are projected, with more than 450 permanently affordable homes through Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and 850 affordable homes on cityowned sites
•
The City will protect existing tenants through free legal, rental and financing assistance, help move homeless families into permanent housing, aid low income homeowners make critical repairs to their homes and more
•
Zoning changes will foster a lively downtown through additional community facility and commercial uses, including retail, offices and restaurants. These economic opportunities could create around 1,000 new jobs
•
All developments financed by HPD will include local hiring incentives
•
The City is helping local businesses thrive with over $1.5 million granted to communitybased partners for district marketing, public events, sanitation and beautification efforts, and merchant organizing
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 105
REFERENCES
106 | STATEN ISLAND MARITIME EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL CORRIDOR
•
https://www.siurbancenter.org/communitydevelopment.html
•
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/plans/ bay-street-corridor/bay-street-corridorupdates.page
•
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/ download/pdf/plans-studies/bay-streetcorridor/presentation-111318.pdf
•
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/ download/pdf/plans-studies/bay-streetcorridor/051916-draft-neighborhood%20 presentation.pdf
•
https://www.silive.com/northshore/2016/02/ bold_plan_for_a_north_shore_ma.html
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiamin Huang | 107
EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 111
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED
March to Save East River Park, 19.Apr.2021 112 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
•
Since the project is aim to recover the ecological values in East Side which has a diversity of neighborhood who is mostly marginalized, their Resiliency is not only focusing on ecosystem but also for their marginalized community.
•
To accomplish their goal, Cooperation through diverse expertise is needed.
•
Currently the community faces unexpected process after multiple fixations with somehow reasons, Continuous participation to prevent undesired result and keep their rights.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 113
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Climate change is increasing the risk of severe flooding in New York
Construction Project Areas for East Side Coastal Resiliency, NYC Government 114 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project is a coastal protection initiative, jointly funded by the City of New York and the federal government, aimed at reducing flood risk due to coastal storms and sea level rise. The ESCR project will protect 110,000 New Yorkers from the impacts of climate change by reducing flood risk to communities, properties, businesses, critical infrastructure, and public open spaces. In addition to providing flood protection, the project will strengthen and enhance waterfront spaces on Manhattan’s East Side by improving accessibility, increasing ecological diversity, and delivering improved recreational amenities to a vibrant and highly diverse community. The ESCR project is among the largest and most technically complex infrastructure projects in New York City’s history. ESCR will create a 2.4 mile flood protection system that will consist of floodwalls and floodgates that are designed to blend into the fabric of the community by integrating with local streets, the elevated East River Park, and the new landscape surrounding Corlears Hook Park, Murphy Brothers Playground, Stuyvesant Cove Park, and Asser Levy Playground.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 115
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT In the 1930s, today’s East Village and Lower East Side, long the country’s most crowded and notorious slum, was being dramatically transformed as a landfill which was designed by Robert Moses. With East Side Park, the nation’s first federally subsidized public housing, especially for low-income housing, was being built such as Vladeck Houses (1940), and Riis and Lillian Wald Houses (1949). Immigration from Europe, once the neighborhood’s lifeblood, had been cut off by restrictive laws, though new laws granting citizenship to residents of Puerto Rico precipitated the beginnings of what would, in the post-WWII years, become a massive migration of residents from the island to this neighborhood. Tenements were being demolished to make way for widened streets and new subway lines running throughout the neighborhood. And a new, innovative park was being planned for this poor, immigrant neighborhood. East River Park is the largest park in Manhattan south of Central Park, and must
Historical East Riverside Neighborhood (up), Subsidized Housing and Social Infrastructure(below) 116 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
have been a profound and welcome change for the surrounding residents. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck New York City, killing 44 New Yorkers, devastating entire neighborhoods, and causing approximately $19 billion in damage citywide. In the aftermath of the storm, New York City launched a process to assess climate change vulnerabilities and began advancing an ambitious portfolio of long-term coastal protection projects that will prevent flooding while increasing the vibrancy and accessibility of public waterfront spaces.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 117
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES
ban design, landscape architecture, stormwater management, and community engagement. This team brought the design from the initial BIG U concept through to final design.
The City received HUD funding for the area from E. 23rd St. to Montgomery St. and the City and State funds are used to advance planning south of Montgomery St. The ESCR Project is coordinated with other initiatives in the adjacent area. The city had hired a team of technical and design professionals(left) to coordinate with local input.
Working with East Side residents and stakeholders is important to the ESCR project. By listening to input from East Side residents, collaborating on design options with East Side community, and exploring opportunities and trade-offs together, the project could reflect the residents’ demand.
The project team is led by the NYC Design and Construction(DDC), the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency(MOR), and the Department of Parks and Recreation(Parks). Other agency partners include the Department of Transportation(DOT), the Department of Environmental Protection(DEP), the Department of City Planning(DCP) and the New York City Economic Development Corporation(NYCEDC).
The project’s design team, selected through a competitive procurement process, was led by the AKRF-KSE Joint Venture, which includes experts in coastal and waterfront engineering, ur-
Stakeholder Map for the East Side Park Resiliency Project 118 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 119
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT The construction may be disruptive to residential communities and businesses and thus, New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC) has implemented a community engagement program for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project that includes an updated website, social media, community construction liaisons (CCLs), and numerous community partnering activities. The ESCR project team provides regular construction updates at various community events and meetings, including local community boards and meetings of the ESCR Community Advisory Group (CAG).
contract opportunities by providing mentoring programs(from Nov,2021) and maximizing the use of program and procurement tools. The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project is a public investment that will help drive the City’s economy and create jobs in New York City neighborhoods. As the ESCR project is launched, information on training, careers and contracting opportunities will be posted here. We encourage individuals and local Minorities and Women-owned business(M/WBE) and Section 3 firms to review the opportunities and resources below, as well as the factsheet outlining the ESCR Subcontracting and Hiring Goals.
The Office of Diversity and Industry Relations(ODIR)’s goal and intention is to ensure that there are opportunities for minority and women-owned business enterprises to promotes an equitable and competitive business environment while ensuring the agency’s procurement reflects the diversity of New York City. Business Development Unit(BDU) conducts extensive outreach to ensure a broad distribute information and prepares M/WBEs for
Image caption and attribution 120 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 121
METHODS & TOOLS USED CALL FOR ART The ESCR project is sponsoring for a community Call for Art from students and local artists in New York City. The Artworks will be judged on its creativity and responsiveness to the artwork themes. Select artists receive monetary awards, and their artwork will be displayed on construction fencing along the ESCR project construction site. COMMUNITY EVENTS The ESCR project team provides regular construction updates at various community events and meetings, including local community boards and meetings of the ESCR Community Advisory Group (CAG). Work With Us provides events related to workforce development & training, MWBE, and Section 3.
are responsible for communicating construction impacts to the local community and resolving any construction-related issues. The East Side Coastal Resiliency project have two community construction liaisons so far. DECORATIVE FENCING PANELS The Decorative Construction Fencing Panel program aims to share information on the ESCR project goals and benefits, assist with wayfinding, and engage the community. The first informational and wayfinding panels have been installed on construction fencing at Asser Levy Playground and throughout the north side of Stuyvesant Cove Park.
MEET YOUR COMMUNITY CONSTRUCTION LIAISON Community Construction Liaisons (CCLs) work on behalf of DDC as the point of contact for stakeholders and the local community. They
Image caption and attribution 122 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 123
Timeline of East River Park Resiliency Plan 124 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION On June 2013, with the agenda ‘A Stronger, More Resilient New York’ New York City invited designers for the competition ‘Rebuild by Design’. BIG was selected with the proposal ‘BIG U’ and the city funded $335M for constructing the project. After 3 years community multiple ways of engagement process, the city started to construct the East Side Park and the project was the pride not only of their resiliency but also of the aspects of how they engaged with community. However, In late 2018, the city surprised community stakeholders by announcing a complete overhaul of a plan discussed over four years of local meetings. In October 2019, the city announced that they would phase in the construction, so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to various reports, the city has committed to leaving a minimum of 42 percent of East River Park open to the public. It is projected to be completed in 2025, a timetable opponents say will never be met. Since several revisions based on technical issues, the citizens has been fighting the revamped plan since it was announced in 2018 and also the activist group has been insisting that the project ruins the ecosystem.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 125
2 design proposal options (BIG)
Community Workshop for East River Park
general concerns and needed amenities for East River Park
Student protesting against ESCR
126 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 127
REFERENCES [1] New York City Government, The East Side Resiliency Project (https://www1.nyc.gov/site/escr) [2] BIG, 2015, The BIG U-Rebuild By Design [3] Carbon Brief, 2017, ‘New York City could face damaging floods ‘every five years’ in a warmer climate’ [4] S, MOSKOWITZ, S2019, The East River Park’s Past and Future, Village Preservation [5] ESCR Section 3 & M/WBE Virtual Information Session [6] https://evgrieve.com/2019/01/mayors-neweast-river-park-flood-plan.html [7] East Side Coastal Resiliency Project report
128 | EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jisoo Kim | 129
GROW IVERSON From shopping mall parking lot to garden and gathering space
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 133
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED • The revitalization of the “greyfields” which are interspersed among communities, needs the power of autonomy and sustainability from grassroots to provide motivation, form stronger cohesion and thus generate wider-range influence. • • Collaborate with various social organizations and activities, which could promote the usage of the space and attract more population to engage. • • The importance of people fully engaging in all design, discussion, constructions, and continuing participation processes. • • Value the significance of the suggestions provided by people from different age groups, gender identities, and social roles.
Community Garden Entrance
gardenremplirions.blogspot.com
134 | GROW IVERSON
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 135
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Parking Lots At The Shops At Iverson
Grow Iverson is a redevelopment project at the underutilized parking lots of The Shops At Iverson in Hillcrest Heights, Prince George’s County, Maryland, which used to be illegal dumping.
http://www.labelscar.com/maryland/iverson-mall
After experiencing the overall decline of the retail industry in the United States, this site was required to change its role for the community. People growing, learning, sharing and communicating here, the site founded on the idea of reuse and reinvestment, aiming to become a hub for the neighborhood.
PROBLEMS How to revitalize a “Greyfield” of inappropriate utilization into a space for public benefit? --- What should it become? --- Who should be involved in different decision-making and constructing processes? --- How to motivate people to join this space? How to maintain the sustainability of the redevelopment? --- What roles people/grassroots would play in long-term prosper?
However, it is not easy to become a place that attracts crowds and has self-sustaining vitality. More aspects are needed to be considered.
The Shops At Iverson Redevelopment Proposal
https://api-jbgsmith.reol.com/pdf?file_name=shops_at_iverson_1512540123.pdf
136 | GROW IVERSON
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 137
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT Site: The vacant parking lots located at the rear of The Shops At Iverson, what was once a vacant space used for illegal dumping. History Context: The decline of brick-andmortar retail has led to hundreds of underutilized malls and retail centers across the U.S. 1972: Originally built as a regional shopping center, it declined after the opening of nearby Landover Mall. Mid-1990s: the two anchor stores closed and were replaced with discount department stores. 2008, the mall underwent adopted a new slogan and advertising campaign, “You Can Find it All --- at Iverson Mall.” Between 2010 and 2013, mall visits declined by 50 percent. 2016, the mall’s new owners drew up plans for a $30 million renovation, funded partly by a loan from the County’s Economic Development
Incentive Fund. Definition: Greyfields refer to “so-called ‘dead malls,’ once served as vital commercial corridors ,often characterized by the vast empty asphalt parking lots that surround them.”[1][3] Characteristics: Located in established neighborhoods and shopping districts and on suburban arterials with bus service, many are already bus hubs. Intervention: Critical factors necessary for the redevelopment of a greyfield site: Market conditions Ownership and anchor tenant status Site and location factors Municipal and community capacity Developer and lender capacity --- Conventional renovations will not be sufficient to breathe new life into many properties. A facelift will do little to help. A new anchor store, depending on the center’s position in the market, may not do much either.[1]
THE SHOPS AT IVERSON / AERIAL VIEW https://api-jbgsmith.reol.com/pdf?file_name=shops_at_iverson_1512540123.pdf 138 | GROW IVERSON
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 139
STAKEHOLDER MAP
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES
Designers:
Initiator:
Outcome:
Owner of the Shops at Iverson
Partners: Community of Hope AME Church The Shops at Iverson Farming 4 Hunger Clean Water Partnership Hillcrest Marlow Heights Civic Association Office of Community Relations
The Neighborhood DesignCenter Team Residents from all the ages
Instead of fighting for their own benefits, different stakeholders complement each other to form a closed loop. On the basis of financial support, the designer plays the role of an intermediary, communicating the dialogue between users, power institutions, and social organizations, promoting effective decision-making, and at the same time providing motivation to build a network of relationships thus attracting more people.
Supporters Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development the County’s Economic Development Incentive Fund.
Designers: The Neighborhood DesignCenter Team Residents from all the ages
Stakeholder Map 140 | GROW IVERSON
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 141
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT Farming 4 Hunger Tball with Allie ONeill from the Neighborhood Design Center https://www.facebook.com/Farming4Hunger/photos/grow-iverson-garden-discussion-with-county-executive-angela-alsobrooks-and-pasto/2103457079771408
The Neighborhood DesignCenter: Provide the tools, expertise, and partnerships necessary to realize neighborhood visions.
Local Residents/ Youth/ Business Owners/ People who frequent the shopping center: “Together with the NDC, imagined what the space could be: An outdoor pavilion serves as center stage for community gatherings. Along with places to grow food and flowers, the garden also includes spaces for children to play and young people to socialize and express themselves. There is a reflective, quiet space for healing and contemplation. “
Volunteer Team: The volunteer designers behind Grow Iverson, and members of the Group Urban Planning Studio from Toole Design, committed fully to the process and product.
Social Organization: Funding comes from the Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development and the County’s Economic Development Incentive Fund; they promote the redevelopment of the Shops at Iverson as a place for community activities. Organizations such as Food 4 Hunger and Community of Hope AME Church collaborate with the garden, perform as an introducer for people to participate in the public space.
Working Flow: the Neighborhood Design Center https://ndc-md.org/about 142 | GROW IVERSON
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 143
METHODS & TOOLS USED Method: Cross-Sector Collaboration By reclaiming these leftover sites for mixed-use, mixed-income, pedestrian-oriented activities, thus improve access to amenities and our public life.
Grow Iverson: From shopping mall parking lot to garden and gathering space https://ndc-md.org/case-study/final-grow-iverson-from-shopping-mall-parking-lot-to-garden-and-gathering
Echo to the strong cohesion inside the community From early on in the co-design process, NDC staff observed strong cohesion within the community. Recreating this incredible spirit within the site became a top priority for the co-design team. Allowing the flexibility for innovation and future usage, embracing culture diversity
Tools: Teen Workshops (collaborate with teen club and local church): Co-designed with teens to design an appropriate place to support community needs. Teens often without places to gather or exercise independence, and rarely considered in new designs, adolescents have a unique and vital perspective on public space. The NDC spoke to the teen club of the local church to determine how this space could be inclusive for all– especially for them and their peers. Walking Tours Artists Interventions Incorporates the spirit of the strong cohesion within the community, using artists interventions to reflect their cone-of-a-kind culture elements Growing Project The installation of the growing beds which cover over half of the project.
Farming 4 Hunger Raised garden beds https://ndc-md.org/case-study/final-grow-iverson-from144 | GROW IVERSON
Teen Workshop https://ndc-md.org/case-study/final-grow-iversonfrom-shopping-mall-parking-lot-to-garden-and-gath-
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 145
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION Community Engageing Gardening
https://ndc-md.org/case-study/final-grow-iverson-from-shopping-mallparking-lot-to-garden-and-gathering
Community Engageing Gardening
https://m.facebook.com/138543992822727/photos /a.250304164980042/2747489688594798/?type=3&source=54
The Grow Iverson project has sucessfully built up a taste of the garden. From the existing two main kinds of activities, we can see the influence of the residents’ participation in the design, decision and construction of the community in the early stage; as well as the sustainability reflected in the subsequent continuous social ecological process. The installation of the Growing Bed: “Garden managers and partnering non-profit Farming 4 Hunger sourced materials and built the beds as part of their workforce development program for incarcerated men. Though far from complete, this intervention has transformed the space from neglect and avoidance to somewhere people feel safe and included.”
The River of Community Kindness, Oasis Urban Farm “Planting in Small Space Clinic” Event
https://m.facebook.com/138543992822727/photos /a.250304164980042/2725757277434706/?type=3&source=54#_=_
146 | GROW IVERSON
Community Walking Tour
“Raised beds provide accessible food growing system, well-tended plantings that change seasonally, ground treatment reduces heat island, garden manager T-Ball runs programs for local schools.”
Teens/ Children Program: Community walking tours and varios engaging educational projects for youth, with the holding of these activities, what can be known is that it is the right choice to guide children and youth to participate in the whole redevelopment process. In the early process which invited the teens to co-design elements of the space. Participants thought about possible uses for the space, what elements were needed for comfort and to support activities, and built models of their plans. Get to know the their priorities: Welcoming Joyous Place for reflection Socializing Really colorful Include everyone Comfortable hangout spots Wifi This information guides the design to better adapt to the needs of the corresponding population, also to be more attractive to them. Introducing young participation forces to make this place more dynamic.
https://m.facebook.com/138543992822727/photos /a.1060573127286471/1060573147286469/?type=3&source=54
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 147
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION The mall handed over the design to the designer from the NDC, and the designer worked with the residents, so they have similar powers here. When we look at the power sharing ladder in this place, we can see that most of the design process belongs to consultation, and the content of the design is determined through the communication between designers, multi-party agencies and various groups of people. However, when look at the construction process of the growth garden separately, the participating residents and the shopping mall share the same responsibility for this garden:
Without participants, it will not continue to develop. The owner of the shopping mall, related designers, and social organizations need to provide technical and material support and guidance. To ensure that it plays the role of a community hub. Similarly, various community activities are held to achieve the purpose of healing, education, etc. Although they belong to the primary stage of community participation, because these activities are generated by the common participation of residents in the design process, they can also achieve the expected results.
Power Sharing Model 148 | GROW IVERSON
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 149
REFERENCES [1] Congress for the New Urbanism. “Malls into Mainstreets: An In-Depth Guide to Transforming Dead Malls into Communities” (PDF). Congress for the New Urbanism. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
[6] THE SHOPS AT IVERSON SUBURBAN WASHINGTON, DC https://apijbgsmith.reol.com/pdf?file_name=shops_at_ iverson_1512540123.pdf [7]Iverson Mall owners plan $30M overhaul, in talks with Chipotle https://www.bizjournals. com/washington/news/2016/09/23/iversonmall-owners-plan-30m-overhaul-in-talks.html
[2]https://ndc-md.org/case-study/final-growiverson-from-shopping-mall-parking-lot-togarden-and-gathering
[8] The Shops at Iverson Website https://www.shopiverson.com/directory/
[3] Gamble, Michael; LeBlanc, W. Jude (2004). “Incremental Urbanism: The Auto and Pedestrian Reconsidered in Greyfield Reclamation — Atlanta, Georgia” (PDF). Incremental Urbanism. 16 (3): 1.
