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Urban Waterways and Community Collaboration

Urban WaterwaysNewsletter

Issue #8 Winter 2017

Introduction: The Value and Practice of Community CollaborationKatrina D. Lashley

Better Results over the Long Haul, Driven by Communities Hyon Rah

Kingman Island - An escape in the cityLee Cain

A Fish (Windsock) Tale: Sparking Community Engagement with the Environment and Local Ecosystems through Art Melissa Green Community Driven Collaborations for Park Access and Health Equity in L.A. Nancy Negrete and Robert García The Role of Collaboration in Planning For Phase IV of Louisville Waterfront ParkLouisville Waterfront Development Corporation

The Anacostia Project - A conversation with Krista SchlyerKatrina D. Lashley

Noteworthy News

Contributors

Contents

Newsletter StaffKatrina Lashley - Editor

Corianne Setzer - Designer

Anacostia Community Museum, Urban Waterways Newsletter, Issue 8, Winter 2017

1901 Fort Place SEWashington, D.C. 20020

202-633-4820

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Front Image:Living Classrooms “Fresh Start” program participants helping construct the boardwalk over the marsh on Heritage Island.

The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Urban Waterways Project is a long-term research and educational initiative based upon research on the Anacostia River and local communities, as well as research examining urban waterways in communities in other cities. The project raises public awareness about human-biosphere interaction, engenders appreciation for rivers and their role in sustainable urban development, and fosters civic responsibility and advocacy for waterways. It is particularly focused on working with communities on the frontline and most affected by development and environmental impacts.

Community ForumsUPCOMING EXHIBITION!

3Anacostia Community Museum, Urban Waterways Newsletter, Issue 8, Winter 2017

Introduction: The Value and Practice of Community CollaborationKatrina D. Lashley

One of the driving forces of the past six and a half years of Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum Urban Waterways project has been people, more specifically, how communities have been impacted by and have impacted their urban waterways. The project has also sought to document and provide examples of the best practices used in multi-disciplinary approaches to advocacy. The foundations of successful endeavors have been a commitment to the inclusion of communities, the willingness to engage with and be guided by the knowledge, skills, and experience of those who are most invested in the health and sustainable futures of the neighborhoods which line the banks of our nation’s urban rivers.

In this issue, our contributors explore the value and practice of community collaboration. Hyon Rah points to a growing realization among practitioners tackling issues of development along waterways that an integrated approach driven by community input and needs is means to sustainable success. Lee Cain highlights how the community’s role in building and maintaining the natural space of Kingman Island in DC can create a sense of stewardship and connection to place, while providing a path for future personal and civic development. ArtReach’s Melissa Green demonstrates the various ways communities can and want to be engaged in conversations regarding the health of their neighborhoods and natural world through art. The City Project provides a list of best practices through a tracing of the history of community driven collaborations aimed at park access and health equity in LA, while the Waterfront Development Corporation in Louisville serves as a case study of successful community engagement that has lasted for over thirty years, as the citizens of Louisville have embraced the various stages of the city’s front lawn which is entering its fourth stage.

As policy-makers, non-profits, developers, and citizens face the challenges of the equitable development of sustainable waterways and neighborhoods, “success” in terms of collaborations between the various stakeholders can only be truly measured according to a metric which incorporates citizen engagement and activism as one of its benchmarks.

Katrina LashleyResearch Specialist, Urban Waterways

Katrina D. Lashley is a Research Specialist at the Anacostia CommunityMuseum. She received her B.A. in English Literature and Italian at Rutgers University.In 2011 she completed a Master’s in History (Public History track) at American Universitywith a focus on the British Caribbean.

http://www.kingmanisland.org/

http://www.thearcdc.org/partners-programs/partners/artreach

http://www.cityprojectca.org/

https://louisvillewaterfront.com/about-wdc/

https://louisvillewaterfront.com/about-wdc/


Better Results over the Long Haul, Driven by Communities Hyon Rah

In a recent meeting, an engineering colleague of mine mentioned his discomfort with the use of the term “community-driven” to describe a project he felt was technologically focused. “It sounds soft and gooey,” he said, adding the term somehow weakened the technical and economical validity of the project. This startled me, since from my perspective, the technologies involved serve as a means to an end for the project in question: to serve the community’s basic needs for clean water and energy, thereby providing a stable foundation upon which to create economic opportunities and other development. Having come from a design background, despite my later training as an engineer, I have always considered these technologies and plans for basic infrastructure as a basis for creating livable places for people - spaces people can take ownership of without having to deal with the negative long-term consequences from short-sighted development.

I think we, as practitioners, tend to shift by default into the role of playing experts in our specialized fields without first understanding what is needed or desired in the communities in which we work - and, more importantly, with and for whom we work. Such context and how our particular areas of expertise relate to the big picture are often not considered, whether by habit (sticking to what one’s used to doing) or intention (no incentive to do “extra work”). This preference for isolated, specialized practice is also due to its perceived efficiency in terms of the amount of time and money spent on the effort, although long-term effects after implementation are almost never accounted for. We also forget the fact that, while we have training and experience in areas that could contribute to the development of these communities, none of us can possibly know and care more about the local conditions than those that call these places their home.

In the connected and fast-changing world we live in, where environmental, economic, and social issues run hand-in-hand, an approach tailored to address multiple issues across these areas is going to be more efficient and effective than an approach that only deals with one. While it may seem bothersome, learning about the issues communities are faced with day to day (which can include unexpected answers such as elephant intrusions into a village) can help make the important connection between the technical and technological advances and the tangible impact they will make within the community now and in the future. Furthermore, when figuring out ways to tackle local problems with quantifiable, technical solutions, if we took the time to survey locally available resources, especially sustainable sources of energy and water, we could significantly

Hyon K. Rah is a hybrid designer-engineer who has worked around the world, integrating sustainable design, energy efficiency, water management, and equitable development. She serves as Executive Director of Anchor Coalition – Securing Water and Energy for Our Communities.

Anacostia Community Museum, Urban Waterways Newsletter, Issue 8, Winter 2017 5

bring down the cost. Such an approach also creates opportunities to engage How does a community-driven approach work in real life? One example is found among the villages along the Brahmaputra River in northeastern state of Assam, India, where community-based development efforts are taking shape under the name “Aakha.” The word Aakha means “hope” in Assamese - and hope is something the project aims to bring to this area, where one-third of the population lives below the poverty line of less than $1.25 per person a day. Three out of four households are not able to light their homes at night due to lack of electricity. Despite being located in one of the most water-rich areas in India, about 80% of households in Assam do not have access to safe drinking water. The mighty Brahmaputra River, which provides water, transportation, and other amenities to the surrounding villages, turns on them several times a year when heavy rainfalls hit the area. In 2016 alone, 1.8 million people were affected by devastating floods.

Aakha was set in motion by local community leaders who envisioned a better future for Assam - a future not limited by challenges such as lack of infrastructure, natural disasters, and reduced local employment opportunities since the closure of a sizable power plant in the area. Seeing the potential to cultivate and sell the high-value medicinal herbs native to Assam, they formed a grassroots educational organization, called Organo. First order of business was to launch a program to educate local women on sustainable cultivation techniques for various types of medicinal herbs.

Once the educational program was up and running, the medicinal herbs’ supply chain to the markets in New Delhi and Kolkata was streamlined to increase the profit margin for the farmers. At this point, a realization hit: partially-processed herbs commanded higher prices and a seasonal advantage over fresh ones, and to reap those benefits, a local processing

Aakha was set in

motion by local

community leaders

who envisioned

a better future

for Assam - a

future not limited

by challenges

such as lack of

infrastructure,

natural disasters,

and reduced

local employment

opportunities since

the closure of a

sizable power plant

in the area.

The Brahmaputra River provides access to transportation, water, and other amenities to its adjacent communities. When heavy rainfalls hit the area, it quickly turns into a source of devastation. Severe erosion along the edge of the river is also a problem that has caused concern among Assam’s locals. Image Source: Organo


plant would be required. As part of this effort, the community leaders at Organo have had to reach out beyond its traditional partners to government authorities, researchers, and other local organizations. They also have sought out technical guidance on areas such as renewable technologies, water management, and various funding mechanisms, forming partnerships with entities as far as in Washington, DC. A multi-staged and inter-disciplinary consultation process

is currently ongoing, and the plan is to power the processing plant using renewable technologies (a free source of energy once installed), without contaminating or tapping out the local water supply required to grow the herbs. The processing plant, in addition to increasing the income generated by the medicinal herb cultivation and supplying water and electricity to the community, would create new jobs for local men who have been unemployed or endured long commutes for work since the nearby power plant’s closure. The goal is this first processing center, and its community benefits will serve as a model for other villages along the Brahmaputra River in Assam, setting the stage for sustainable growth driven by local communities.