[9] The Shops at Iverson Facebook https://m.facebook.com/The-Shopsat-Iverson-138543992822727/ photos/?mt_nav=1&tab=album&album_ id=1060573127286471
[4]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shops_at_ Iverson#cite_note-5 [5]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfield_ land#cite_note-mallsintomainstreets-3
150 | GROW IVERSON
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jie Kong | 151
THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT CASE STUDY TITLE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 155
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED Participation: Designing with, not for
Before/After
•
KDI partners with local residents - rather than working for them - to design each space in the KPSP network through an intensely collaborative process.
•
The process to develop each site in the KPSP network is completely collaborative, connecting local expertise with technical resources. Residents’ knowledge and skills are married with design and engineering expertise to create spaces that serve their needs and fulfill their vision for ustainable development.
•
Over time, these interventions become more than gardens:They are organic community catalysts for socio-economic resilience.
[https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/allstate_2017/in-unused-space-endless-potential/1691/]
156 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 157
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Slum[https://borgenproject.org/tag/kibera-public-space-projects/]
THE PROBLEM Everyday life means grappling with overcrowding,a lack of basic services, high unemployment and crime,and an increasingly unpredictable climate. Most residents are “illegal” squatters, work in “informal” economies, and struggle to participate in civic life, trapping them in a cycle of poverty and risk. THE BIG IDEA Develop a network of community-designed and managed public spaces where flood protection and green and grey infrastructure are layered with core services and amenities.
Garbage [https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/stable/48514247?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents] 158 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 159
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT
– residents do not own the land they live on in many cases, and some have been forcibly evicted – building trust with local residents has been critical.
‘Kibera’ means ‘forest’ in the Nubian language, named by the retired Sudanese soldiers in 1912. Today, the only resemblance of a forest that remains is the small Nubian grave site that sits at the heart of one of the largest self-built settlements in Africa. Kibera’s residents, like many similar settlements globally, are the informal labour force for the rapidly urbanising Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya.
Since 2006, not-for-profit community development and design firm Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) has worked with Kibera community groups to conceive, fundraise for and build the Kibera Public Space Projects (KPSP) –11 unique public spaces across the settlement, connected by a network of community leaders. Meaning ‘to know intimately’, the name ‘Kounkuey’ reflects an approach that centres local populations and their needs.
Despite the roughly $25 million spent by more than 200 NGOs each year, most families live on $1 a day and unemployment is over 50%. Land tenure is particularly precarious in Kibera. The government owns the land, while homes are constructed and owned by middle-income Kenyans who live outside of Kibera and then occupied and rented by low-income Kenyans. Given the Kibera residents’ long and often contentious relationship with the government
Map [http://localprojectchallenge.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CS_Kibera-Public-Space-Project_Kenya-Rosie-Jewell-1-1.pdf]
160 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 161
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES
STAKEHOLDER MAP
Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) is improving quality of life in one of the world’s largest informal settlements through the Kibera Public Space Project, a network of community-managed public spaces that reduce flood risk while providing access to core services and creating new business opportunities. KDI provides technical and financial capacity, analyzing sites and determining what type of infrastructure can be installed. The communitybased organizations share responsibility for construction and management of sites. This model allows residents to build capacity as well as establish ownership of their new resource. KDI also provides training for local residents to open small businesses and run income-generating programs at each site, helping to ensure that the public spaces are self-sustaining and vibrant community hubs, and providing a new source of livelihood for many of the neighborhood’s young adults who typically face high unemployment rates.
COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS Andolo Bridge Community Group - KPSP10 Anwa Junior Academy - KPSP08 Gifted Hands - KPSP09 Kibera Action Group Organisation (KAGO) KPSP05 Kibera Christian Initiative - KPSP03 Kibera United for Our Needs (KUFON) - KPSP07 New Nairobi Dam Community - KPSP01 Riverside Usafi Group (RUG) - KPSP02 The S.U.N. Centre - KPSP04 Vijana Usafi na Maendeleo (VUMA) - KPSP11 INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS Stockholm University/Technical University of Kenya/KTH University/Lund University/King’s College London TECHNICAL PARTNERS Arup/Buro Happold/Engineers Without Borders UK GOVERNMENT Nairobi City County FUNDERS Jeffrey Cook Trust/Swedish Research Council/ Swedbio/Swiss Re Foundation/IDEO.org/ Welthungerhilfe
Stakeholder map 162 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 163
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT KDI: In 2006, while students at the Harvard Graduate
School of Design (GSD), they started Kounkuey Design Initiative (Jennifer Toy, Arthur Adeya, Ellen Schneider, Kotch Voraakhom, and Patrick Curran) as a way to address neglected urban environments, that other design firms were reluctant or ill-equipped to address. They repositioned design as a mechanism to alleviate some of the consequences of poverty and environmental degradation.
Community:KDI invited them to show their vison of the neighborhood.And then the residents join the workshop. Community organization:KDI chose one of them to help residents to rebuilt the public space. They provide expertise to help community. Government: Give some political help.
Community [https://www.kounkuey.org/projects/bridges_over_the_ngong_river] 164 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 165
Community workshop to design KPSP05 bridge
METHODS & TOOLS USED Method 1.Community workshop
Everyone discusses the design plan and gives feedback.
2.Lego for kids Children can participate the design through Lego.
3.Manual model
The model can give residents a more intuitive feeling and is easier for them to share their opinions.
Community workshop
KDI’s participatory planning and design methodology is key to the success of the KPSP. This process includes organizing community members, securing the necessary backing from local authorities, designing the space and associated businesses plans in collaboration with their community partners, as well as construction and implementation. Each PPS begins with the vision that residents have for their community. KDI solicits community organizations throughout Kibera to identify potential PPS through submitting formal Requests For Proposals. This process helps KDI understand the community’s vision for the proposed space and future community activity within the space.
4.Vote
Residents can vote for the plan they like.
Lego
Modeling
Vote
[https://www.kounkuey.org/projects/kibera_public_space_project_network] 166 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 167
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION Discussion
Design together
The KPSP has created profound impact from the local to the global scale. As the network grows and connections are formed, KPSP leaders exchange their skills and labor, helping each other carry out site repairs and cleanups, prepare for severe weather, and take other steps to build long-term resilience. Several groups have pooled their financial resources for increased marketing and political power The KPSP project is also connecting residents from the informal settlement with formal processes and actors that have historically marginalized them. As a result, local government actors have a greater understanding of the needs of informal settlements, and residents are equipped to participate more actively in planning and designing “slum upgrades”.
Community committee
The KPSP project has also served as a case study in groundbreaking research on community-led approaches to climate adaptation, with a particular focus on flooding and green infrastructure. With partners such as KTH University, Stockholm University, Lund University, Resurgence, King’s College London, the Technical University of Kenya, International Alert, and others, the network has been the focus of 5 international research projects and 5 published academic papers, furthering global institutional knowledge and practice around community-led sustainable development.
Project
[https://www.kounkuey.org/projects/kibera_public_space_project_network] 168 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 169
CREATE A DIAGRAM OF THE POWER SHARING MODEL OR DESIGN YOUR OWN “LADDER”
Power sharing model 170 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 171
REFERENCES h t t p s : / / w w w. t h e a t l a n t i c . c o m / s p o n s o re d / allstate_2017/in-unused-space-endlesspotential/1691/ https://www.blockbyblock.org/projects/nairobi https://ecohouseresearch.wixsite.com/ ecohouseresearch/kibera-public-space https://www.changemakers.com/ sustainableurbanhousing/entries/kibera-publicspace-project-sustainable-housing
https://currystonefoundation.org/practice/ kounkuey-design-initiative/ h t t p : / / w w w. h a r v a rd d e s i g n m a g a z i n e . o rg / issues/33/chelina-odbert-kounkuey-designinitiative-kenya https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/ stable/48514247?seq=1 https://www.wri.org/nairobi-public-spacesbuild-flood-resilience
https://www.kounkuey.org/projects/kibera_ public_space_project_10 https://afritekt.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/ kounkuey-design-initiative-the-kibera-publicspace-project/
172 | THE KIBERA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiaxin Li | 173
RAPIDO
Post-diaster Housing
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 177
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED [ANALYSIS] The word “Rapido” means “fast” in English. As a project about building post-disaster temporary shelters, speed is the key. Because compared to the traditional construction project, this temporary housing needs to be built within 12-20 weeks to provide the essential shelters for people in need. In Rapido, the process of community engagement is to assure that everything and everyone is -already in place when they are needed the most. In order to respond faster, the Rapido project reached out to multiple stakeholders, such as the local residents, contractors, designers, government, etc., to obtain the necessary resource so they could prepare for the disaster in advance and get the housings installed as soon as possible.
[LESSONS LEARNED] In my opinion, the reason why this project is so successful and also the lesson I have learnt from it is that how to engage with people at multiple levels and put them on the same table to work towards the same goal. Through engaging different people, the team reaches out to get a lot of help. By reaching out to the community and coperate with the ngos, the design team can understand what people needs; by hring local contractors or constrution professionals and local designers, the project can not only giving back and keep the economic inside the community, but also can response to the people in need faster. Eventually, when the team realize the importance of the project, and want it to benefit more people, they even reaches out the government and make the project bigger: a policy. This multi-level engagment enable the project to be a long standing and effective disaster recovery measure. Thought these engagements, the project become understandable and transparent, which lays a solid foundation for future development. This foundation later contributed to the process of making the project a state policy which further expand its effect and is able to help more people.1 RAPIDO pilot Program
178 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 179
Policy design and implementation
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
a regular 2-4 bedroom housing in the area.
[PROBLEMS]
The solution is give people a immediate housing and people can expand on the immediate housing later. In this way, the project can spend less time and money which can be used to help more people.
- Rebuilding takes too long - Building cost too much - Not learning from previous disaster
[PURPOSE] - Time frame There are some small and big barriers between the housings were actully built, for example, cleaning up the site, being reached out and assessed by officers and wait for the construction team, etc. So the project use the social service and the NGOs to do the out reach work while using the local contractors to clean and build housings. In this way, there will be a faster response to the disaster affected area and the money gets to keep in the communtiy. - Cost 12 months FEMA temporary is costing more than
- Pre-planning Based on previous experience, many resources are coming to the communtiy after disasters and people usually be overwhelmed by it. The confusion will cost extra time and resources before the houings are built. Pre-planning enable community to understand their situation and articulate what they need in advance, so the process will be more accurate and effctive. - Next step In 2009, the Texas State Legislature passed legislation creating a demonstration project to design a better system. The Legislature needs to act again to expand this Texas solution.
Building procession
180 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 181
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT [BACKGROUND HISTORY] On July 23rd, 2008, Hurricane Dolly made landfall in Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley causing widespread flooding and sustained winds of over 120mph. Low income residents in Cameron and Hildago Counties were hit hard, losing over $152 million dollars in housing related damages and contributing to a sum LRGV loss of $1 billion. As a result, the Texas Natural Disaster Housing Reconstruction Committee assembled a plan to design a statewide rapidly deployable replacement housing system for victims of federally declared natural disasters. Rapido is bcW’s response to the state’s initiative, addressing issues of social equity, rapid deployment, and constructability.
182 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
[CONTEXT] 6 years have passed since Hurricane Dolly hit the Texas Gulf Coast, making landfall and causing $1.35 Billion USD in damage. As one of the poorest areas in the United States, the Rio Grande Valley was already a risk population economically and environmentally. The insecurity increased as an under prepared disaster recovery management system left many families still struggling to this day.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 183
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES [STATE & FEDERAL ENTITIES] The primary goal of identifying federal and state points-of-contact for disaster recovery is to facilitate both pre-disaster planning and speedier rehousing post disaster through bridging the gap between relief and recovery funding. Through providing planning and mitigation resources, establishing recovery guidelines, and research and technical capacity, the Federal and State Disaster Recovery Coordinators create a structure to support local administration of the DRH program.
[LOCAL DISASTER REVOCERY PLANNING BAORD] The Local Disaster Planning Board and the geographic scale of its coverage is determined by the State Disaster Recovery Coordinator following the recommendations of the capacity assessment. The Local Disaster Planning Board members’ primary responsibility is predisaster planning, and they are fully available to direct and manage outside agencies to fulfill the DRH program. Locally-driven recovery reduces the timeline of receiving aid, and emphasizes a
184 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
grassroots-guided approach. This is proven to increase satisfaction and efficiency within the recovery process. DRH program intends to create a bottom-up, contextbased approach. The Local Disaster Planning Board serves to create a framework for developing, managing, and implementing the DRH program to their determined scale, geography and cultural context.
[LOCAL DISASTER ACTION TEAMS] The Local Disaster Action Teams (aka Action Teams) are the workforce of the DRH program. Procured by the Local Disaster Planning Board, the Action Teams can be comprised of a singular organization, or a collection of smaller organizations. This structure allows for the procurement of local non-profits, community groups and private organizations to work together with the government in the recovery process. Hiring local groups promotes a disaster recovery workforce that cares deeply about the quality of the response effort and has experience with the communities they are working in.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 185
PROCESS [Phase 1 - Disaster Declaration] After the disaster has been declared, based on the disaster scale, the Federal and State Disaster Recovery Coordinators and the Local Disaster Planning Board establish points of regular communication in the housing recovery process. In the event of a non-declared disaster, the State Disaster Recovery Coordinator and Local Disaster Planning Board will still activate. Consistent avenues for communication ensure that local jurisdictions are receiving the support they need, regular progress reports are submitted to the State and Federal Recovery Coordinators, and that Federal and State Recovery Coordinators are 186 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
maintaining production and schedule oversight.
[Phase 2 - Outreach] [N] begin outreach to homeowners in the designated target areas. Navigators conduct extensive outreach in the target communities impacted by the disaster to inform families of and enroll them into the DRH program. Navigators work to identify families in need of housing recovery assistance through a combination of door-to-door outreach, town hall meetings information sessions, and referrals from disaster responders, social services and community organizations. Navigators work closely with the grassroots network of local churches, community
centers, storm shelters, and service organizations to connect families in need with the DRH program. [CS] monitor family drop off rates. Ensure proper levels of outreach and family support are being provided through the process. [CS] in the event of recurring delays or barriers, the Client Services and Planning Administrator will coordinate with the State or Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinators to identify a solution. [PA] [S] [F]
[D]3.0 Begin post-disaster design process. Establish an implementation plan for the design process depending on the disaster scale, and prepare for all necessary post disaster design activities.
[Phase 4 - Construction] [C] [N] [D] [E]
Including temporary housing construction and permanent construction.
[Phase 3 - Outreach] [C]Begin the post-disaster recovery housing construction. Evaluate the pre-disaster construction work and the material available in order to coordinate the necessary activities for the recovery phase.
[Phase 5 - Follow up] Including programs follow up, review disaster recovery and develop recommendations, construction follow up, review DR(disaster
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 187
Open discussions
Pin-up schematic designs
METHODS & TOOLS USED Focus group participants were divided into two groups. CRA and Outreach Area residents of Independence Heights, Near Northside and Fifth Ward met in the Community Room (Workroom 1) and CRA and Outreach Area residents from Acre Homes, OST South Union, and Sunnyland met in the Jayne Junkin’s Memorial Room (Workroom 2) as two separate working focus groups. Local architects, who had participated with these neighborhoods during the initial Community Workshop, began the session by pinning up schematic designs for residents to view.
Residents and community leaders were then asked to flag and comment on the designs based on the two activities summarized in the following pages. Open discussions were held after the designs were flagged.
Flag and comment
188 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 189
Water Quality Management in the Lower Rio Grande Valley
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION [Water Quality Management in the Lower Rio Grande Valley]
Announgcing RAPIDORECOVERY.org
[bc] partnered with Texas A&M Kingsville and the Local Stormwater Taskforce during the 17th Annual Water Quality Management & Planning Conference held in South Padre Island. [bc] showcased the role of stormwater management in various RGV-based projects: RAPIDO, Colonias LID and La Hacienda Casitas. Through the sponsorship of the Surdna Foundation, [bc] brought two stormwater management experts to speak about stormwater management strategies at different scales that could benefit the Lower Rio Grande Valley and its various colonias
[Announcing RAPIDORECOVERY.org]
Spotlight on OUr Communities
190 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
buildingcommunityWORKSHOP ([bc]) is pleased to announce the launch of RAPDIORECOVERY. org in conjunction with our presentation of RAPIDO on Next City’s World Stage at UN Habitat III in Quito. RAPIDO is a holistic approach to housing recovery that enables communities to recover for disasters within months instead of years. Through understanding and redesigning
the entire U.S. disaster recovery housing process, alongside people who are affected the most, RAPIDO fosters resilience within Texas, empowers local communities, and abates the social and economic impacts of disaster. RAPIDORECOVERY.org makes it easy to learn more about the RAPIDO model, view work from the RAPIDO Rapid Disaster Recovery Housing Pilot Program, and keep up to date with RAPIDO advocacy efforts in Texas.