At first glance, the tangible outcomes of Aakha, including the medicinal herb processing plant, might seem like those of a typical top-down development project. On a closer look, however, one might be surprised at how many different issues the project addresses, from supplying clean energy and water to the local community and conserving endangered medicinal herbs, to empowering economic independence of community members (especially women, who had very limited options prior). Only an integrated approach, supported by an inter-disciplinary team and centered on the interests of the local community, could yield such results.

The goal is this first

processing center,

and its community

benefits will

serve as a

model for other

villages along the

Brahmaputra River

in Assam, setting

the stage for

sustainable growth

driven by local

communities.

The community-driven and integrated approach taken in Assam will empower women with financial independence through high-value herb farming and conservation training, supported by sustainable water and energy infrastructure. Image Source: Organo


Kingman Island - An escape in the cityLee Cain

History:The Anacostia River was once nearly a mile wide, and the channel was deep enough for ocean-going ships to travel and trade. By 1850, the river had silted in from erosion caused by deforestation and farming and was no longer navigable. In 1912, the Anacostia River began to be dredged in an attempt to make shipping possible again. Thousands of acres of wetlands were filled in and destroyed through this process, and Kingman and Heritage Islands were formed from the dredged spoils. Today Kingman and Heritage Islands Park is a District-owned public-park dedicated to natural resources preservation and education. Thousands of District School youth visit the park each year to participate in environmental and science education programs.

Lee Cain graduated from Juniata College with a degree in Physical Science, Culture. He is currently the Director of Kingman Island with Living Classrooms.

Compare the Tidal Freshwater Marsh of Heritage Island from the 1990s to 2016. 4th graders have played a vital role in restoring the marsh and the wetlands on the Anacostia since 2001. Students grow wetland plants from seed in their classrooms and bring them to Kingman and Heritage Islands Park to transplant them to help restore the wetlands. Photos courtesy of Anacotia Watershed Society


Natural Resources and Education:Kingman Island was Federal Property until 2008 when it was transferred to the District of Columbia for the purpose of natural resources preservation and education. Kingman is a story of the resiliency of nature. While Kingman and Heritage Islands are completely man-made at the expense of wetland ecosystems over 100 years ago, these islands are now home to a variety of important and rare ecosystems. There are tidal freshwater wetlands, vernal pools, native meadows, and forests in this park. While there are invasive plant problems, there are over 100 different species of bird and other wildlife that call Kingman and Heritage Islands Park home. A combination of scientists, students and volunteers help to lend a hand to improve the health of these ecosystems each year.

Many partners come together to make Kingman a great place, ranging from businesses, such as REI, to partner non-profits such as Anacostia Watershed Society, and local neighborhood groups such as Friends of Kingman Park and the River Terrace Garden Club. District Government agencies also play a vital role. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) supports the trail system on Kingman Island, and the District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) supports in many

ways, such as removing the relic asphalt parking lot, surveying wildlife and providing recommendations and conducting work to improve the natural environment. Last year DOEE scientists discovered a plant on Kingman Island that is on the Maryland endangered species list - the Virginia Mallow. The Southern end of Kingman Island is remote and rarely visited by people. It is home to some of the Anacostia’s large birds of prey and a haven for wildlife.

Living Classrooms manages the island on behalf of the District. In 2016, Living Classrooms and its partners brought out over 1600 volunteers to help improve the park by conducting invasive plant removals, trash clean ups, creating new picnic areas, restoring meadow ecosystems and constructing a boardwalk over the marsh on Heritage Island. In 2016, over 3000 District school students came to Kingman Island to participate in

We are all

working to keep

Kingman [Island]

the natural

paradise and

wildlife corridor

that it is now,

with areas

left relatively

untouched by

people, yet

accessible to

people as an

escape in the

city.

A volunteer finds a spotted salamander near one of Kingman’s vernal pools. Photo: Lee Cain


programs that enhance their curriculum. Students help to restore wetlands and meadows, study salamanders and frogs, clean up and categorize trash from the river to provide data that supports environmental laws, such as the polystyrene ban and bag fee and more. These programs on Kingman Island provide life-long lessons kids remember and provide context for learning reading, math, science, history and art.

Another area of support that Kingman provides for the community is a job-training ground for District youth. Living Classrooms and other organizations throughout the District provide workforce development programs for youth in DC. Some of these programs serve juvenile offenders, such as the Living Classrooms “Fresh Start” program. The young people in this program spend 40 weeks with Living Classrooms learning a variety of trades and using Kingman as a training ground to understand and practice not only the field of park management, but also soft skills and life skills. DOEE also conducts a very successful program called the Green Zone Employment Program or GZEP. Hundreds of District youth each year are placed throughout the city, and each year about 60 of these 17-25 year olds spend 20 hours a week during the summer on Kingman Island. They conduct projects such as building picnic tables, creating picnic areas, maintaining trails, removing invasive plants, and more.

Kingman is a gem in the city and a resource for the community. People visit Kingman and Heritage Islands Park every day. Once visitors enter the park and walk down the path a hundred feet or so, it is easy to forget they’re in the middle of the city, and they enter an oasis where peace can be found. Thousands of people every year visit the park to run, picnic, walk their dogs and sit by the water to enjoy the stillness of nature in the middle of the city. The annual Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival will come again on May 13th. Nearly 10,000 people are expected to attend this day to enjoy the islands and local music. Living Classrooms is hopeful to pilot camping in 2017. If this is successful, Kingman Island will be the only place in the District where camping is legal and possible.

Living

Classrooms

and other

organizations

throughout the

District provide

workforce

development

programs for

youth in DC.

Some of these

programs

serve juvenile

offenders, such

as the Living

Classrooms

“Fresh Start”

program.

Living Classrooms “Fresh Start” program participants helping construct the boardwalk over the marsh on Heritage Island.


If you haven’t been to Kingman in a while, it, visit again soon. By the Summer of 2017, where there was once an asphalt parking lot on Kingman Island there will be a thriving native meadow habitat, the wetland plants will be lush and beautiful, the great white egrets will walk through the shallows looking for fish, and there will be a self-guided signage tour of the island’s wildlife and ecosystems. We are all working to keep Kingman the natural paradise and wildlife corridor that it is now, with areas left relatively untouched by people, yet accessible to people as an escape in the city.


A Fish (Windsock) Tale: Sparking Community Engagement with the Environment and Local Ecosystems through Art Melissa Green

On a warm spring day last April, a herd of bicycles cruised alongside the Anacostia River. There were over 100 bikes in the group, and they moved slowly, together. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be too much in common between them. Some of the riders were older, some were young. Some were from out-of-town; some had lived their whole lives along the Anacostia. And their bikes rolling past ranged across colors and sizes and purposes. One wasn’t a bike at all, but a pair of rollerblades worn by a 12-year-old girl. However, above her head and above each bicycle a windsock, painted by hand and crafted to resemble a fish found in the river, fluttered in the breeze, almost as if it were swimming in the wind. With this in sight, you actually began to see the bikes moving more as a school than a herd.

The second annual Fish Bike Parade, a part of the 2016 Anacostia River Festival, marked the culminating moment of a months-long project by ArtReach - a community arts program located at THEARC in Southeast DC that provides free visual arts classes, collaborative projects, and exhibitions for local communities, families and youth. Partnering with the GW Corcoran School of Art printmaking department, 11th Street Bridge Project, and the National Park Service, ArtReach held fish windsock workshops in community centers, art schools, and other partner organizations across DC. In these workshops, participants from local communities were able to screen print or paint their very own windsock and in turn learn about the history and ecology of the Anacostia River and some of the threats facing the waterway today.

Melissa Green

is Director of

ArtReach and

the Community

Gallery at THEARC

with George

Washington

University.

ArtReach students join the fish bike parade at the Anacostia River Festival with their "Korabori" inspired fish windsocks. Photo Credit: ArtReach Staff

Washington School for Girls students paint their own American Shad, one of the four Anacostia River fish turned into windsocks. Photo Credit: ArtReach Staff


Inspired by the Japanese tradition of creating carp-shaped flags known as “Koinoboiri,” ArtReach’s fish windsocks were designed to resemble five fish found in Anacostia Rivers -American Shad, Pumpkin Seed, Yellow Perch, Striped Bass, and the invasive Northern Snakehead. As participants decided over which fish to paint or screen print, they were told about how the fish participates in the local river ecosystems and how in some cases they even helped shape local and national history.