[Spotlight on Our Communities]
Across Dallas, across Texas, and across the nation, people without means are being left out of the conversations about the design and planning of their communities. [bc] empowers individuals, fostering opportunities for choice in order to amplify the voices of the most underserved residents. Spotlight on Our Communities is a new email series that highlights the ways [bc] is engaging communities to drive the decisions that will affect their lives. Three episodes below highlight our work in the realm of community-engaged planning, disaster recovery, and resident choicedriven housing design. These stories demonstrate the true impact of our work, which is only made possible through the support of our donors, partners, volunteers, champions, and friends.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 191
Citizen Power
Tokenism
Manipulation
Therapy
Informing
Consultation
Placation
Partnership
Delegated Power
Citizen Control
Orignial “Ladder”
Nonparticipation
RAPIDO’S “Ladder”
Citizen Power
Tokenism
Manipulation
Therapy
Informing
Consultation
Placation
Partnership
RAPIDO’S “Ladder”
Nonparticipation
Community partipation process
Move in
192 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
Choose Be informed Comments Be informed Approved Home Designof the final deisgn & of the initial degisn advice
Apply for program
Differen from the other cases, rapido is a project that aims at getting people back to their home as soon as possible after natural disasters, so under this speical situation, the top two levels of the original ladder are meaningless here because. After disasters, the communties in the affected areas are the have-nots. And in this circumstances, the mutual goal of the have and the have-nots is to bulit shelters, unlike the traditional ladder, the two parties are hostile to each other: either you are taking control, or I am. And the other thing is that timeframe is one of the priorities in RAPIDO, which means people don’t have time to talk about everything. The best way for the haves and have-nots to achieve their mutual goal is to work togethe: the have-nots express their needs while they don’t possess the expertise to archieve the goal themselves and the haves deliver. As far as I’m concerned, “partnership” is futherest people can go in RAPIDO.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 193
REFERENCES 1. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/rapido 2. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/whats-new-with-rapido 3. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/rapido-pilot-program 4. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/drh-program-report 5. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/improving-the-recovery-process 6. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/stormwater-conference-recap 7. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/rapido-website-launch 8. https://www.bcworkshop.org/posts/spotlight-on-our-communities 9. https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/dumped-on-by-dolly/ 10. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-dolly-churns-toward-texas/ 11. http://www.livewxradar.com/modules/WeatherPhotos/album56/2_G_002 12.https://www.statesboroherald.com/nation/national/south-texas-begins-cleanup-after-hurricane-dolly/ 13.https://www.chron.com/news/hurricanes/article/South-Texas-begins-cleanup-after-Hurricane-Dolly-1613894.php
194 | RAPIDO | POST-DIASTER HOUSING
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Zhifan Li | 195
Park(ing) Day
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 199
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED
Park(ing) Day Photo (Source: https://www.myparkingday.org/) 200 | PARK(ING) DAY
•
Open source project - Provide operable manual to apply small activities in different areas and different situation. Its flexible structure allows many different ideas to be explored, and a strong sense of ownership by local organizations.
•
It is also easy and affordable for anyone to participate, not only large organizations and design institutes.
•
The potential of a temporary / small art movement in challenging the way people think about urban space and encouraging the active participation of the public in civic processes.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 201
“It really is only the status quo that has made us decide that this is a space that belongs to cars.”
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Karl Jilg illustrates how much public space we surrender to cars.
Park(ing) Day is a global, public, participatory art project launched by Rebar in 2005. It is a day where people across the world temporarily repurpose street parking spaces and convert them to tiny parks and places for art, play, and activism. Why temporarily occupy parking spaces? As the Rebar PARK(ing) DAY manual notes, “The vast majority of outdoor urban space is dedicated to the private vehicle, while only a fraction of that land is allocated to open space for people.” Between 20-30% of San Francisco’s land area was streets, and that minus the sidewalk, 7080% of that space was dedicated to vehicle movement and storage.
Park(ing) Day Photo (Source: https://www.myparkingday.org/) 202 | PARK(ING) DAY
By occupying spaces - even if only temporary - individuals and organizations encourage a broader re-imaging of what could be and, in turn, help after the character of a city. The roots of PARK(ing) day encourage community and stakeholder collaboration with everyday citizens working with local businesses and private properties owners to take action and create gathering spaces and by asking the question: Is this the best use of this space? Is this the most efficient infrastructure design?
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 203
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT
2005 Inspired by “Gordon Matta Clarke’s Fake Estates” project, Matthew, John and Blaine - the group that would become Rebar - began seeking niche spaces in San Francisco. They determined that at the curbside meter rates, a parking space was an incredibly cheap piece of San Francisco real estate. Furthermore, in researching the SF Parking code, it was not illegal to put something other than a car in a parking space. They discussed ideas for more useful ways of occupying this precious part of San Francisco’s public realm. Shortly after the intervention, Andrea Scher, Matthew’s former partner, post some images on her website. Soon thereafter they began receiving expressions of interest from people around the globe. Then they created an Ikea-like how-tomanual describing the ethics and the process of creating the piece and invited anyone anywhere to use it. Using the guide, Park(ing) installations
The history of Park(ing) Day 204 | PARK(ING) DAY
began to appear around the globe. 2006 The following year, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, they launched Park(ing) Day, an annual event for people to reclaim urban space from cars, one parking space at a time. 2009 Inspired by Park(ing) Day and the New York City temporary plaza program, representatives of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Department of Greening commissioned Rebar and several other design firms to create a more permanent version of a park in a parking space. Our invention, a modular system of seating and planting was named Walklet. The city of San Francisco renamed the early projects Parklets and the City of San Francisco’s Parklet program, part of the Pavement to Parks was born. By early 2020, San Francisco had created 70 parklets in every corner of the city, and the city’s parklet program, now part of Groundplay SF(https://groundplaysf.org/), had become a model for cities around the world.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 205
FLEXIBLE ORGANIZING ENTITIES AND APPROACHES
In some cities, individuals and artists independently curate their own installations each year. In others, not-for-profit organizations, local councils and universities undertake larger events.
Instead of replicating the mini-park installation, Rebar decided to promote the idea as an open source urban project. Anyone with an interest is able to undertake a PARK(ing) Day project independently, without the direct involvement of Rebar.
With the support of local councils, universities and private sponsorships, Brisbane and Adelaide have organized PARK(ing) Day events almost every year since 2008. Both cities have run the event as a student design competition and paired it with seminar and workshop programs. In Sydney, PARK(ing) Day is advocated by a national not-for-profit organization, facilitates individual participation, and assist with submitting projects for design approval. In both Melbourne and Tasmania, the festival has only interested a few private enterprises and small groups of students. Less than 5 PARK(s) have been produced over the past two years… Do we already have enough public space?
By publishing “How-to Manual” and “Manifesto”, this individual project become open-source project. The facilitators and stakeholders also become diverse. There are a range of ways in which PARK(ing) Day events are established, like individually organizing, universities holding design competition, main organizers holding events, or government promoting events.
Flexible organizing entities and approaches 206 | PARK(ING) DAY
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 207
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LADDER OF PARK(ING) DAY Those four main organization approaches have different positions in the community engagement ladder. In government promotes activities, citizens are mostly informed online and participate in activities based on their personal interests.
In NGO promoted activities, citizens can join the design process through seminars or design workshops. Here, this activity starts actually engaging people. In the individually organizing process, individual citizens use the How-to manual to fully participate in the whole process. Citizens own control of the public space.
In a university-held design competition, most citizens will learn some knowledge and be aware of what’s going on based on the news. Only a small part of people can actually join the design process.
Community Engagement Ladder of Park(ing) Day 208 | PARK(ING) DAY
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 209
TYPOLOGY OF PARK(ING) The guidelines created by Rebar most importantly limit the commercial exploitation of the event, and keep participation focused on the principles of community service, creativity, experimentation, generosity and play. PARK(ing) Day is about making new experimental forms of public space for public activities, not for commercial uses or promotions. Typologies of Park(ing) (Source: https://streetswithoutcars.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/parking-day/)
People in different urban contexts have adapted and redefined the event to address relevant local issues. The photo collage above shows some of the many interesting ideas that have been employed so far.
The main typologies of Park(ing) are: Education In 2018 , Playful Learning Landscapes(PLL) in Philadelphia worked with designers and children to create a parklet that provide opportunities for performances, reading nook activities, and social interaction for children. Personal Interest Some individuals do sports(Taiji, Yoga...) or hold mini concerts on the parking lots. Nature & Climate Action In 2019, a #ClimateStrike #ParkingDay occupy five spots normally used by fossil fuel-burning vehicles in a daylong mobilization of play, dance, community and climate resource sharing. Social Movement In 2020, the theme of New York’s park(ing) day is celebrating streets for people and communities. The activity collectively envision new ways to adapt our street infrastructure and public spaces to promote health, vibrancy and equity.
2019 NYC (Source: https://www.aslany. org/event/2019-parking-day/) 210 | PARK(ING) DAY
Playable lerning parklets (Source: https://playfullearninglandscapes.com/ project/parking-day/)
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 211
PROCESS & EXTENTION Park(ing) Day Idea Spread Around the World Over the past 15 years, thousands of people around the globe have created hundreds of parks and formed an international event: Park(ing) Day. The event continues to grow. Park(ing) Day has become a global experiment in reprogramming vehicular space for social exchange, artistic expression, and play.
Park(ing) Day around the world (Source: https://www.spin.app/blog-posts/announcing-the-park-ing-day-2021-grantees)
Parklets Are Here to Stay in San Francisco During the pandemic, when many of our more traditional venues of social infrastructure like schools and libraries have been closed, these smaller spaces have become that much more critical for supporting the everyday casual encounters that are the basis of social cohesion and community building. the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to pass an ordinance that would make the Shared Spaces program permanent. In the parlance of everyday eaters, that means parklets are here to stay, long after the pandemic is over. However, how exactly to make them permanent turned into a contentious debate.
Parklets in San Francisco (Source: https://sf.eater.com/2021/7/14/22577370/ restaurant-parklets-permanent-san-francisco) 212 | PARK(ING) DAY
Van-city Speaks In Vancouver, in response to a growing demand from restaurants and cafes, Vancouver also created a curbside patio program for commercial outdoor dining. Prior to the pandemic, six patios had been approved by the city. When the pandemic hit, the city created a temporary expedited patio permit process. Since June 1, 2020, the city has approved over 400 temporary patios on private and city property. But acknowledging the inherent obstacles of city-led parklets, the city stopped accepting new conventional parklet applications and instead focused their energy on a pop-up plaza program in partnership with local business districts, which has resulted in the creation of 20 nicely-designed plazas with broad public support. Vancouver found that for about the same amount of time and money as a parklet, they could create much more generous and useful pop-up plaza spaces. The second initiative is a community focused parklet program, created in partnership with social service organizations in underserved neighborhoods like the Downtown Eastside. These parklets are designed and built by the city and programmed and managed with a dedicated community partner to offer such programs as health clinics and safe injection sites.
Community focused parklets in Vancouver (Source: https://dirt.asla.org/parklet4_blog/) Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 213
REFERENCES https://www.myparkingday.org/ https://streetswithoutcars.wordpress. com/2014/08/23/parking-day/ https://www.aslany.org/event/2019-parking-day/ https://www.aslany.org/event/asla-ny-parkingday-2/ https://dirt.asla.org/2021/09/09/pandemic-erastreet-spaces-parklets-patios-and-the-future-ofthe-public-realm/ https://sf.eater.com/2021/7/29/22596225/ parklets-permanent-san-francisco-bay-area https://calendar.dc.gov/event/national-parkingday-2016-dpr-central-office https://parkingday.jp/ https://www.idahosmartgrowth.org/the-powerof-the-parklet/
214 | PARK(ING) DAY
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Shinan Liu | 215
LA Más: Backyard Housing Project
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 219
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED •
Evaluate processes frequently.
•
Regard individual needs as the starting point in the design process.
•
Perfection is not always necessary.
Source: https://www.mas.la/affordable-adus (012920_2019_rubinger_fellows_presentations_helen_leung) 220 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 221
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Source: https://www.mas.la/affordable-adus (012920_2019_rubinger_fellows_presentations_helen_leung)
The Backyard Homes Project is a new affordable housing initiative that incentives homeowners to create an affordable rental unit in their backyard. This program offers homeowners a “one-stopshop” for financing, designing, permitting, constructing, and leasing a new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in the City of Los Angeles. In exchange for this support, homeowners commit to renting the ADU to a Section 8 tenant for a minimum of 5 years, building equity through rental income while also helping to solve the housing crisis.
Source: https://www.mas.la/affordable-adus (012920_2019_rubinger_fellows_presentations_helen_leung) 222 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 223
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT Background: Los Angeles is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis. The high cost of housing, relative to income levels, has led to Los Angeles having the third highest rent burden in the nation. Government subsidized housing and large-scale developments are essential, but not enough to meet demand. However, over half a million affordable rental homes are needed to meet the current demand in Los Angeles County. What is an ADU? An ADU is an Accessory Dwelling Unit – also called a backyard home, in-law unit, or granny flat. An ADU is a secondary residential unit that can be added to a lot with an existing single family home. ADUs are independent rental units that have their own entrances, kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and living rooms. They can be attached or detached from the primary residence, or they can be garage conversions.
Why ADUs? In the midst of LA’s housing crisis, the traditional model of affordable housing is not enough. ADUs can be built more quickly at a lower cost and help homeowners build wealth. California is a leader in progressive ADU policy, and LA is leading the way. In 2018, 20% of all housing permits issued in the City of Los Angeles were for ADUs. Since 2017, over 10,000 permits for ADUs have been issued. Many are being rented at market rate, but there is an opportunity for more ADUs to be built as affordable housing. What is Section 8? Section 8 is a federal government voucher program that helps lowincome families, the elderly, and people with disabilities afford decent housing in the private market. L.A. Initiatives Lots of ADUs are being built, and more housing units are demanded to be built and rented affordably. LA-Más is proud to be part of a growing movement to elevate ADUs as an affordable housing solution in Los Angeles.
Source: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ 224 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 225
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES The Backyard Homes Project is led by LA Más and our collective of non-profit and public partners — Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Self-Help Federal Credit Union, Restore Neighborhoods LA (RNLA), LA Family Housing, St. Joseph Center, Housing Rights Center and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA).
construction, and leasing support to build and rent a new ADU. The program was initiated open to all property owners in the City of Los Angeles, but is currently only open to homeowners with non-hillside residential properties in Northeast Los Angeles (Atwater Village, Cypress Park, Eagle Rock, Elysian Valley, El Sereno, Garvanza, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Hermon, Lincoln Heights, Montecito Heights, Monterey Hills and Mount Washington).
This incentive program offers homeowners optional financing, design, permitting,
226 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 227
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT 5 Focus Groups, 100 + Homeowners Option A: Design + Construction Support Option B: Financing + Design + Construction Support (only 4-6 participants will be selected) For a limited number of homeowners with limited personal savings and not enough home equity to fund construction, Genesis LA will provide predevelopment funding that will be repaid through Self-Help’s permanent mortgage product, to enable the funding of the ADU.
Source: https://www.mas.la/affordable-adus (012920_2019_rubinger_fellows_presentations_helen_leung) 228 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 229
METHODS & TOOLS USED • Open house • Neighborhood council meetings • Surveys and Email • Online application • Booklets
Source: https://www.mas.la/affordable-adus (012920_2019_rubinger_fellows_presentations_helen_leung) 230 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 231
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION Impacts: •Homeowners build equity. •10+ low income families have a home in 2020 New participants in Section 8 program. •Piloting a program not reliant on public subsidy. •Pathway for homeowner to provide affordable housing. Next Step: •Growing the programin partnership with LA County. •Reducing development costs for homeowners. •Expanding the tent of affordable ADU advocates. •Focusing on a place-based strategy. Program Expansion: •Program expands to unincorporated Los Angeles County. •Homeowner cash incentives •Partnership with LA County Development Authority
Source: https://www.mas.la/project-selection-1 232 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 233
POWER SHARING MODEL The power sharing model shows how low-income tenants get affordable housing from homeowners and the captial flow of the whole system. The incentive program offers homeowners optional financing, design, permitting, construction, and leasing support to build and rent a new ADU. Section 8 offers a consistent, reliable rental stream for homeowners. The tenant pays 30% of their income towards rent, and the housing authority pays the remainder.
234 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 235
REFERENCES 1.https://www.mas.la/affordable-adus 2.https://archleague.org/article/ff-distance-edition-la-mas-video/ 3.https://www.mas.la/project-selection-1 4.https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-is-making-the-process-of-building-backyard-homes-fasterwith-new-pre-approved-designs/
236 | LA MÁS: BACKYARD HOUSING PROJECT
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semster 2021 | Hao Ma | 237
COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
240 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 241
WHAT ARE COMMUNITY BOARDS? Community boards are “the most local form of government for residents of New York City”. They serve an essential role in our city’s democracy by shaping neighborhood development and advising government on community needs and interests The community boards of the New York City government are the appointed advisory groups of the community districts of the five boroughs. Though community boards have a seat at the planning table, very few get actually power and remain mostly impotent
Community Board Meeting 242 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 243
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT New York City’s community boards originated in the 1950s, when Manhattan Borough President Robert F. Wagner established twelve “Community Planning Councils,” each comprised of 15-20 members. The councils served an advisory role to the Borough President, primarily for planning and budgetary issues.1 As mayor, Wagner institutionalized the councils as “Community Planning Boards” in the 1963 Charter Revision, extending them to all five boroughs. Expanded again in 1968 by Mayor John Lindsay through the passage of Local Law 39, community boards acquired their present structure in the Charter Revision of 1975, which established the Uniform
Brief Timeline of Community Boards 244 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and expanded the number of boards to the present 59. Additionally, the Charter Revision Commission recommendations gave the community boards a formal role in three specific areas: (1) Improving the delivery of city services; (2) Planning and reviewing land use in the community; and (3) Making recommendations on the city’s budget. Currently, each community board consists of up to 50 volunteer members appointed by the borough president, with half nominated by the City Council members representing that district. Board members are charter mandated to reside, work in, or have some other significant interest in the community
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 245
New York City’s Community Board- 59 in total Number of Boards by Boroughs The Bronx: Brooklyn: Manhattan: Queens: Staten Island:
New York City’s Community Boards 246 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
12 18 12 14 03
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 247
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES The Council of the City of New York allocates funds to the Community Boards across New York.
248 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 249
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT A community boards is only as strong as its members, and membership can only be as strong as the application pool from which members are selected. Improving outreach and recruitment will ensure that, like New York City’s neighborhoods, each community board has a diverse group of members with unique perspectives working together. Borough presidents have begun recruiting widely and inclusively through such methods as online applications and the consideration of their boards’ overall diversity. Though increased and more inclusive outreach because these efforts will better equip a community board to effectively serve its community as a whole is reccommended . Every community board should benefit from the best application process in New York City. Borough presidents have innovated their applications, but there has been limited sharing of best practices across boroughs. A standardized and transparent selection process for community boards, with reporting on best practices to the public and between
250 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
government agencies is advocated. Key recommendations include expanded outreach, standardized online applications, ending the culture of “automatic reappointment” in order to encourage strong performance and ensure members do not become entrenched in their board’s organizational structure, recruitment of experts and underrepresented communities, and lowering the eligibility age for community boards to 16, so teenagers can have a say in the decisions that affect them.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 251
METHODS & TOOLS USED Community engagement is a long-term commitment, not a short-term fix or a single event. As part of that long-term commitment, a board can choose from several strategies: Community Conversations: The traditional “public forum” format is used to present a plan, then seek public comment upon that plan. But that format does little to help school boards understand the underlying values, concerns and priorities of the community. Community conversations are designed to allow a dialogue among citizens, covering a broad range of ideas and mixture of interests. Citizens are asked to weigh options, analyze benefits and tradeoffs, and identify common ground for action. Study Circles: A study circle is a process for smallgroup deliberation. A study circle is comprised of 10-15 people who meet regularly over a period of weeks or months to address a critical public issue. A community-wide study circle program engages large numbers of citizens- working in
Community engagement study circles 252 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
small groups - on a public issue such as race relations, crime and violence or education. Participants gain ownership of the issues and, as the results of the discussions are gathered and analyzed, provide input to policy makers. Focus Groups: Focus groups are facilitated meetings of small groups of people brought together for a specific discussion. They can be a useful way for education systems to develop a clearer understanding of the issues they face. Focus groups can be used as a step toward conducting a larger community conversation that is, as a way to help establish the agenda or anticipate public reaction to key points. Polling: Surveys, needs assessments and other polling tools won’t provide the depth or reveal underlying thinking the way community conversations or study circles do. However, these tools can help boards understand the broader public’s thoughts about educational goals, student performance, priorities, and views on specific issues.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 253
SECTION 197-A OF THE CHARTER Image caption and attribution
Image caption and attribution
Most promising, and ultimately most disappointing, about the 1975 revision were the provisions made for community participation in land use planning. The new Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) required that community boards review all land use proposals submitted to or by the city for their district. Under section 197-A of the charter, boards could also develop alternative master plans in response to city proposals, with expert help (if they could find planners who would agree to work for little to no pay, that is, since no revision substantially increased a board’s budget).
What a community board advised for land use was only one brief stop on a long planning pathway that included the City Planning Commission, the Borough President, the City Council, and the Mayor. (And, in recent years, many critics would contend that the Real Estate Board of New York is also an unofficial and majority partner in this process.) Since section 197-A was added to the charter, only seventeen community master plans have been approved.
Yet even the process of reviewing land-use proposals and, in ideal scenarios, developing democratically conceived, technically brilliant alternative plans with broad participation from community residents, was no guarantee that community boards’ wishes would be granted.
254 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 255
REFERENCES Meaningful Community enegagement should not have participation but they should be conducted in plain language. This makes it easier for everyone to understand each other. There should tranaparency and effective dialogue. The faciliators should try to maintane attitudes and behaviours of participants- only to serve the purpose of clear communication. But it evenetually comes down to having a say in the decision making in the end. Though community meetings can be theraputic or helpul to participants, it would be more meanigful if they get decison making power.
256 | COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
https://urbanomnibus.net/2018/03/board-to-death/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_boards_of_New_York_City https://ny.curbed.com/2017/3/15/14918194/nyc-community-board-member-getinvolved https://gothamist.com/news/why-do-nyc-community-boards-have-so-little-power https://slideplayer.com/slide/13718502/ https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/brooklyn-community-board-membershipapplications-2021-how-to-apply/
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Aishwarya Mathukumilli | 257
COMMUNITY BOARDS IN NEW YORK CITY
KotaKita Karimunjawa: A Community-based Islandscape Initiative
With an attractive landscape and a nascent tourism market, Karimunjawa has the potential to develop a more cohesive, environmentally sustainable and culturally meaningful tourism industry that not only coexists, but actively participates in the landscapes’ potential. Using participatory processes, Kota Kita led an action research project in collaboration with local communities and stakeholders to develop community-based islandscape initiatives in the islands.
KEY ORGANIZATIONS & PARTNERS: Lingkar Desa Jepara, Himpunan Pramuwisata Indonesia (HPI) Karimunjawa, Pemerintah Kecamatan Karimunjawa
DURATION: November 2018 - June 2019 Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Achmad Maulana | 261
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT Karimunjawa is a cluster of islands and atolls north of Central Java with latent potential for sustainable tourismbased development, much like other island-based hotspots in Indonesia. With an attractive landscape and nascent tourism market, there is an opportunity to develop a more cohesive environmentally sustainable and culturally meaningful tourism industry that not only coexists but actively participates in the landscapes’ potential. In 2015, Karimunjawa was targeted as part of a national strategic development plan for tourism - Kawasan Strategis Pariwisata Nasional (KSPN).This national program is motivated by an economic development campaign largely dependent upon the development and establishment of the tourism sector in designated sites.
PROBLEM CONTEXT More often than not, the unregulated growth of the tourism industry tends to be in conflict with environmental conservation and long-term sustainability of the site. Increased number of visitors and services can disrupt the ecological balance of the natural environment - and if unmanaged - permanently blemish the beauty of the sites that was meant to be an attraction in the first place. Development of tourism destination often relies on external investment, ad-hoc, often neglecting the long-term impact to the surrounding area, creating further problems like unmanaged waste, water shortage, and socioeconomic issues such as the gentrification of local and traditional communities. Image: KotaKita 262 | KOTAKITA: KARIMUNJAWA
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Achmad Maulana | 263
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE This assessment focuses on Karimunjawa, considering several factors: Karimunjawa has latent potential for sustainable tourism-based development much like other hotspots in Indonesia. With a relatively untouched natural environment and nascent tourism market, there is an opportunity to develop a more cohesive environmentally sustainable and culturally meaningful tourism industry that supports the existing local community. Karimunjawa is a fast-growing nature-based tourism destination. Since it was listed as one amongst four KSPN (Kawasan Strategis Pariwisata Nasional), or national strategic tourism destinations in Central Java, together with Borobudur, Sangiran and Dieng, the number of tourist visits in Karimunjawa have significantly increased.
Karimunjawa’s future is threatened if the development is not well-managed. The increasing trend of tourist visits in Karimunjawa, can be seen as potential as well as a threat to the future of Karimunjawa. The area already faces basic infrastructure and development challenges of waste management and water security.
The complexity of stakeholders in Karimunjawa can also become an asset for the establishment of multi-stakeholder mechanisms. Karimunjawa has a wide range of stakeholders from the national authority, village government, business entities, and local communities. This research aims to create a shared vision amongst the differing stakeholder groups as the main unifying point is to facilitate and instill responsible development practices within the Karimunjawa islandscape. Image caption and attribution 264 | KOTAKITA: KARIMUNJAWA
Image: KotaKita Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Achmad Maulana | 265
PARTICIPATORY PROCESS Karimunjawa is shaped by unique and complex set of stakeholders. As these stakeholders have different authorities and operate at different scales and sectors, a method of effectively engaging all of them are important in order to create a vision of a more sustainable Karimunjawa in the future. In this vision building process, we wanted to create a collaborative platform for the disparate stakeholders to voice their opinions, their needs and desires. Ultimately, to get everyone to look ahead towards a place that they all want to be. The participatory process that has been facilitated by Kota Kita aims to gather information about Karimunjawa as well as bridging the process of vision building amongst the stakeholders through a series of activities: • Interviews with different government agencies at the provincial and regency level (Central Java Province and Kabupaten Jepara) to gather basic information about Karimunjawa. • 31 in-depth interviews were conducted to local government officials, community leaders, religious leaders, community associations, nongovernment organisations, business entities, as well as tourists who visited Karimunjawa to understand the complexity of Karimunjawa as well as explore the potential initiative that can be done to improve Karimunjawa. • 6 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted in 4 villages in Karimunjawa: Karimun, Kemujan, Nyamuk and Parang, and one sectoral focus group discussions to bridge the process of vision building amongst the local community in Karimunjawa.
Images: KotaKita 266 | KOTAKITA: KARIMUNJAWA
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Achmad Maulana | 267
STAKEHOLDER MAP
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES Karimunjawa is shaped by a unique assemblance of differing stakeholder groups, with the presence of the national government authority represented by BTN whom are responsible for conservation efforts in the Karimunjawa National Park. The Kecamatan (Sub-District) serves as the formal government authority and an extension of Pemerintah Kabupaten (Regency) Jepara. The local autonomous government (Desa) operates daily administration. Additional groups include business entities such as those working in the tourism sector i.e. travel agents, hotels, restaurants, and operators, community organizations and non-government organizations, as well as the local communities as the key economic engine of Karimunjawa. These stakeholders all pose differing activities, authorities, and operate at various scales amongst a range of sectors.
Image: KotaKita 268 | KOTAKITA: KARIMUNJAWA
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Achmad Maulana | 269
PROPOSED STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
SCALE OF INTERVENTION Establishment of a public forum that will act as a platform for communication and coordination for Karimunjawa. This forum should function as a multi-stakeholder platform that facilitates discussion amongst stakeholders about diverse issues in Karimunjawa, coordinate actions taken by each institution, as well as strengthen collaboration amongst collective action. This forum should be led by one of the leading stakeholders in Karimunjawa that is able to engage with a broader range of stakeholders including local government, local communities, NGOs and private sectors (perhaps BTN as the national entity in the local setting, or Jepara
Regency Government). COMPONENTS OF THE INITIATIVE • Stakeholder mapping: Identify key stakeholders as founding partners to establish the islandscape forum, as well as broader stakeholders that should be involved in the process. • Set-up multi-stakeholder co-financing model to sustain the forum. A co-financing model aims to improve the sense of belonging for all stakeholders involved in the forum. • Establishment of the islandscape forum. Early discussions should highlight the importance of this movement(mainly to strengthen collaboration across government, citizens, and the business sector), an agenda should be established and topics of concern, how to leverage resources, skillsets and opportunities through collective action, in addition to structure, function and levels of engagement within the entity itself and how it should be formed. • Set up a regular agenda for coordination. This should involve a coordination mechanism to strengthen and enable ease within the multi-stakeholder collaboration. Image: KotaKita 270 | KOTAKITA: KARIMUNJAWA
Image: KotaKita Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Achmad Maulana | 271
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED
NATURE + ECOLOGY
THE CUSTODIAN
•
Public participation has shaped a better policy making as the public will be part of the action and implementation
•
Being in remote island, the cohesiveness of the community is the main key for the success of the public participatory program
•
People and ecology should be at the center of Karimunjawa’s future. In contrast to adhoc regional development, Karimunjawa’s ecological assets, ecosystem services and the positioning of local communities should be part of the planning and development process. Karimunjawa’s future success as a destination will rely upon the protection of its ridge to reef islandscape as well as the development of human capital.
BRING BACK POWER TO NATURE
NEW MODEL OF LADDER OF PARTICIPATION
References: www.kotakita.org Image: KotaKita 272 | KOTAKITA: KARIMUNJAWA
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Achmad Maulana | 273
274 | KOTAKITA: KARIMUNJAWA
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Achmad Maulana | 275
LIVING BREAKWATERS
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 277
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED Project Description: Living BreakWaters is a flood-protection system that protects a long urban shoreline— includes nine separate breakwater segments, spanning twenty-four hundred linear feet across the bay; a floating oyster nursery; an environmental-education hub; and a set of man-made tide pools, shallow rocky basins built in the zones where water and land mingle at high tide. + The importance of learning to communicate complex environmental issues to communities through the engagement process. + Using a diverse set of tools and methods of engagement to reach a diverse audience engaging students and working community professionals. + How to frame a design that centers both ecological and social systems equally, moving towards co-habitation.
Living Breakwaters, SCAPE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 279
578 MILES OF SHORELINE
HURRICANE SANDY, 2012
Saul Loeb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Hurricane Sandy made it clear the need to spend money now to ensure that the city’s infrastructure and neighborhoods are resilient to storms and flooding that undoubtedly will occur again as climate change intensifies. As with so many other environmental issues, poor communities and communities of color will likely bear the brunt of these impacts unless we guard against them. It is imperative to begin the process of replanting, restoration and conservation of disappearing coastal wetlands, sand dunes and oyster reefs is crucial. Eighty-five percent of the coastal wetlands have been lost to development in the New YorkNew Jersey harbor estuary, and sand dunes on Long Island’s South Shore are eroding at one to two feet a year. The oyster reefs — historically an important barrier to storm surges — were wiped out a century ago from overharvesting.
Exposed Pipeline in Tottenville, The New Yorker 280 | LIVING BREAKWATERS, SCAPE
It is also clear, the intent of the project aims to center ecological issues in the context of social programs that empower and involve communities adjacent to the pilot project. “Living Breakwaters has huge, worldwide implications, both in its understanding of how to communicate ecological issues to the local community within its own context, as well as in its rigorous, multi-disciplinary research and smart use of technology. Aside from the solid science, planning, and building approach, the most compelling aspect of this project is its community involvement through the engagement with students working on real-world science problems and being part of the solution to a local coastal problem that could contribute to similar solutions worldwide.” — Susan Szenasy
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 281
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT
and non-disastrous inundation events. The Team developed a framework to link people with the shoreline and with the water through education, engagement, and the expansion of a water-based recreational economy.
Oyster Economies and Shoreline Culture
View of Tottenville from Perth Amboy, NJ, 1853.
Large, dense clusters of oysters once helped to protect Tottenville from storm waves and filter surrounding waters. But a combination of dredging, over harvesting and pollution virtually destroyed them. “It used to be that oyster reefs would provide a lot of structural habitat, but now there’s just a sandy bottom,” explains Brad Howe, an associate at landscape architecture firm SCAPE, which designed Living Breakwaters along with a team of engineers and ecologists. Sandy underscored why this kind of ecological degradation is so problematic—the storm hit Tottenville with some of the most powerful waves in the region, causing fatalities and knocking houses off their foundations. The Living Breakwaters is a project that aims to reduce risk, making environmental issues legible and part of everyday life while growing ecological habitat and building social resiliency. This proposal aims to step down risk with each investment, redefine scales of harm, and move beyond the impossible scenario of enclosing ‘dry’ from ‘wet’ to address larger long-term issues of ecosystem collapse, cycles of regional decline, and managed, calmer,
282 | LIVING BREAKWATERS, SCAPE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 283
SCAPE
ENGAGEMENT
LEAD DESIGNER BOP Billion Oyster Project
THE CURRICULUM
LOCAL SCHOOLS
HARBOR SCHOO
ORGANIZING
SUPPORTING
FUNDING
L
P.S. 5 7 NEW DOR P HIGHSCHOO L
STAKEHOLDERS
COLLABORATORS
CAC Community Advisory Committee
BO P Billion Oyster Projec t
BA YKEEPERS + HUDSON RIVER FOUNDA TION
COWI (Design Team) Arcadis (Design Team) SeArc (Ecological Marine Consulting)
MARINE FISHERIES
WSP (Design Team) MFS Engineers (Design
PUBLI C
Team)
LO T-EK (Design Team) The Billion Oyster Project (Engagement Weeks Marine (Construction Contractor) Ramboll (Construction Management ) Baird (Construction Management ) AKRF (Environmental Review & Permitting)
284 | LIVING BREAKWATERS, SCAPE
Governor's Of fice of Storm Recover y
LIVING BREAK WATERS
NYC AGENCIES ARM Y CORPS NYS DEC
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES
to engage in restoring Oyster habitat throughout NYC.
Engagement Structure + Partnerships
Aside from student engagement, the design team held meetings with local environmental activist groups and other marine workers who rely on the shoreline. Including Bay keepers and the Hudson River Foundation, Marine Fishers and Clammers.
USWFS
CLAMMERS
Team)
Prudent Engineering (Design
LOCAL + REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
NYC AGENCIES )
SCAPE was the lead designer for this proposal, it Originally starting with an exhibition titled Rising Currents in 2014, where the concept for breakwaters originated in response to a prompt given by the Museum of Modern Art looking at sea level rise and New York City called Rising Currents. The outcome of the project not only include a physical design component but an educational component called The Curriculum. This was a educational course co-created by students and the Billion Oyster Project whose mission is to give students, scientists and residents the opportunity
After winning the BuildbyDesign Competition in 2014, SCAPE and other collaborators began a 5 year long Design and Engagement process to implement diverse set of needs of stakeholders. The entire process, included Design/Permitting/ Planning, Construction and Administration, Social Resiliency Programming funded by HUD Community Development Block Grant – Disaster
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 285
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT Who participated and how were they invited? Beyond the physical breakwaters, the project aims to build social resilience in Tottenville through educational programs for local schools in partnership with the Billion Oyster Project (BOP), as well as years of engagement through the Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC), a coalition of local stakeholders. Living Breakwaters was developed through a series of meetings with community members and stakeholders have been held to collectively brainstorm on how to best program and occupy the proposed interventions. Through a series of Engagement tactics, the reach of engagement opportunity included a range of activities and artifacts. Members of the project’s Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC), local residents, and students were invited to participate through meetings, surveys, shoreline walks and interactive models placed within the community.
The Living Breakwaters CAC was officially formed in July 2015, and is comprised of local and regional stakeholders with diverse backgrounds. GOSR encouraged applications from all variety of individuals and organizations in order to represent the diverse community of Staten Island and the region who the project will serve. Representatives were selected by the State through on-line and paper application submissions. This committee serves an advisory role and does not replace direct public input or public engagement events and workshops. All CAC meetings are open to the public. Programming and education are a critical part of the Living Breakwaters social resiliency project objectives, allowing for residents and visitors to engage with the shoreline, learn about resiliency initiatives and ecological restoration activities, and become stewards of the harbor. The Billion Oyster Project has also developed a Living Breakwaters STEM Curriculum designed for students in 6th to 8th grade public school science classes, emphasizing the history and importance of oysters to Staten Island and its ecology, and showcasing the Living Breakwaters as a case study in coastal resilience.
SCAPE 286 | LIVING BREAKWATERS, SCAPE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 287
METHODS & TOOLS USED A series of tactics to engage the public, members of the CAC, students and locals were used to facilitate meetings and discussion using a diverse catalog of methods. This included: Meetings Workshops Boat Tours Shoreline Walks Stewardship Adventures Exhibits + Interactive Models
This iterative process of engagement added a layer of complexity and nuance to the final design, which turned out to be different than the original proposal. The inherent outcome of engagment was to receive input through programming that builds a community around education on coastal resilience and ecosystem stewardship; foster and encourage community stewardship and citizen science, and enhance access to the water’s edge and near-shore waters for recreation, education, research, and stewardship activities.
The Billion Oyster Project has also developed a Living Breakwaters STEM Curriculum designed for students in 6th to 8th grade public school science classes, emphasizing the history and importance of oysters to Staten Island and its ecology, and showcasing the Living Breakwaters as a case study in coastal resilience.
SCAPE, 2017
288 | LIVING BREAKWATERS, SCAPE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 289
WORKSHOPS
CAC MEETING
As part of this process, the SCAPE team conducted extensive analysis of the breakwaters to develop design scenarios. These iterations were shared with Stakeholders, including local Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) for review and community input. The final design has been adjusted from the original competition proposal and has now received city, state and federal agency approval as part of environmental review and permitting.
PARTICIPATION
SHORELINE WALKS
290 | LIVING BREAKWATERS, SCAPE
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION
Actual activities included meetings with the CAC, open to the public, workshops with students, teachers, workers, exhibitions on site central to the community, walks along the shoreline, and fun excursions into the water s to collect samples: this included diving, kayaking and other recreational opportunities that include learning. Of those interactions, the recorded feedback and discussion seems to have been done by facilitators from the engagement team which took place at meetings and schools. Whether it was through workshop prompts or printed boards at engagement meetings, facilitators were there to guide and answer any questions.