For example, the American Shad has more than once helped alter the path of our country. Near the conclusion of the American Civil War, some say the Battle of Five Forks was irreversibly tilted towards the Union Army when the Confederates were unable to stave off an attack without their commander’s presence. Their commander, Major General Pickett, had decided to have a late shad bake lunch a mile and half away from the battle site. Prior to that, George Washington had relied on the American Shad - a reliable fish crop due to its annual upstream migration - to feed his armies and to save his properties at Mount Vernon when his crops proved unprofitable. Of course, some would also say in saving his lands Washington was the first to overfish the Shad and start the depletion of its populations.

The individual fish species, especially the invasive Northern Snakehead, also served as great jumping-off points to discuss and ask questions about the threats facing our local waterways. How are invasive species like the Snakehead impacting native fish like the Pumpkin Seed and Striped Bass? How did they and other invasive species get here? What are we doing to cut down on their impact? How is pollution and run off affecting the health of fish species? What can communities do to help clean waterways, even when they don’t live right by the river?

The stories and questions surrounding these fish and their habitats helped create rich and valuable conversations during arts workshops hosted by ArtReach and community partners such as the Corcoran School of Art, the Washington School for Girls, Stanton and Malcolm X Elementary Schools, Black Swan Academy, JumpStart, Calvary Women’s services, and the Washington Area Bike Association. In all, ArtReach hosted 32 workshops at 15 locations around

Inspired by the Japanese tradition of creating carp-shaped flags known as “Koinoboiri,” ArtReach’s fish windsocks were designed to resemble five fish found in Anacostia Rivers...

Families from Ward 7 and 8 paint fish windsocks depicting the American Shad and Pumpkinseed. Photo Credit: ArtReach Staff


Washington, DC, in the months leading up the Festival. Each offered an opportunity for youth, parents, and community members to find a real connection with local waterways through the creation of a fish - completed with their own hands and marked by their own self-expression - that live in our rivers and face real and significant problems today.

The workshops also helped introduce community members to local river advocates from multiple disciplines. Through partnerships with such environmental organizations as the District Department of Energy and Environment Aquatic Recreation Center (AREC), Earth Conservation Core, and the Anacostia Watershed Society, ArtReach was able to provide local youth and families with opportunities to engage in

environmental activities and learn about some of the work being done to combat environmental degradation. In the future, ArtReach will look to foster even greater partnerships with ecology groups and provide them with more opportunities to speak at art-making workshops and lead ArtReach groups through different activities. We also hope to work with ecology organizations and the George Washington University’s Biology Department in the creation of infographics and visual materials that can be presented at workshops and handed out to participants. Though the open conversations about local waterways and the stories and questions raised around the fish species were often lively and engaging, it would be good to have more scientific visuals to ensure points are being made and people are coming away with a real understanding of local ecosystems and the issues they face.

Of course, one thing that will remain the same is that the end of each workshop will be filled with an invitation for future engagement. Each person who makes a fish windsock is asked to bring it to the Anacostia River Festival, attach it to their bike, and take part in the Fish Bike Parade. They are asked to take part in something bigger than themselves, to show up and be counted as someone who cares about local waterways, local fish and the issues they face, and then to move together and form a mobile community or school of people taking action to increase awareness and engagement for our river, its ecosystems, and the fish living within it.

The workshops also helped introduce community members to local river advocates from multiple disciplines.

Mother and son prepare for the parade with fish windsocks attached to their bikes. Photo Credit: ArtReach Staff


Nancy Negrete is a Program Manager at The City Project.

Robert García is Founding Director and Counsel at The City Project and Assistant Professor at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science

Community Driven Collaborations for Park Access and Health Equity in L.A.Nancy Negrete and Robert García

Community-driven collaborations have helped make people’s lives better through park access and health equity in L.A. over the past 17 years. The recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity recommends community-driven best practices. The report recognizes park access and residential segregation as social determinants of health, and recommends civil rights and environmental justice strategies to promote health equity. That’s the good news.