EXHIBITS
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 291
DESIGNING WITH NATURE
ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION
STEWARDSHIP
CLIMATE POLICY + INVESTMENT
REFERENCES https://www.scapestudio.com/projects/livingbreakwaters-design-implementation/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/newyork-is-building-living-wave-barriers-to-preparefor-the-next-superstorm/ h t t p s : / / w w w. b i l l i o n o y s t e r p ro j e c t . o rg / l b curriculum-chapter-1
http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/data/files/676. pdf https://www.regeneratingtottenville.org/thevideo h t t p s : / / w w w. n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c . c o m / environment/article/hurricane-sandy h t t p s : / / w w w. n e w y o r k e r. c o m / magazine/2021/08/09/the-seas-are-risingcould-oysters-protect-us
https://stormrecovery.ny.gov/LBWCAC https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/opinion/ ocean-climate-new-york.html http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/our-work/ all-proposals/winning-projects/ny-livingbreakwaters
294 | LIVING BREAKWATERS, SCAPE
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Galina Novikova | 295
“The theatre itself is not revolutionary: it is a rehearsal for the revolution.” ~ Augusto Boal
THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 297
ANALYSIS
Augusto Boal presenting a workshop on the Theatre of the Oppressed at Riverside Church in New York City in 2008
•
The use of the theatrical art form in political discourse, in order to steer the narrative and attempt social change. The creation of this new language lies in the hand’s of the audience who traditionally are simply observers, but here have the power to transform and take control of the series of events taking place before them.
•
The interaltion of these different theatre techniques are in fact communicative methodolgies with reach beyond the “act”. How do you apply this in everyday life? What is the skope for outreach and the benefits of this established transgression?
•
The use of dialogue as a transformative tool for community strategies and development. The art of storyteling is a catalyst creating a realm of social exploration, understanding and consequence to elevate an individual’s and society’s way of communicating and thinking.
Augusto Boal presenting a workshop on the Theatre of the Oppressed at Riverside Church in New York City in 2008
• The use of theatre techniques to promote social and political change and foster dialogue •
An arsenal of theatre techniques and games that seeks to motivate people, restore true dialogue, and create space for participants to rehearse taking action. It begins with the idea that everyone has the capacity to act in the “theatre” of their own lives; everybody is at once an actor and a spectator.
•
Series of theatrical critiques and analyses created during a repressive political climate
Participants in a workshop on the Theatre of the Oppressed in New York City. Riverside Church, May 13, 2008. 298 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 299
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Julian Boal leads an advanced workshop, Representing Social Contradictions Through Theatre of the Oppressed, TONYC, 2019
The goal of the theatre project was to transform the “monologue” of traditional performance into a “dialogue” between audience and stage. Boal experimented with many kinds of interactive theatre, believing that dialogue is the common, healthy dynamic between all humans, that all human beings desire and are capable of dialogue, and that when a dialogue becomes a monologue, oppression ensues. Boal’s techniques use theatre as means of promoting social and political change in alignment originally with radical-left politics and later with centre-left ideology. The techniques that Boal developed was influenced by the work of the educator and theorist Paulo Freire and his book ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed.’ These included Forum theatre, Invisible theatre, Image theatre and Newspaper theatre. So rather than focusing on how to act, TO was a method that sought to connect acting to changing the world, by elaborating political projects and being politically active. It was about collective organisation and struggle, with actors asserting themselves on the political stage.
300 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
The originality and the radicalism of TO was derived from its ‘poetics of the oppressed’: it was conceived as a theatrical method, enabling ordinary people (often from oppressed groups) who were neither professional actors nor artists, collectively to make use of a set of techniques that brought to light systemic exploitation and oppression as a spur to overcome such situations in everyday life. The development of the Invisible theatre is a case in point. As an exile from the military dictatorship in Brazil, living in Argentina, Boal developed Invisible Theatre as a way to avoid the dangers presented by a more openly activist theatre. Another example was Image Theatre – which does not require speaking – and was developed while he was working with different groups of Peruvian people who didn’t share the same language. These examples show how the poetics of the oppressed consisted of an ‘arsenal’ of techniques and exercises developed over years in an activist approach under the aegis of the guiding principle: to give the people the means of production of theatre so that the oppressed might use theatre as a political instrument for their liberation struggle.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 301
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) was a theatrical form established in the 1950’s by Augusto Boal, a brazilian theatre practitioner and stage directore. It was first elaborated in Brazil and later to other parts of Europe. The creation of the Theatre of the Oppressed is largely based on the idea of dialogue and interaction between audience and performer. Moreover, these ideas have served as a framework for the development and evolution of stronger ideas The context for Boal’s work is inseparable from the military dictatorships that dominated in South America during the early to mid-1970s. Boal himself was a Brazilian often working in exile in Argentina and elsewhere, and the attraction to working in theatre lay in its ability to act as a political vehicle when other vehicles were foreclosed. Boal’s writings were based on practical experience and intended for practitioners (actors or non-actors).
302 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
SPECTATORS TO SPECT-ACTORS In the Theatre of the Oppressed, the audience becomes active, such that as “spect-actors” they explore, show, analyse and transform the reality in which they are living. The narrative tackles the spectator’s stance, probing the boundary that normally separates who can act and who cannot. By treating acting and spectating as interrelated functions, TO challenged the ways these functions were normally distributed. Boal described the firm separation of acting from spectating as the crystallisation of people’s dispossession, undermining the very possibility of the spectator becoming actor – theatrically and politically. He drew an analogy between the spectator and the oppressed, encouraging the latter to start fighting by taking up the role of actor. By acting they would learn how to dispense with their passivity and to face their oppressors without relying on some other political agent to do this for them. Hence, the stakes were all about changing spectators into actors.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 303
Kuringa, 2011
Shadow theatre and theatre of the oppressed: the workshop goes on, Silvi Ombre, Rome
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES •
Brazilian artist/activist Augusto Boal is visiting Harvard to conduct theater workshops. (Staff photos Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard News Office)
We are citizens: Theatre of the oppressed NYC| Connecticut mental health center foundation
International theatre of the Oppressed Organization | Jana sanskriti, India
The largest single organization in the Theatre of the Oppressed network is Jana Sanskriti. Set up by Sanjoy Ganguly in the Sunderbans, a rural area outside Calcutta in the Bay of Bengal, Jana Sanskriti has a membership of over 40,000, 30 theatre teams. Focused on art and activism which has resulted in major improvements in health, infrastructure, welfare benefits, education and social awareness through the region. Boal’s ideas have been widely accepted and used by theatre groups in Mozambique after the end of the civil war in 1992 to explain the need for reconciliation and to discuss topics such as avoiding landmines, voting in the first democratic elections and the rights of peasants under the new land law.
“No human being is illegal”: Polarized Theatre of the Oppressed with Asylum Seekers and Israeli Citizens,IAS, 2019
•
Theatre of the Oppressed New York City
TONYC was founded in 2011 by Katy Rubin, whereby they partner with community members through local non-profit organizations and social justice coalitions, to form theatre troupes. These troupes devise and perform plays based on their challenges confronting economic inequality, racism, and other human rights injustices.
•
Kuringa Berlin, Germany
•
Centre for Community change, Bangalore, India
•
Medical Humanities Group, New Delhi, India
dialogue
and
Theatre Workshop teaches social justice strategies
Sita school, 2011, CCDC ,Bangalore Boal (arms raised) conducts a movement exercise.
304 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 305
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES
They empower people with lived experience of homelessness and strive to change society’s perceptions of homeless people.
•
How?
Cardboard Citizens, UK
Cardboard Citizens was founded in 1991 by Adrian Jackson, as a London Bubble project. For the first four years it toured Forum Theatre by homeless people to other homeless people throughout the UK, performing in hostels, day centres, arches, the street and conference centres.
Making theatre for homeless and ex-homeless people and for general audiences. Who and Where? Sites,on the stage, in the street, through hostels, centres and prisons.
After Cardboard Citizens became an independent entity in 1995, the company broadened out into schools touring, as well as regular workshops, theatre visits, and large-scale site-specific collaborations.
Cardboard citizens UK 306 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 307
PARTICIPANTS Boal transmitted his method through workshops, which he led himself, and through his books. He then formed a team of practitioners to support him in delivering workshops. There are three major stakeholders involved in the theatre process:
• Joker/ Facilitator/ Difficultator
A neutral party is required to be at the centre of the proceedings acting as a facilitatator. Termed after the neutral/unibiased joker card in a deck of playing cards. Role: Takes responsibility for the logistics of the process and ensures a fair proceeding, but must never comment upon or intervene in the content of the performance. Fairness in this context means making sure that the problem story, which by its nature involves a situation of oppression that must be overcome,
Theatre of the oppressed elements/methodology 308 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
is not solved—that is, that the participants (the “spect-actors”) focus on solving the problem in as realistic and plausible a way as possible, even though it is being played out in a fictional theatrical piece. The result should be something like group “brainstorming” about social problems within the community.
Who? Actors and Non-actors Process: The Joker’s role was more political and activist than professional. Be a method passer - passing the TO method to non-actors from oppressed groups. They also acted as a broker between practitioners and spectators, helping break the boundary that separtes and transforming them into spectactors.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 309
PARTICIPANTS • Spect-actor Role: Created by Boal to unisolate the audience i.e. the traditional spectator in conventional theatre. According to him the term dehumanized the participants as less than human and hence he wanted to restore them to their full capacity for action. Who? They must also be a subject, an actor on equal plane with those accepted as actors, who in turn must also be spectators. This will eliminate any notions of the ruling class and the theatre solely portraying their ideals while the audience members are the passive victims of those images. This way the spectators no longer delegate power to the characters either to think or act in their place. They free themselves; they think and act for themselves
Theatre of the oppressed 310 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Process: Usually refers to particpants in ‘Forum theatre’. It refers to the dual role of those involved in the process as both spectator and actor, as they both observe and create dramatic meaning and action in any performance. Can also be applied to the particpants in ‘Invisible theatre’, who are unaware that they are part of the theatre production but neverthless contribute to the discussion. Or, can be used in ‘Image theatre’ who upon viewing the image cretaed may alter it to reflect their own ideas.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 311
TYPES OF THEATRE •
Forum theatre Dramaturgy’
‘
tion to break the oppression. Through this process, the participant is also able to realize and experience the challenges of achieving the improvements he/she suggested.
Simultaneous
The birthplace of the ‘spect-actor; it transformed the monolgue to a dialogue, merging audience and stage. It is a problem-solving technique during which an unresolved scene of oppression is presented. It is then replayed with the audience invited to stop the action, replace the character they feel is oppressed, struggling, or lacking power, and improvise alternative solutions. How? In this scenario the peformance was usually a short scene in which a character was being oppressed in some way (for example, a typically chauvinist man mistreating a woman or a factory owner mistreating an employee). In early forms of ‘simultaneous dramaturgy’, the audience could propose any solution, by calling out suggestions to the actors who would improvise the changes on stage. The audience were now encouraged to not only imagine change but to actually practise that change, by coming on stage as ‘spect-actors’ to replace the protagonist and act out an intervenForum Theater in the Netherlands: Looking Together for Solutions to Poverty, 2017 312 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Process: The actors (either professional actors or non professionals drawn from oppressed communities) perform a play with a scripted core, in which an oppression relevant to the audience is played out. After reaching the scripted conclusion, in which the oppressed character(s) fail to overturn their oppression, the actors begin the production again, At any point during this second performance, any spect-actor may call out “stop!” and take the place of the actor portraying the oppressed individual (this actor stays on stage but to the side, giving suggestions to the spect-actor who has replaced him/her). If and when the oppression has been overthrown by the spect-actors, the production changes again: the spect-actors now have the opportunity to replace the oppressors, and find new ways of challenging the oppressed character. Where? Initially organized perfromances in slums, churches, streets, factories and unions in Rio.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 313
Theatre of the Oppressed: Image Theatre, onehe.org
TYPES OF THEATRE
•
•
Scenes highlighting social issues are performed in public settings, (e.g. train stations, town squares, busses, etc.). They aim to stimulate a dialogue involving the public. Yet without them knowing what they are witnessing has been staged.
Image theatre
Image theatre is a performance technique in which one person, acting as a sculptor, moulds one or more people acting as statues, using only touch and resisting the use of words or mirror-image modelling. A stimulating exercise known for it’s ease of enactment coupled with the absence of the language idiom.
Invisible theatre
This technique is traditionally used in contexts where the political climate inhibits organized open dialogue on controversial issues.
The idea is to show and demonstarte the action rather than tell. This makes the interpration unique to the individual along with a clear demonstration of intent and understanding. Process: A series of physical exercises and games are designed to uncover essential truths, opinions, and observations about society, culture, self, etc. Using their own and others’ bodies as “clay”, participants create “human sculptures.” Frozen images, representing their experiences, feelings, ideas, oppressions, and/or dreams for the future.
Invisible theatre … Is this a normal restaurant scene or ‘transparent large-scale urban diorama’? Photograph: Murdo 314 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 315
TYPES OF THEATRE •
Newspaper theatre
A system of techniques devised to give the audience a way to transform daily news articles or any non-dramatic pieces to theatrical scene.
Art for social change, The living newspaper
•
•
Legislative theatre
When Boal was a Vereador (city councilman) in Rio de Janeiro, he created a new form of theatre called “legislative theatre” to give his voters the opportunity to voice their opinions. The objective is to open up a dialogue between citizens and institutional entities so that there is a flow of power between both groups. Some 13 laws were created through legislative theatre during Boal’s time in government.
Rainbow of desire
Rainbow techniques stem from Image theatre and tend to focus on forms of internalized oppression played out by a protagonist in relation to an antagonist.
Legislative theatre, TONYC 316 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 317
As Augusto Boal said, “Jana Sanskriti is the largest and the longest lasting forum theatre operation in the world”. Of the teams in West Bengal, nine are all-women theatre teams, perhaps another first in India.
JANA SANSKRITI
‘ Khelar Ghar’, Jana Sanskriti
‘Where we stand’ (Amra Jekhane Dariye), Jana Sanskriti
[1] Use of TO for community development: Jana Sanskriti NGO,West Bengal, India Jana Sanskriti centre for the TO was established in 1985, which is the first exponent of the TO in India. Objective: The objective is to provide a space where the oppressed have the opportunity to introspect and discover the self. Jana Sanskriti, through its activities, addresses several socialissues that create discomfort in the society. The issues are mostly focused on women and children. Health, education, child marriage, girl child trafficking, domestic abuse are some of the issues that are dealt with - all through theatre. Jana Sanskriti’s journey began from a small village in the Sunderbans in 1985.
‘Unnayan- Development’, Jana Sanskriti
318 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
‘Gayer Pachali’, Jana Sanskriti
Today it has 30 satellite theatre teams in West Bengal (mostly in the districts of South 24 Parganas and Purulia), two in Tripura, two in Jharkhand, one each in New Delhi and Orissa. Teams have also been formed in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka. These teams reach at least 2,00,000 spectators every year through their performances.
STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION •
Founders :
Dr. Sanjoy Ganguly, Artistic director Satya Ranjan Pal, Treasurer Sima Ganguly, Secretary •
Governors:
SK Rumana Islam, Asstt. Secretary Swati Nandi, Vice president Dr. Purabi Roy, President • Members Renuka Das, member Pritilata, member
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 319
PRACTICES
outside theatre as well.
Jana Sanskriti’s theatre does not offer any solutions – the attempt is to arrive at a solution is made with the help of the spect-actors (spectators who intervene during forum sessions) In India, Jana Sanskriti is the only exponent of Forum Theatre in which members of the theatre team select, construct, and narrate a social problem from their daily life.
In Image Theatre actors and spect-actors recreate images of their own reality – through consensus. They look at their reality in an objective manner, try to understand and analyse it. This is called the real image. Spect-actors then proceed to make the image of a situation that they desire – the ideal image - in which the oppression will have disappeared. We then return to the real image and debate begins. Each spectactor must then show images of different stages in the possible transition from real to ideal. This entire experience becomes a rehearsal of how to deal with oppression in real life.
With artistic direction this play is taken to an audience who must now find a solution to the problem. Passive spectators then become engaged spect-actors. Spect-actors come on stage to enact the solutions they have thought of, debating with trained activists about the feasibility of the solutions suggested. Thus individuals publicly engage in tackling a problem that has thus far provoked the most profound cultural silence and acceptance. This exercise gradually suggests possibilities for liberation from that oppression in real life. Over the years we have seen that the experience of ‘spect-acting’ has motivated people to be active
Image caption and attribution 320 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Introspective Theatre affords an individual the scope of being her own spectator. As a spectator she introspects, analyses and understands the reason for every small experience of oppression in her life. She discovers the talent within herself – this gives her confidence. She recognizes how various social values are guiding her actions.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 321
Theatre Production: ‘PURULIA’
Sonar mey
Held in Purulia, one of the most backward districts in West Bengal with a large population of scheduled tribes and scheduled caste. Started with 12 high schools in Punch block in 2014. The focus was on ‘dealing with patriarchy through the theatre’. The targeted population was children ranging from 14 to 18 years of age. Volunteers / performers of this project were all high school and undergraduate level students from government schools and colleges. This initiative has noticeably increased the enrolment of girl child into schools and reduced the cases of dropouts and child marriages in Puncha block of Purulia.
Theatre production:
‘SONAR MEY ( GIRL OF GOLD)’ This play evolved from Jana Sanskriti’s workshop with a group of women from some of the villages in West Bengal and was first staged in 1991. This play evolved from close to 200 different images conceptualized by the women’s group. About an adolescent girl in a poor family who wants to study but is not supported by her family in her efforts. Instead, her alcoholic father, who wants to get her married for the dowry money. The play eventually reaches a dramatic climax where the oppressed character confronts the oppressor(s); for example, when the potential inlaws of the girl try to inspect her to see if she is fit for marriage and the girl refuses to cooperate. At this point, the play is stopped without solving the problem and audience members are invited to replace the oppressed character and act out possible solutions, ideas and strategies.
All women theatre at Purulia
Jana Sanskriti, Sonar meye | Purulia 322 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 323
TONYC
Forum theatre, TONYC
Forum theatre, TONYC
Forum theatre:
[2] Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, New York, NY, USA TONYC was founded in 2011 by Katy Rubin, who trained with Augusto Boal in Rio, in 2008. Since 2011, TONYC has grown rapidly in response to a real need from communities in crisis for social change. Theatre of the Oppressed NYC partners with community members at local organizations to form theatre troupes. These troupes devise and perform plays based on their challenges confronting economic inequality, racism, and other social, health and human rights injustices. After each performance, actors and audiences engage in theatrical brainstorming – called Forum Theatre – with the aim of catalyzing creative change on the individual, community, and political levels.
Legislative theatre, TONYC
324 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Theatre of the Oppressed NYC has established “popular theatre troupes” all over New York City in collaboration with a range of local communities, including homeless adults and youth, people living with HIV/AIDS, immigrants, veterans, formerly incarcerated people, and court-involved youth. These troupes devise and tour original, interactive plays inspired by real-life struggles – the problems they face everyday.
Legislative theatre: Legislative Theatre brings a Forum Theatre performance in front of an audience of legislators, community policy-makers and the impacted community, with the intent to develop policy ideas that are generated by the impacted community. As TONYC as an organization has grown, Legislative Theatre has grown with it. Legislative Theatre and the arts as an agent for change are vital tools for educating policy-makers, engaging constituents, challenging the status quo, and altering policy for the better
Vote, TONYC
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 325
POWER SHARING MODEL How does Legislative theatre work?
Current and Past troupe partners
WATCH original plays based on the actors’ lived experiences.
AIDS Center of Queens County, Ali Forney Center, Center for Court Innovation, Crown Heights Community Mediation Center, The Fortune Society, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Red Hook Community Justice Center, Sunset Park Community Troupe
ACT on stage to brainstorm alternatives to the problems presented. Jokers open the stage to Spect-actors to rehearse new ideas. Everyone writes their ideas on notecards that are processed and sorted by the Policy Advisory Team. VOTE with government representatives. Policymakers present proposals based on the collected ideas. The crowd debates each idea. All present vote on the proposals. If the majority of people accept the idea as presented, the government representatives make a promise to act on those ideas after leaving the theatre. One hour before a Legislative Theatre show, audience members meet with community partners and activists to get prepared to engage on the issues being presented.
Theatre of the oppressed NYC 326 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
LADDER OF PARTICIPATION
Current Funders and Grantors Brooklyn Community Foundation; The David Rockefeller Fund, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; The Thomas and Jeanne Elmezzi Private Foundation; The Ford Foundation Good Neighbor Committee; Humanities New York; Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund; Lily Auchincloss Foundation; The M & T Charitable Foundation; The National Endowment for the Arts; National Economic & Social Rights Initiative, Dignity in Schools Campaign; The New York Community Trust; The New York Women’s Foundation Fund for Women and Girls of Color; North Star Fund; Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation; The Office of Council Member Corey Johnson; The Office of Council Member Stephen T. Levin; The Office of Council Member Carlos Menchaca; The Office of Council Member James G. Van Bramer; New York State Council on the Arts; Open Society Foundations; The Pinkerton Foundation; The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation; The Emma A. Sheafer Charitable Trust; The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; Stavros Niarchos Foundation; The William T. Grant Foundation.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 327
POWER SHARING MODEL
TYPES OF TRAINING WORKSHOPS
•
The workshops are conducted for Joker training:
Operations and Management:
Holly Sansom, Operations Director Liz Morgan, Director of Training & Pedagogy Omari Soulfinger, Director of Communications & Creative Advocacy Philip Santos Schaffer, Development Director Sulu LeoNimm, Executive Director (Interim) Tab Lopez, Production Coordinator •
Facilitator/Joker
Adama Diallo, Joker Amorarey Sandoz, Joker Gariyana Williams, Joker Julian Pimiento, Joker Letitia Bouie, Joker Tasha Grant, Joker Spark LeoNimm, Joker •
Power sharing diagram and Ladder of participation 328 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Board members
Introduction to TO: Participate in a Forum demonstration. TO will be connected to human rights and oppression through brainstorming and dialogue. [ 1.5 - 2 hours] Introduction and creation of Forum scenes: Create short scenes around community issues Introspective techniques: Techniques used are ‘ Cops in the head’ and ‘Rainbow of desire’, for workplaces, community organizinf and youth development. Forum scenes and Joker training: Practice the role of the joker to mediate between actors and spect-actors.
Katy Rubin, Founder & Former Executive Director Brandon Holmes, Board Chair Josh Van Kirk, Board Member Juncal Plazaola-Castaño, Board Member Patrick Kowalczyk, Board Member Mersadez George, Board Member Roni Givigliano, Board Member Sharon Polli, Board Member Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 329
Theatre production : ‘CAN’T GET RIGHT’ Thursday, May 29 7pm: Forum Theatre Performances created by troupes from CASES, The Ali Forney Center, and Housing Works. Experience scenes addressing discrimination in the criminal justice system and intervene as a spect-actor! Reception to follow. Friday, May 30 - SOLD OUT, join the waitlist at the door! 6pm: Criminal Justice Info Fair Chat with policy advocates, get informed, and prepare for the Legislative Theatre process. SNOWDAY, Drive Change’s food truck will be in the parking lot! 7pm: Legislative Theatre The troupes perform their scenes and in response, the audience collaborates with policymakers to theatrically brainstorm ways to address the issues at a policy level. Following debate and a participatory vote, representatives from the New York City Council, the Mayor’s Office, and the federal government commit to bringing these proposals to their respective chambers.
Can’t get right poster, TONYC, 2014 330 | THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED
Participating NYC Council Members: Jimmy Van Bramer (District 26), Corey Johnson (District 3), Carlos Mechaca (District 38), Helen Rosenthal (District 6), Karina Claudio-Betancourt (Office of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito). Saturday, May 31 11am: Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop Registration full, join the waitlist online Join the troupe members and TONYC Joker Team to learn the games and exercises behind building a forum theatre play! Workshop is full. Please sign up for the waitlist. 1pm: The Castle by the Fortune Society Inspired by the Fortune Society’s resident-home in upper Manhattan, The Castle is an original play featuring personal accounts of formerly incarcerated individuals and their re-entry into society. 2:30pm: Legislative Theatre Introductory remarks by Susan Herman, President, ACLU, and Centennial Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School. The troupes perform their scenes and in response, the audience collaborates with policymakers working on criminal justice affairs to brainstorm ways to address the issues at a policy level. Closing reception to follow.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 331
REFERENCES - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_the_Oppressed - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full - https://www.rs21.org.uk/2019/07/05/revolutionaryreflections-theatre-of-the-oppressed-as-a-politicalmethod/ https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/arts/ theatre/item/2455-the-theatre-of-the-oppressed - https://www.anamuh.org/theatreoftheoppressed/ - https://slideplayer.com/slide/15147527/ https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Developmentsteps-of-Theatre-of-Oppressed-applied-from-thepresentation-of-Piekkari_fig2_334273991 https://prezi.com/dpqyrtmjteax/theatre-of-theoppressed/ - https://alchetron.com/Theatre-of-the-Oppressed -https://jour nals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/tric/article/ view/7110/8169 - https://www.tonyc.nyc/ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2003/12/ augusto-boals-theatre-of-the-oppressed/ https://ibtheatrereadingroom.wordpress. com/2013/11/18/theatre-of-the-oppressed-augusto-boalexamples-of-work/ https://mronline.org/2019/07/11/theatre-of-theoppressed-as-a-political-method/ -https://www.theatreartlife.com/lifestyle/augusto-boaltheatre-of-the-oppressed/ - http://jana-sanskriti.letsendorse.org/ - ceasefiremagazine.co.uk
Augusto Boal: Theatre ofOPPRESSED the oppressed, Andy McLaverty-Robinson, 2016 332 | THEATRE OF THE
- Jha, Rashmi, and Subhashree Sanyal. “Use of Theatre of the Oppressed in Community Development: A Case Study of Jana Sans
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rhea Pai | 333
The Makoko Sustainable Regeneration Plan
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 335
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED • The process was to supprort the community through knowledge. It also aimed to tackel sanitation, healthcare, housing, energy and education, and community empowerment • It tried to include everyone in the community. Participants were giving the opportunity to speak for themselves, and not as a representative of an association • It provided multiple future plans for Makoko to grow. • Elites or traditional rulers may deploy their powers to whittle the ability of citizens to meaningfully participate in democracy
Floating Market, Faboulous Urban THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 337
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Makoko Canal
In Nigeria the country has witnessed the highest level of urbanization in Africa. However, this rapid urbanization, coupled with endemic corruption, and low levels of government transparency, has brought to the fore challenges which the country has been grappling to overcome. The ‘Makoko Sustainable Regeneration Plan’ intends to tackle infrastructure gaps such as sanitation, healthcare, housing, energy and education, and community empowerment, through an innovative model of citizen participation referred to as Neighborhood Management. As a governance model borrowed from the United Kingdom (UK), Neighborhood Management has the goal of delivering urban governance at the local level through a holistic approach.
Makoko/ Iwaya Waterfront Masterplan THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 339
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT Makoko/Iwaya Waterfront community is a lagoon front district located at the central fringe of Lagos city. It is one of the largest low-income communities and among the forty-two blighted communities identified in 1993 by the Lagos State Government. It is a settlement established in the 19th century, comprising mostly of Eguns, Ilajes, Ijaws and Yorubas. These communities have coexisted in a peaceful manner and contributed to the economic development of Lagos State through the supply of fresh aquatic products, payment of statutory charges and provision of labor for the upliftment of the marine sector. Makoko has been considered an eye sore for the Lagos State Government. Its location along West Africa’s longest bridge, and the most populated city, has further heightened this embarrassment. Makoko has been considered an eye sore for the Lagos State Government. In response to these urban forms and structures, policy makers in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, have adopted forced evictions and demolition of settlements as key strategies of
Makoko, Lagos, Nigeria, Faboulous Urban 340 | THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION PLAN
managing the growing urban challenges. These practices have continued to threaten democratic principles, increased the number of internally displaced persons, recycling of inequality and providing strong bases for civil strife in many Sub-Saharan Africa urban centers. Lagos, Nigeria is a city where forced evictions and demolition of homes has been adopted by the relevant authorities as the progress of the city. Communities such as Makoko/Iwaya Waterfront community are under constant threat of demolition. Makoko/Iwaya Waterfront Regeneration Plan is the product of a community-led and people-centered development model guided by five key principles: Community participation, ancestral and historical preservation, community development, tourism and economic development, sustainability and resilience. It is a plan that is intervening in Makoko/Iwaya Waterfront community with a view to changing the risk status of the community to a prosperous, functional and livable community in Lagos.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 341
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES Although Makoko was marked for funding, the remaining seven slums, Makoko inclusive, did not receive funding under the LMDGP before the program was discontinued due to transparency and accountability issues. The deplorable living conditions in the waterfront community spurred the representatives of the Makoko community to reach out to the Lagos State Governor with a proposal to develop a regeneration plan for the community, which was granted by the governor. The community, collaborating with the Socio and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) mandated the Urban Spaces Innovation (USI) to lead the preparation of the urban renewal plan. To come up with a plan that took into cognizance the perspectives of diverse stakeholders, the community, SERAC and USI constituted a working group consisting of professionals) from diverse backgrounds in land, housing, environment, urban development, social and economic empowerment and development finance.
Stakeholder Map 342 | THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION PLAN
The working groups, in recognition of the wide diversity and broad remit of the tasks, further involved keys actors such as local citizens (Makoko community); Neighborhood Manager (comprising newly formed ‘Makoko/Iwaya Waterfront Development Association’ charged with the oversight of the Makoko community) and individuals (charged with oversight of different sub-committees); traditional rulers (baales); Lagos State Government (and associated agencies and parastatals); civil society groups; private investors; consultants; and non-governmental agencies. The neighborhood manager played a key role in the Makoko Community Development Association, with the association serving as an interface between the formal and informal governance structures, and the point of convergence for all major stakeholders within, and outside the community. A key aspect of the implementation of this urban regeneration plan involves the engagement of relevant stakeholders, an engagement that gives room for a diverse mix of the community, including women, youth, social and community based formal and informal institutions.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 343
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT The participant recruitment started with a conflict between Lagos State Government and the Makoko Waterfront Community during the participant selection for the project. After the Government disregarded the voices of the marginalized community, the Neighborhood management adopted a self-selection approach which gave each person the right to attend the planning meetings. This approach was the best method for accommodating everyone. The selfselection approach began to exclude those hose who had more resources in the community, including owners of business, shanties, landlords, and traditional rulers.
government agencies discouraged many citizens from participation, even when efforts was made through door-to-door recruitment of participants. From the meetings, the Makoko Community Development Association also elected a Board of Directors comprising nine community members (sitting for a term of six years) including traditional rulers, leaders of cooperative societies (trade associations), leader of youth group, leader of the women group, and elected members of community.
The community began a second phase of the process was intended to overcome the problem of self-selection through the drawing of a representative sample of local citizens, women, youths, stakeholders with interests in the waterfront community, nongovernmental organizations, traditional rulers, and government agencies. However, the involvement of
CONSULTATION WITH THE PEOPLE OF MAKOKO ON MIWRP 344 | THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 345
METHODS & TOOLS USED The underlying assumption behind the regeneration plan was to adopt techniques that would enhance deliberative and participatory democracy. During all the meetings, the community development association incorporated mechanisms for citizen participation that make decisionmaking and implementation more democratic and transparent. The meetings and projects employed deliberative tools of engagement, such as surveys, question and answer sessions with experts, small group and focus group discussions, plenary discussions and public hearings. Most slum dwellers were not educated and often lacked basic knowledge of urban projects. The organizers tried to gauge the knowledge of the participants, before, during, and after meetings.
were polled to find out where they stand on such issues. One advantage of this approach is that it showed the effect of political learning, and shift in opinion, as participants became more knowledgeable about an issue overtime.
The use of deliberative poll made it possible for participants to be informed about a debated policy issue before polling them. During meetings, participants were first informed about issues being debated, such as the installation of solar panels on a floating school building, before they
Conflicts in the Makoko area, Faboulous Urban 346 | THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 347
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION Makoko Neighborhood Hotspot
Biogas Plant and the Water Treatment
The meetings were regular forums, held bi-monthly, where all stakeholders met to discuss issues about the Makoko waterfront. The Neighborhood Manager and the Board members of the Makoko Community Development Association raised matters on the agenda, in which participants were giving two slots to contribute on an issue. The notice of the meetings were normally sent out a week before the day of the meeting. However, government officials could also call to schedule a meeting, even at short notices.
Implementation of the biogas plant and the water treat-
348 | THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION PLAN
Water collection barrels for the pour-flush toilets
spectacles. Moreover, since the meetings were opened to the public, there were tendencies towards self-selection, making those who had interest in the topics to participate, as against other marginalized citizens who may be directly affected by the projects. Participants were giving the opportunity to speak for themselves, and not as a representative of an association. the debates were usually highly technical, and only experts and the elite’s voices were often heard. Most participants were also not consistent in meetings, and when they attended, were very quiet during discussion sessions.
The Neighborhood Manager played a key role in coordinating the meeting. The Baale also had influence to set the agenda for the meeting, or to dictate the pace or direction of the discussion. Although the meetings were geared towards citizen participation, the lack of knowledge from the citizens regarding issues being debated sometimes made them mere
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 349
PARTICIPATION OUTCOME The outcome did not reflect the process. Due to the Lagos State Goverment, all decisions for the waterfront plan for urban renewal and finaces must be approved by them. The elites held more power during the participation process. The power-sharing model for the Makoko Regeration plan has the goverment and elites at the highest level with the citizens in the lower levels. To give the people of Makoko more power to have an impact in the process the ladder of participation. Communtiy organinzations will be able to be apart of all rungs on the ladder. Since the community was able to speak, they would also be able to choose the outcomes for Makoko.
Makoko Ladder Diagram 350 | THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 351
REFERENCES https://participedia.net/case/5006 https://www.world-architects.com/pt/fabulousurban-zurich/project/makoko-iwaya-waterfrontregeneration-plan https://ng.boell.org/sites/default/files/makoko_ iwaya_waterfront_economic_opportunities.pdf https://ng.boell.org/en/2014/10/07/makokoiwaya-waterfront-economic-opportunities https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/ feb/23/makoko-lagos-danger-ingenuity-floatingslum https://oshlookman.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/ makokoiwaya-waterfront-community-from-riskto-resilience-through-regeneration-plan/ https://www.bfi.org/ideaindex/projects/2014/ makokoiwaya-waterfront-regeneration-plan http://www.med-support.ch/projekt-makoko/ https://www.world-architects.com/fr/fabulousurban-zurich/project/makoko-neighborhoodhotspot
352 | THE MAKOKO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION PLAN
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Sydnee Sampson | 353
Sweet Water Foundation
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 357
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED
4-contiguous city blocks was transformed into a place known as The Commonwealth, Sweet Water Foundation 358 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
•
Build trust through a common topic
•
Provide spaces for dialogue
•
Equal rights for community members
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 359
Chicago Demographic Map, Elijah Wolfson for TIME The news of CLS closing schools, Chicago Tribune.
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Purpose: •
Creates safe and inspiring spaces and curates healthy, intergenerational communities that transform the ecology of so-called ”blighted” neighborhoods.
•
employs productive and sustainable practice that is accountable not only to those amongst us today, but to future generations.
The “Blighted” Community Issues: The site is located in Englewood, which is one of Chicago’s most impoverished and crime-riddled neighborhoods.
Empty lands and foreclosure, Sweetwater Foundation. 360 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
•
Toxicities, violence and crime, trauma
•
Loss of labor (65 to 70 percent of the population had died, moved away, or been incarcerated for years.)
•
Loss of schools and infrastructure
•
Lots of empty lands and foreclosure
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 361
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT
Chicago’s population trends, Daniel Kay Hertz
The neighborhood African Americans, mostly from Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, began settling in Englewood during the Great Migration beginning in 1916, finding work in the city’s burgeoning industry. But by the 1950s, redlining and blockbusting had compounded Chicago’s ingrained segregation, forcing the South Side into disinvestment and severe poverty, and leaving it systematically ignored.
Chicago Demographic Map, Elijah Wolfson for TIME
Now it lies in an Opportunity Zone, a federal designation meant to attract capital to disinvested communities. However, in practice, Opportunity Zone development has often left locals behind.
The Moseley School, 1922 362 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
The site This site was once home to the Moseley School, one of the oldest public schools in Chicago history, but known as a pipeline to prison. The Moseley School opened in 1856 as an elementary school. In 1930, it was converted to a social adjustment school for “truants, delinquents and incorrigibles”, and was, ultimately, closed in the 1990’s. The building was briefly repurposed as a homeless shelter and, then, sat vacant until it was demolished. In 2011, the City of Chicago and LISC partnered to transition the site into an urban farm. The City first leased the farm to a nonprofit with deep urban farming experience, but who lacked community engagement and investment. As a result, neighbors complained and the farm was vacated.