Challenges remain. People face green gentrification and displacement. Deportation is the ultimate form of displacement. Latinos, including US citizens in the 1930s, were deported from the Cornfield rail yard in L.A. because of discrimination and competition for jobs. People have fought for 17 years to transform the Cornfield into what is now L.A. State Historic Park, and to create parks and schools along the L.A. River and beyond. Many of these people can no longer afford to live or even work nearby, as their neighborhoods become greener, more desirable, and more expensive. Many are afraid to play in the parks for fear of being harassed or deported. Other people with resources and power march against deportation raids and the Muslim travel ban, while they resist applying equal justice laws to their own work.

People’s Parks and WatersIn 2001, The Chinatown Yard Alliance stopped 32 acres of warehouses to create L.A. State Historic Park. The site is the veritable Ellis Island of Los Angeles. Native Americans who lived nearby were displaced by waves of settlers. Latinos were deported from the rail yard in the 1930s. Japanese Americans, including US citizens, were displaced from nearby Little Tokyo and sent to internment camps in the 1940s under the Korematsu decision by the US Supreme Court that has been reversed in the court of history. The park offers lessons for community collaborations to support park access and health equity, and for how to treat people fairly today.

Anahuak Youth Sports Association and others led the community battle to create Río de Los Angeles State Park in disproportionately Latino and immigrant northeast L.A. Diverse allies recently celebrated the purchase of 41 more acres parcel to add to Río. These community collaborations led to the $1.4 billion plan to revitalize the L.A. River over the coming 20 years. The river runs 52 miles from the San Fernando Valley south past downtown and empties in the ocean at Long Beach.1 Judy Baca and SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center), since the 1970s, and Lewis MacAdams and FOLAR (Friends of the L.A. River), since 1987, have fought for river revitalization. A diverse coalition is now working to implement equitable principles and laws for park, health, housing, jobs, and climate justice along the river.

1 See “US Army Corps of Engineers Best Practice for Revitalizing L.A. River for All” (The City Project Blog 2016), http://www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/41580. The complete USACE final study is available for download at http://cdm16021.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16021coll7/id/233

https://www.nap.edu/read/24624/chapter/1

http://www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/41580

http://www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/41580

http://cdm16021.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16021coll7/id/2339

http://cdm16021.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16021coll7/id/2339


Holding the alliance together are efforts to support regulations, guidelines, training, and other programs and activities to implement those laws is the current challenge.

Concerned Citizens of South-central Los Angeles, homeowners groups, and others stopped a power plant, garbage dump, and excessive oil drilling in the Baldwin Hills Park and community in the historic heart of African American L.A. They helped eliminate noxious sewer odors in their neighborhoods and clean up the dilapidated sewer system citywide. The clean water settlement provided funds to create the Civil Rights Park - the only park dedicated to the Civil Rights Revolution in L.A. - and other park and water projects. These new parks include South L.A. Wetlands Park, North Atwater Park, and Garvanza Park in park-poor, income-poor communities and communities of color.

The “Gang of 100” diverse allies, including over 30 civil rights, health, and social justice organizations, came together in 2016 to demand the California Coastal Commission ensure environmental justice in its decisions up and down the coast. The people, the legislature, and the governor strengthened coastal justice and equal justice laws to make clear civil rights protections and environmental justice laws apply to parks, beaches, recreation areas, and public waters throughout the state. Holding the alliance together to support regulations, guidelines, training, and other programs and activities to implement those laws is the current challenge.2

Standards, Data, Monitoring, and AccountabilityStatewide, allies worked with the legislature to define standards to measure equity, allow for midcourse corrections, and hold public officials accountable for investing public funds. California’s Assembly Bill 31 prioritized $400 million in “park-poor” and “income-poor” communities under Proposition 84, a voter ballot measure. It worked. Fully 88% of those local impact funds were invested in communities of color and low-income communities. In contrast, another $1 billion under Prop 84 were not prioritized under those standards. Fully 69% of those funds were invested in areas that are disproportionately park-rich, income-rich, and non-Hispanic white. Even though “local parks and urban greening” were listed as priorities for Prop 84 as a whole, diverse communities with the greatest need received less funding overall. That’s backwards, and that’s unfair.