The Moseley School, Googlemap Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 363
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES Local Government The City of Chicago invited Sweet Water Foundation to revitalize the farm in May 2014, and the local government provide aldermanic andpolitical support to SWF. But in order to build a farm in the residential neighborhood, it still needs to negotiate and build relationship across the Department of Urban Planning, Water Management, Street Sanitation, Economic Development, etc.
Fund support In 2016, the SWF got funding through an ArtPlace America grant, and the Obama Foundation.
Stakeholder map, Rongxin Tang 364 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
Infrastructure support The nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago initially partnered with the city to support the base transformation of the site with some basic infrastructure, which was critical. Purple Cow Organics, which are organic soil producers in a network of cooperative farms, provides a discounted rate and even did a scientific, biological assessment of the soil to figure out how to support it nutrient-wise, so the capillary action was as productive as it could be.
Art & culture support SWF also reached out to the art world, museums and galleries, and they opened their spaces up. So SWF starts doing installations and providing art and cultural exihibitions, which connects the foundation with new audiences.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 365
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT Local People The SWF was getting educational funding, which went towards paying teachers and students. And they also attracts local residents—retired residents and people who were basically underemployed and existing with no money and no source of revenue. Access to food was one of the ways to compensate people for their work. Most of the folks brought in were also formerly incarcerated. They could not get a job. Agriculture became a way for them to plug into a system that they were otherwise excluded from.
The Humans-in-Residence program welcomes lifelong learners, artists, practitioners, and contributors of all ages and talents that engage in an immersive and generative experience with lasting impact.
Other Participants Writers, poets, policymakers, community activists, researchers, and artists such as Belvie Rooks, Mel Chin, Rick Lowe, and Iñigo Manglano Ovalle also engaged with the SWF community. Students from MIT and SUNY Westchester Community College in New York took part in intensive immersion programs on SWF’s practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development.
Partners Then The Commons became a hub for workshops, events, and performances led by both local and international artists, including the Urban Bush Women Community Sing, Onye Ozuzu and Project Tool, DJ Kwest_on, Jeghetto, and Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.
Participant map, Rongxin Tang 366 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 367
The Think-Do House, Sweet Water Foundation
METHODS & TOOLS USED Urban Acupuncture
Inserting multifunctional installations to provide a communication space
The Think-Do House It becomes a community school, and people get educated in the house. A wide range of conversations start around food, followed by cooking class and workshops where community members built connections with each other during the talking about the food culture and wisdom.
The Community Farm The Community Farm, Sweet Water Foundation
The farm allows people being able to touch and grow food, learning, sharing and having it.
The urban acupuncture installation, Sweet Water Foundation 368 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 369
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION Arts & Culture
Arts and culture events at The Commonwealth, Sweet Water Foundation
The Commonwealth has become an arts and culture destination on Chicago’s South side, offering a wide range of intergenerational arts + cultural programs, workshops, and events and providing much needed space for artists, local organizations, and residents alike to imagine other possibilities for their community.
The Sweet Water Academy The Academy is a “communiversity” that shares SWF’s practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development via workshops, courses, residencies, fellowships, and train-the-trainer programs delivered to youth, local residents, organizations, and institutions across Chicago and beyond. The Academy seeks to fully leverage The Commonwealth as a demonstration site for urban ecology and neighborhood development via programming that provides opportunities to learn and apply SWF practices to other communities. And the program is aimed to inspire and ignite the next generation of Urban Ecology leaders.
The Sweet Water Academy, Sweet Water Foundation 370 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 371
01 Informed
04 Sharing
People are told about the changes that are going to happen, with no channel provided for feedback and no power for negotiation
People begin to share their knowledge, culture and wisdom with others and build stronger ties to their communities
02 Educated
05 Educating
People engage in the community conversation, but only passively receive information and knowledge
After gaining some knowledge and skills, people can in turn pass them on to new participants, creating a positive cycle of community engagement
03 Communicating People participate in the community dialogue and give their views and suggestions for the development of the community
The ladder of participating and power sharing, Rongxin Tang 372 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
06 Leading Members-of-the-community are transforming themselves from bystanders into actors. They can lead projects and even make a bigger difference in community development
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 373
REFERENCES Sweet Water Foundation On Chicago’s South Side, a community rises again HARVESTING CHANGE: An interview with Sweet Water Foundation’s Emmanuel Pratt Rachel Dorothy Tanur Memorial Lecture: Emmanuel Pratt, “[Re]Constructing Real Estate: The Question of Value” Your ZIP Code Might Determine How Long You Live—and the Difference Could Be Decades. The 80 years of chicago’s population annotated School Board Votes to Close 49 Schools Ladder of Empowerment
374 | SWEET WATER FOUNDATION
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Rongxin Tang | 375
GOWANUS LOWLAND |
CASE STUDIES ON THE MASTER PLANNING OF THE GOWANUS CANAL GOWANUS, BROOKLYN Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 379
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT The neighborhood of Gowanus was once a rich piece of land that was home to a network of tidal creeks and marshland. Its location within the East River and the New York Bay allowed for this site to be a major settlement for early Brooklyn residents. The ecology of the land allowed for farms and mill works to establish a sustainable economy for its settlers. The Gowanus Canal’s proximity to the water network became a prominent trait that withstood the test of time. As population began to grow, so did the need for energy and supply. The Industrial Age propelled Gowanus into a major shipping hub. In addition to becoming a commercial shipping center, the industrial sector also expanded in response. The age of coal consumption began the decades of pollution that still remain today.
Gowanus Canal in 1928 from the Brooklyn Public Library Collections
Its eventual abandonment in the post-war era left the neighborhood damaged and dangerous. Residual waste from the industrial remnants continue to seep into the canal, while city sewage also took part in dumping sewage into the water. Recognition of such an environmental atrocity was not made public until the passing of the Clean Water Act of 1970, which declared the gowanus canal as one of the most polluted body of water in the country. Despite such a label, New York City has yet to actively tackle the issues of the Gowanus Canal and its detrimental impact to the residents and the environment.
Gowanus Canal in 1935 by Seymour “Zee” Zolotorofe
Gowanus Canal in 1950’s from the Brooklyn Public Library Collections
380 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
Plan of New York City surveyed during 1766 & 1767 by William Faden Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 381
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE After years of compounded issues, the Gowanus is finally beginning to take its first steps in the remediation process of the canal. The first priority is the clean up of the canal. Years of pollution and neglect has resulted in the formation of sludges and the “black mayonnaises”. In 2010, the canal was given a federal Superfund to assist in the decontamination process. The current administration of Mayor Deblasio and NYC Planning also made a decision to rezone the neighborhood in an attempt to allow for possible development and intervention to occur. However, such procedure leads to more issues, specifically the problem of gentrification. People of Gowanus is now put under pressure to fight for their rights to live within their own community.
Photo by Hannah Frishberg
Photo by Nathan Kensinger | Gothamist
Photo by Max Touhey
Photo by Andrea Mohin | The New York Times
Photo by Nathan Kensinger | Gothamist
Photo by Voice of Gowanus
Photo by Kevin Hagen | The New York Times
Photo by Nathan Kensinger | Gothamist
Photo by Voice of Gowanus
Although affordable housing is a major component of the rezoning process, developers have a major hold on the land. Residents prefer an inclusive park for the neighborhood, instead of huge commercial and industrial building developments to occur.
382 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 383
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED Government’s sudden willingness to make Gowanus a better neighborhood placed a target on the local residents’ back. A piece of land that was once abandoned became prime real estate. Luckily, the Gowanus neighborhood has a strong community and intuition that allowed for them to be ahead of the development curve. The Gowanus neighborhood gave life to the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, the environmental steward for the neighborhood. Through its grassroots volunteer projects and other community projects, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy serves as a major stakeholder in representing the canal and its surrounding residents. In its efforts to empower the residents, the organization teamed up with SCAPE to create a master plan that allowed for the community to have a voice in the upcoming rezoning and development process that are to take place.
PROGRAMMING & ACTIVITIES Through community driven master plan, local Public spaces need this robust programming and activities to come to life and feel welcome to diverse users. This programming should be driven by community institutions and local residents and feel accessible and responsive to residents those who live here. hope to oppose DCP’s heavy reliance The lists on the opposite page outline feedback on desired programs for the publicproblems. realm, which were on developers to community fix their environmental shared during Lowlands outreach workshops. Opportunities for education, play, and water access were strongly desired along with a goal to keep public spaces dynamic through temporary installations, performance, and public art. Connecting programs to under-resourced parts of the community and providing opportunities for job training were also identified as needed. The programs are divided into three categories: Arts, Recreation, and Education. These lists are by no means exhaustive but provide a starting point for developing community-based programming in the Gowanus Lowlands.
HISTORIC INTERPRETATION & STORYTELLING
ART INSTALLATION PERFORMANCE CITIZEN SCIENCE ART MARKET FOOD EVENT
PLAYSPACE
BOATING
KEY ARTS & CULTURE EDUCATION RECREATION
120
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019
384 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY
10
Ariel View of Master Plan produced by SCAPE Columbia 2021 | Curran Zhang | 385 DRAFT DECEMBER 2019GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES As a step to empower themselves within the redevelopment and rezoning process, the local organization, Gowanus Canal, spearheaded a movement to ensure that their voices were heard. After series of local engagement, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy decided on the Gowanus Lowlands project. This project aimed to create their own version of a master planning of the newly revitalized plot of land. To keep the project rooted, the steering committee of the project was formed around representative of various community organizations within the Gowanus neighborhood. Along side an engaging council member, the project was going towards a good path. In 2017, the project was given to SCAPE, in which the design firm continued the community engagement and established a plan that allowed for the canal to truly become the locals. By 2019, the initial draft of the Gowanus Lowlands was produced and given to the council member and the Department of City Planning for their reference.
386 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 387
Outreach has included 13 public workshops in the neighborhoods around the canal and the formation of a Gowanus Lowlands Steering Committee made up of local stakeholders to guide the development of a community based vision.
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT Due to the strong communal presence within Gowanus, the need to actively find recruitment was significantly less. Since the Gowanus Lowland Steering Committee is composed of local grassroots organizations, the committee had the ability to rally their local participants to join their discussions and dialogue. Another advantage to the organized groups is the ability for the team to shuffle through a larger and wider range of locals, instead of the constant participants.
2018 OUTREACH WORKSHOPS Workshop at Gowanus Houses, 2015
By situating various meeting in schools, streets, and communal buildings, there is a larger range of transparency and interaction with everyone within the community. In addition to the larger pool of local feedback, the list of NYC agency that were involved also took part in the discussions. Representatives from these agency would give updates and design proposals on their on-going process.
Workshop at The Dredgers Boat House, 2018
Workshop at EXPO Gowanus, 2018
GOWANUS LOWLANDS STEERING COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED 2017, 1-2 MEETINGS PER YEAR Comprised of Gowanus residents, stakeholders, and community group representatives from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, the role of the Steering Committee is to help guide and inform the design, implementation, and outreach strategy for Gowanus Lowlands. The Steering Committee meets 1-2 times each year to review progress as well as advise on design and strategy.
2015-16 OUTREACH WORKSHOPS 6 WORKSHOPS Community stakeholders discuss impacts and opportunities from remediation and sewage management processes in North Gowanus.
GOWANUS LOWLANDS SITES
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019
45
NORTH GOWANUS In partnership with Fifth Avenue Committee 7 WORKSHOPS Gowanus Houses LOWER GOWANUS In partnership PARK SLOPE with the 8th Street Block Association American Legion In partnership with Old Stone House, Park Slope Civic Council, and Forth on Fourth Avenue PARKStone SLOPE Old House In partnership with Old Stone House, Park Slope Civic Council, and Forth on Fourth Avenue BUSINESS Oldpartnership Stone House In with Gowanus Alliance
Workshop at EXPO Gowanus, 2018 SOUTH GOWANUS In partnership with Gowanus Alliance & Gowanus by ACTIVITIES Design 534 PLAN COMMENTS
YOUTH FOCUS Part of EXPO Gowanus, 2015 MS 51/ Washington Park WATERFRONT FOCUS 365 Bond Esplanade
ARTS FOCUS In partnership with Arts Gowanus and Carnival of Connectivity. JS Gallery 20
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019
RECREATION & ACCESS FOCUS In partnership with the Gowanus Dredgers Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse
388 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY
436 MOOD BOARDS COMMENTS
Community stakeholders discuss impacts and opportunities from remediation and sewage management processes in North Gowanus. YOUTH, EDUCATION & COMMUNITY FOCUS Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 389 Part of EXPO Gowanus Thomas Greene Park
METHODS AND TOOLS USED Participation strategies from the local outreaches are fairly basic and common. In person meetings along with presentations were given on a regular basis to ensure that everyone involved would be able to be within the loops of the process. A key feature that stuck out is the idea of designing with the locals. Instead of telling local participants what is going to happen, their is an open dialogue and design charrette that allows for the locals to be more invested in the project. Once various design strategies were produced, the design team would be able to categorize different zones that would represent different core issues that were worth tackling. This would allow for a greater analysis and design intervention for those specific zones.
2015-16 OUTREACH FEEDBACK ACTIVITIES
NORTH CANAL
1
MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
3
2
GOWANUS HOUSES
W YC KO F F GARDENS
RIGHT-OF-WAYS AND CIRCULATION People tend to use North-South Avenues more than East-West Streets, which were considered unwelcoming. Many proposed new pedestrian connections across the canal and a safe connection to the Brooklyn Greenway.
WARREN HOUSES
4 6
5 8
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE Participants identified flooding as a major issue around the canal and along 4th Avenue. Many noted the need for green infrastructure that includes upland solutions and incentives on private land.
9
7
PROBABLE SEWAGE TA N K S I T E
10 11
RECREATION AND GREEN SPACE Outreach generated ideas for new kinds of public space MID CANAL including intergenerational spaces with activities for the elderly, play areas for teenagers and toddlers, tennis courts, skate parks, splash pads, sledding, BBQ areas, native plant gardens, and community farms. PS32 MS 442
Prompt: How do we use our existing public spaces?
C A R RO L L
363 BOND
MIXED USES G Athat R Dground E N S Participants emphasized floor commercial uses are critical and should be focused along particular corridors. Many cited the need for art space. WATER ACCESS WEST CANAL Participants pin-pointed key areas for water access and the need for accessibility for individuals with disabilities. 16 Multiple locations were identified for boat launches.
12
Prompt: What activities and uses do we want to see? Where should these activities and uses go?
13
17 21
PA R K S LO P E
20
AL-MADIN AH SCHOOL
14
WASHINGT ON PA R K
15
ECOLOGY 19 22 Ecological ideas included reefs, platforms, marshes, oyster cages, stormwater treatment, and islands as I N D U ST R I A L habitat for birds, invertebrates, and fish in the canalBand U S I N E SS 23 along its banks.
ZO N E
FACILITIES 18 Participants pointed to the need for public facilities such as restrooms and water fountains.
SOUTH CANAL
IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING PUBLIC SPACES Participants pointed to needs at Washington Park (shade; passive exercise areas), Thomas Greene Park 24 (water fountain) and NYCHA green spaces (site improvements, BBQ areas)
25 LO W E ’ S HOME IMPROVEM ENT
Prompt: What do you want to see at the edge of the Gowanus Canal?
390 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
GOWANUS LOWLANDS INTRODUCTION
ZONES
N
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019 GSAPP21| Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 391 Columbia
GOWANUS LOWLANDS SITES
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019
29
GUIDING PRINCIPLES POOL HOUSE WITH
The following process was part of the 2018 PARK SLOPE outreach strategies done by SCAPE in In partnership with Old Stone House, Park Slope Civic coordination with local organizations. By Council, and Forth on Fourth Avenue positioning themselves in various locations Old Stone House and venues, SCAPE had the ability to absorb aARTS wide range of feedbacks that gave them a FOCUS feel in the neighborhood’s characteristics In partnership with Arts Gowanus and Carnival of and needs. A follow up of such feedbacks results in Connectivity. JS Gallery a breakdown on key takeaways that allow for the locals to also understand the overall necessities RECREATION & ACCESS FOCUS of their own space. In partnership with the Gowanus Dredgers Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse
While the breakdown of the takeaways provide aYOUTH, clear direction for& their project,FOCUS the team also EDUCATION COMMUNITY has theEXPO ability to evaluate the tasks that need Part of Gowanus to be accomplished Thomas Greene Park on their part. The greening of the neighborhood is a common feedback, as such local organizations DESIGN & PLANNING FOCUS begin to uphold their In partnership with responsibilities asASLA-NY residents and begin planting The Salt Lot greeneries and providing adequate maintenance on the existing green space. The constant NORTH GOWANUS dialogue between the design team and locals Fifth Avenue Committee, in partnership with Gowanus allow for a seamless procedure where each group Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ) build off of each others finds and actions. Fifth Avenue Committee
22
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019
1
534 PLAN COMMENTS MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
• • • • • •
MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
PLAYGROUND 970 TOTAL COMMENTS
POOL 970 TOTAL COMMENTS
Source plants and materials locally AESTHETICS
AESTHETICS
• Create amaterials vibrant and wild place GOWANUS TREE NETWORK Compost organic The Gowanus Tree Network is made up of block Reduce and recycle non-organic materials LAWN associations and neighbors who receive support ART Use organic soil amendments and technical assistance to care for street trees, • Provide inclusive arts enlarge programming tree beds, plant perennials, and install Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) • Provide performance/performing arts spaces tree guards. Blocks with new street trees should Use renewable energy when possible • Support local artists through spaces for be integrated intoart this growing network of
ART
GCC Nursery,•Greenbelt Nativeand Plant Center, Clean Soil Bank Preserve historic industrial Gowanus
making and viewing
• Provide inclusive arts programming • Provide performance/performing arts spaces • Support local artists through spaces for art Locally sourced making and native viewingplants DEGRAW STREET
stewards.
CIRCULATION + ACCESS
ONGOING AND PAST GOWANUS PROGRAMMING • Provide additional pedestrian bridges CREATE SUSTAINABLE JOBS CURRENT 436 MOOD BOARDS COMMENTS • Improve access atPROGRAMMING key points (Head of EXAMPLES Canal, 9th Gowanus is home to numerous active and engaged
2
St, connection to Red Hook) arts and cultural organizations and individuals, who stage programs, events, and installations that give the • neighborhood Prioritize local hiring: work with community organizations HISTORY neighborhood unique character. As the GOWANUS LOWLANDS STREETSCAPES toshould promote jobs locally changes, this robust grassroots engagement be • new Interpret history through materials, artifacts, wayfinding, and building preservation supported and expanded. • Create year-round positions with benefits when possible
• Provide training opportunities The organizations that lead this programming need entry-level RECREATION + PROGRAMMING dedicated and tailored space, as well • as ongoing • Enhance water 2018 access anddevelopment boating along canalopportunities OUTREACH FEEDBACK Provide ongoing professional funding. The spatial needs of local groups for should be MAJOR TAKEAWAYS • Provide and active techniques spaces: play space, dog run, 970 TOTAL COMMENTS best practices AESTHETICS basketball, skate park, swings considered as each new pubilc space is designed and • Preserve historic and industrial Gowanus constructed. Funds should be provided to allow these • Indoor programming and community space • Create a vibrant and wild place programs to continue and expand. ART
GREENSwimming INFRASTRUCTURE + ECOLOGY at the Douglass Degraw Pool • • •
Provide inclusive arts programming Provide performance/performing arts spaces Support local artists through spaces for art making and viewing
Dredgers, SuperFUNalong Race, Annual • Gowanus Build green infrastructure streets, public GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY spaces and buildings CIRCULATION + ACCESS • Provide soft edges and salt marsh restoration • Provide additional pedestrian bridges • Improve access at key points (Head of Canal, 9th GOWANUS LOWLANDS SITES St, connection to Red Hook) • Preserve wild feel and use native plants
3 CULTIVATE AN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHIC HISTORY
2018 OUTREACH FEEDBACK
•
• •
Interpret history through materials, artifacts, wayfinding, and building preservation
• •
Enhance water access and boating along canal Provide active spaces: play space, dog run, basketball, skate park, swings Indoor programming and community space
970 TOTAL COMMENTS
• •
•
•
BUSINESS Engage residents and community membersRECREATION in volunteer + PROGRAMMING AESTHETICS • Require active ground floors throughout Gowanus stewardship events • Support Industrial Business Zone with investment in critical andeducation public space and service Engage students in infrastructure site-based ART GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE + ECOLOGY learning Support neighborhood community gardeners, “Friends of” CIRCULATION + ACCESS groups, and streetscape adopters BUSINESS Support and nurture long-term, dedicated volunteers MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
Preserve historic and industrial Gowanus Create a vibrant and wild place
•
• • •
• •
• Preserve historic and industrial Gowanus • Create a vibrant and wild place HANDBALL
3RD AVE
American Legion
ACTIVITIES
2018 OUTREACH FEEDBACK USE SUSTAINABILITY BEST PRACTICES NEVINS STREET
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, 7 WORKSHOPS INTERACTION, AND LOWER GOWANUS In partnership with the 8th Street Block Association PARTICIPATION
YEAR BATHROOM The Union StreetROUND Bridge undergoing maintenance to ensure operations for regular BASKETBALL opening during the Superfund clean-up
Workshop at EXPO Gowanus, 2018
2018 OUTREACH FEEDBACK
DOUGLASS STREET
Provide inclusive arts programming Provide performance/performing arts spaces Support local artists through spaces for art making and viewing
Provide additional pedestrian bridges Improve access at key points (Head of Canal, 9th St, connection to Red Hook)
• • •
• •
Build green infrastructure along streets, public spaces and buildings Provide soft edges and salt marsh restoration Preserve wild feel and use native plants
CIRCULATION + ACCESS • Provide bridges Neighbors caringadditional for trees on pedestrian President Street •
Improve access at key points (Head of Canal, 9th St, connection to Red Hook)
HISTORY •
83
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019
Interpret history through materials, artifacts, wayfinding, and building preservation
RECREATION + PROGRAMMING • •
Enhance water access and boating along canal Provide active spaces: play space, dog run, basketball, skate park, swings • Indoor programming and community Brooklyn Workforce Innovations (BWI) space
Stewardship in the gardens at Thomas Greene Park Source: BWI
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE + ECOLOGY • • •
Build green infrastructure streets, public DRAFTalong DECEMBER 2019 spaces and buildings Provide soft edges and salt marsh restoration Preserve wild feel and use native plants
47
BUSINESS • •
Require active ground floors throughout Gowanus Support Industrial Business Zone with investment in critical infrastructure and public space
Require active ground floors throughout Gowanus Support Industrial Business Zone with investment in critical infrastructure and public space
HISTORY
Wyckoff Gardens, Community Gardening, Ongoing GOWANUS LOWLANDS INTRODUCTION
392 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
•
Interpret history through materials, artifacts,
wayfinding, and building preservation Jeff Stark’s The Dreary Coast, On-Water Performance, 2013 DRAFT DECEMBER 2019 23
Volunteer Event in Gowanus
RECREATION + PROGRAMMING • •
Enhance water access and boating along canal Provide active spaces: play space, dog run,
•
Indoor programming and community space
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019 23 Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 393
4 SUPPORT DIVERSE, ENGAGING PROGRAMMING GOWANUS LOWLANDS basketball, skate park,INTRODUCTION swings
GOWANUS LOWLANDS INTRODUCTION GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE + ECOLOGY
DRAFT DECEMBER 2019
23
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Key takeaways from this case study is the ability for the local organization to take the first initialize to make themselves involved within the development process of their community. By recruiting local grassroots and organizing them within a committees, they gave themselves a collective unity to represent their needs. All of which was able to be represented and reciprocated by their hired design team, SCAPE. By producing their own facilitated master plan, it gave the locals a voice in the government’s own rezoning process. The Gowanus Lowlands were the neighborhoods collect act to empower them to move up the latter of participation within the government.
394 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 395
REFERENCES SCAPE. Gowanus Lowlands Master Plan. Dec. 2019 NYC Planning. Gowanus Neighborhood Plan. Apr. 2021 Teicher, Jordan G. “Showdown at the Gowanus Canal.” The Indypendent, https://indypendent. org/2020/10/showdown-at-the-gowanus-canal/. Spivack, Caroline. “City Says Gowanus Rezoning Will Create 8,200 New Apartments.” Curbed NY, Curbed NY, 28 Mar. 2019, https://ny.curbed.com/2019/3/28/18285233/dcp-gowanus-brooklynrezoning-create-8200-apartments. Duggan, Kevin. “Locals Demand City Pause Gowanus Rezoning amid Covid-19 • Brooklyn Paper.” Brooklyn Paper, 11 June 2020, https://www.brooklynpaper.com/letter-opposing-gowanus-rezoningamid-covid/. Leon, Juan-Andres. “The Gowanus Canal.” Science History Institute, 16 Sept. 2021, https://www. sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/the-gowanus-canal.
396 | GOWANUS LOWLANDS
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Curran Zhang | 397
GOWANUS LOWLAND |
CASE STUDIES ON THE MASTER PLANNING OF THE GOWANUS CANAL GOWANUS, BROOKLYN
DOT Street Ambassadors
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 401
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED Equitable • Intentional about hearing from everyone • Actively seek out underrepresented groups • Speak the language most comfortable to who we’re with Flexible • Work on weekends, morning rush, or evening events • We literally meet people where they’re at Respectful • We honor the time that busy New Yorkers are able to give • Rather than making people come to us, we come to them
Street Ambassadors at Marcy Houses https://nycdotprojects.info 402 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 403
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Street ambassador at subway https://nycdotprojects.info
Street ambassador at bus station https://nycdotprojects.info 404 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
Transportation planners’ work involves all residents, and often focuses on the big picture of the environment being planned. Yet, community needs vary by borough and neighborhood. Integrating local expertise matters in planning transportation that will work for everyone. Moreover, strategies to successfully capture that expertise have to be as individualized as the communities being served. To avoid a “one size fits all” approach, the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) launched the Street Ambassador Program in 2015. Transportation changes everyone’s lives but people don’t really have an opportunity to think critically about it. They don’t know that streets can change, they don’t know that the built environment can change. Street Ambassadors literally meet the community where they are. Instead of asking residents to come to public meetings, often held during work days when people are typically unavailable,
Street Ambassadors engage people in conversations about transportation when it’s convenient for them. They meet residents in active neighborhood spaces where they socialize and congregate. They often do outreach during the morning rush, in the evenings, or over the weekend. This model has been successful in getting feedback from community members and for sharing information about DOT’s Street Improvement Projects. For example, during the outreach phase for an improvement project in Queens, Street Ambassadors spoke to over 3,200 people (a significantly higher amount of feedback received than any workshop DOT had ever organized) about changes residents would like to see. In addition to creating a new outreach strategy, DOT designed the Street Ambassador program to be a new gateway into a career in public service. Many design and planning jobs require a Master’s degree. This program creates an entry point for people interested in long-term careers at DOT by offering specialized professional development in the field of transportation planning. The Street Ambassadors program recruits young people early in their careers, builds their technical and design skills, and encourages them to remain and grow at DOT.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 405
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT Vision Zero is a citywide initiative to reduce traffic fatalities. The NYC DOT has identified priority intersections, corridors and areas in each borough. These are locations with high incidents of severe pedestrian injuries and fatalities. There are several locations in the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Ocean Hill - Brownsville. Safe Streets for Seniors is a pedestrian safety initiative for older New Yorkers. The initiative studies crash data, conducts outreach and develops & implements mitigation measures to improve safety for seniors and all road users alike.
map about incidents/Safe Streets for Seniors https://nycdotprojects.info 406 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 407
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES DOT of NYC initiated the project in 2015. All new yorkers are involved in this process in NYC and also the planner is involved in the design and improve process of the street projects.
Street Ambassador Team
Researcher
All New yorker
The SDOT, In partnership with the Mobility Innovation Center, commissioned the University of Washington’s Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance to review the innovation frameworks of six leading cities— Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco—to identify and analyze their noteworthy innovations, and provide recommendations as the department considers developing its own innovation framework.
Planner
https://metrocouncil.org/Handbook/Files/Community-Engagement/Community-Engagement-Street-Ambassadors.aspx 408 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 409
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT Street Ambassadors targeted high-volume community locations to expand the public’s feedback and knowledge of DOT’s Street Improvement Projects. They go to the places like the mall, subway, and supermarkets in the time that people are not at work, so that people can have free time to stop to talk to them and then they get more information. The Ambassadors also visited local businesses in some projects to discuss their needs. As always, they distributed small giveaways as a thank you to participants for providing feedback.
https://nycdotprojects.info 410 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 411
METHODS & TOOLS USED Communicating tools •Talk in native language •Online website •Mobile survey •PALM CARD •Transportation education workshops •open houses •walk-throughs •community board presentations Document tools •Sketch Map •Request submissions are automated to alert Project Managers. Inventory and recaps are recorded at the end of a deployment and instantly filed.
https://nycdotprojects.info 412 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 413
WHAT WENT ON: PROCESS, INTERACTION, AND PARTICIPATION https://nycdotprojects.info
https://nycdotprojects.info
https://nycdotprojects.info
https://nycdotprojects.info
414 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
1.QUEENS BOULEVARD HAD A REPUTATION 2.STREET AMBASSADOR OUTREACH FOR 2016 QUEENS BLVD PROJECT Street Ambassadors conducted 17 days of outreach along the project corridor. 3.FRAMING THE PROBLEM Before surveying, we need to bring people to the same playing field, making sure all folks know what the problem is. Participants were encouraged to propose design solutions from the available “menu” of treatments. 4.HAVING REAL CONVERSATIONS All participants were encouraged to participate in their native language. 5.QUEENS BLVD OUTREACH STATS 6.QUEENS BLVD PORTAL STATS People were encouraged to continue their participation via the online portal. Portal was live between November 6 and December 2, 2015. 7.STATS + STORIES = A FULL PICTURE
8.FEEDBACK FROM THE LOCAL And Street ambassador team will check up on their project that are in the process. Then they will continue sharing the process with the community using the visionable tool to let the residents know their project design concept clearly. 9.FINAL PROJECT PLAN So the planner can change their design in the way that the residents really need.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 415
g in y d A plan proposed for the bots need of all kinds of Emigh people include Minority r groups
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
Planner updates Pa r the plan refer to the tner sh ip feedback from the residents DOT Street Ambassador get C feedback from the po hoi c residents about the we e r plan
Planner proposes plan refer to street ambassadors outcomes
Data Crunching
Pa
rtn
tion
lta nsu
Co Planner wonders about community 416 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
2016 OUTREACH ACHIEVEMENTS: 82 Projects Supported 328 Individual Deployments 27,293 Giveaways Distributed 32,000 + Conversations with Public •Project Deliverables •Heat Maps •In-Depth Survey Responses •Quotes from the Public •Portal Management •Data Crunching •Photo Archive •Desire Lines Maps •Delivery Windows
ers
hip
DOT Street Ambassador and planner outreach with residents in their free time and convenient places. Get quotes from the Public
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 417
REFERENCES https://nycdotprojects.info https://lithgow-schmidt.dk/sherry-arnstein/ladder-ofcitizen-participation.html#d0e24 https://www1.nyc.gov/ https://www.nycdotplan.nyc/ https://equity.nyc.gov/equity-stories/street-ambassadorprogram https://metrocouncil.org/Handbook/Files/CommunityEngagement/Community-Engagement-StreetAmbassadors.aspx
418 | DOT STREET AMBASSADOR TEAM
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Jiayi Zhao | 419
A Summer Place in the South Bronx Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 423
ANALYSIS + LESSONS LEARNED Public opinion of the project was divided. Residents of Forest Houses expressed gratitude for the much-needed (though temporary) creative outlet for their kids, not to mention, a noticeable drop in shootings. Mostly, the art world cried colonialism. Ken Johnson dismissed the whole structure as a carpetbagging monument to the artist’s “monumental ego.” Howard Halle viewed it as a guilt-cleansing exercise. “Why don’t the rich take some of their money out of the bank, or wherever they have it laying around, and put it where it might do some actual good,” Halle wrote in the comments section of our blog, “instead of continuously skimming the fat off of global markets and then tossing a little pocket change at the ‘community’ to make themselves feel good.” His comment echoed composer Peter Buffett’s op-ed on top-tier philanthropy, which he summarily termed “‘conscience laundering’ — feeling better about accumulating more than any one person could possibly need to live on by sprinkling a little around as an act of charity.”
Gramsci monument solo exhibition, 2013 424 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 425
PROBLEMS + PURPOSE
Drawing of the design
The idea of this installation was ambitious: build a temporary structure in a diverse urban neighborhood and use it as a community center to spark discussions around philosophy, art, and life. It’d house a café, a gallery and a library, a philosopher-in-residence, and a daily newspaper. This monument isn’t the bronze or gilded variety typically erected to honor generals or politicians. In Hirschhorn’s trademark style, it’s a series of pavilions constructed from plywood, blue tarping, packing tape, and other readily available materials.
Discussion meeting 426 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 427
BACKGROUND HISTORY + CONTEXT Gramsci Monument is the fourth and last in Thomas Hirschhorn’s series of “monuments” dedicated to major writers and thinkers, which he initiated in 1999 with Spinoza Monument (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), followed by Deleuze Monument (Avignon, France, 2000) and Bataille Monument (Kassel, Germany, 2002). This fourth monument pays tribute to the Italian political theorist and Marxist Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937), famous for his Letters and Prison Notebooks (1926–1937). Gramsci Monument is based on Hirschhorn’s will “to establish a definition of monument,’ to provoke encounters, to create an event, and to think Gramsci today. “My love for Antonio Gramsci is the love of philosophy, the love of the infinitude of thought. It is a question of sharing this, affirming it, defending it, and giving it form.” — Thomas Hirschhorn
Thomas Hirschhorn, Preparatory drawings, Gramsci Monument, 2013 © Thomas Hirschhorn 428 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 429
ORGANIZING, SUPPORTING + FUNDING ENTITIES Dia Art Foundation
Gramsci Monument will be Dia’s first public commission in New York City since 1996, when Dia extended Joseph Beuys’s 7000 Oaks on West 22nd Street from 10th to 11th Avenues. Dia presented Timeline: Work in Public Space, which comprised a 30-foot linear layout of images, written statements, and text excerpts chronicling Hirschhorn’s interventions in “public spaces” in urban and rural sites from 1989 to 2011.
New York City Housing Authority(NYCHA)
NYCHA is committed to increasing opportunities for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers by providing safe, affordable housing and facilitating access to social and community services. “The New York City Housing Authority is very much looking forward to our residents engaging in this very special endeavor,” said NYCHA Chairman John Rhea. “We especially thank artist Thomas Hirschhorn for bringing his unique vision to public housing, and totally involving Forest Houses residents. And we thank Dia Art Foundation for its generosity in making this artistic effort possible.”
A Brief Understanding of Stakeholders 430 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 431
PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT Built by residents of the community, it’s the temporary home to a daily newspaper, a computer room, a lounge, an exhibition space, a stage, a radio station, and a space where philosopher-inresidence Marcus Steinweg gives daily lectures. With Dia curator Yasmil Raymond–an associate curator at the Walker from 2004 to 2009–as ambassador, the project also includes field trips around New York for children from Forest Houses. Everything from its slate of activities (from talks by curator and writer Okwui Enwezor to a radio show featuring local voices) to its aesthetic, seems pinned to Gramsci’s expansive notion that “everyone is a philosopher, though in his own way and unconsciously.”
Discussion Panel 432 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 433
METHODS & TOOLS USED During the construction process, the designer will hold temporary meetings in the site at any time to discuss technical details with local residents, and sometimes make subtle adjustments to the design. They use sticky notes to record the results of discussions and undecided ideas
Notes on the wood walls 434 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 435
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
436 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
The Gramsci Monument is open daily, offering a daily program of lectures by philosopher Marcus Steinweg, a children’s workshop run by Lex Brown, a play titled the Gramsci Theater, a radio station, and a daily newspaper. Weekly programs include Gramsci Seminars led by eleven scholars, Poetry Lectures and Workshops led by eleven writers, Art Workshops led by Hirschhorn, open microphone events coordinated by the community, and field trips organized by the project’s “ambassador,” Dia curator, Yasmil Raymond.
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 437
AND ABOUT THE STRUCTURE...
CREATE A DIAGRAM OF THE POWER SHARING MODEL OR DESIGN YOUR OWN “LADDER”
I want to fully consider the degree of influence of different entities on the project, so I use a tree diagram to express this relationship. The width of the line is used to represent its degree of influence on the project, the size of the circle is used to represent its participation in the project, and the solid line and dotted line are used to express the direct or indirect connection. After comprehensively considering different parties, the five most representative entities are finally selected to express the rights structure.
Power Sharing Structure 438 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 439
REFERENCES A Summer Place in the South Bronx - NYTIMES
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/arts/design/a-visit-to-thomas-hirschhorns-gramscimonument.html
Dia Art Foundation
https://www.diaart.org/
Personal Website of Thomas Hirschhore
http://www.thomashirschhorn.com/gramsci-monument/
The Walker Sightlines
https://walkerart.org/magazine/philippe-vergne-interview-hirschhorn-gramsci
440 | A SUMMER PLACE IN THE SOUTH BRONX
Columbia GSAPP | Practices of Community Engagement | Fall Semester 2021 | Lipeng Zhu | 441