Community allies working with the County of L.A. Department of Parks and Recreation and the L.A. County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) provide best practices for a park needs assessment, health assessment, and standards for investment. Communities of color and low income communities have the greatest needs for more parks, more park facilities, and improved park conditions county-wide, according to the needs assessment. In the following map, areas of Very High Need are populated by

2 The City Project Blog, California Equal Justice Amendments Strengthen Law under 11135 (2016), www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/43834.

www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/43834


Communities with less park space per capita on average had higher rates of premature mortality from cardiovascular disease and diabetes, childhood obesity, and economic hardship.

86 percent people of color, compared to areas of Very Low Need, which are 51 percent people of color. The darkest color shows “Very High” park needs. The hash marks identify more people of color than the county average.3

Access to parks provides public health benefits, including physical activity and positive health and environmental impacts. Communities with less park space per capita on average had higher rates of premature mortality from cardiovascular disease and diabetes, childhood obesity, and economic hardship. African Americans and Latinos were more likely than Asians and non-Hispanic whites to have less park space per capita. LACDPH recommends prioritizing park resources in such communities.4 The needs assessment provides the standards for where to invest.

3 GreenInfo Network provided the mapping and data wrangling for The City Project and the County based in part on the Countywide Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Needs Assessment (2016) by the County Department of Parks and Recreation. See Robert García and Cesar De La Vega, People Celebrate Park Funding and Equal Access L.A. County Measure A, NRPA Open Space Blog (2016), www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/44020.4 L.A. County Department of Public Health, Parks and Public Health in Los Angeles County (2016), http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/chronic/docs/Parks%20Report%202016-rev_051816.pdf.


http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/chronic/docs/Parks%2520Report%25202016-rev_051816.pdf

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/chronic/docs/Parks%2520Report%25202016-rev_051816.pdf


Health inequities are, in large part, a result of poverty and economic inequality, structural racism, and discrimination.

San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Presidential MemoPresident Barack Obama listened to the people when he dedicated the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in 2014, declaring this “an issue of social justice. Because it’s not enough to have this awesome natural wonder within your sight - you have to be able to access it . . . young and old, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American.”5

Over 60 remarkably diverse community leaders call for the U.S. Forest Service to ensure compliance with civil rights and environmental justice laws in the management plan for the Monument. Never before in the country has there been such a united voice for a management plan. These allies range from the San Gabriel Valley Legislative Coalition of Chambers, GreenLatinos, Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians-Kizh Nation, National Forest Homeowners, Watts Labor Community Action Committee, Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council (A3PCON), and San Gabriel Mountains Forever, to Jesus People against Pollution.6

The Presidential Memorandum on diversity and inclusion for parks and public waters prescribes steps to diversify the work force, and improve access and health. The Memorandum calls for an action plan to comply with civil rights and environmental justice laws and principles. These laws apply to federal agencies and recipients of federal funds, including state and local park agencies and private recipients, such as mainstream organizations. The Next 100 Coalition, whose vision is public lands for all, successfully advocated for the Memorandum and is working to implement it.7

To guard against federal cutbacks, community advocates and elected officials in California are strengthening state laws to protect the people. This includes environmental, clean water, clean air, coastal justice, and equal justice laws.8 The state has retained former US Attorney General Eric Holder. These best practices can guide advocates in other progressive states.

National Academies Communities in ActionThe report Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity comes just in time. The National Academies even published their first comic book ever to get the word out to a younger and wider audience. Health inequities are, in large part, a result of poverty and economic inequality, structural racism, and discrimination. Access to parks and recreation, segregation, deeply affordable housing, displacement, and climate are public health priorities. One key recommendation is for foundations and others to support education, compliance, and enforcement related to civil rights laws.

5 The City Project, The San Gabriel Mountains: A National Monument for All, NRPA Parks & Recreation Magazine (2014), available at www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/34698.6 The City Project, San Gabriels Management Plan overwhelming support for civil rights & environmental justice compliance (2017), available at www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/44232.7 The Memo is available at http://next100coalition.org/obama-memo/.8 See, e.g., Kevin de Leon, Senate Unveils California Environmental Defense Act, Public Lands and Whistleblower Protections, http://sd24.senate.ca.gov/news/2017-02-23-senate-unveils-california-environmental-defense-act-public-lands-and-whistleblower.



http://next100coalition.org/obama-memo/

http://next100coalition.org/obama-memo/

The%20Memo%20is%20available%20at%20http://next100coalition.org/obama-memo/.

http://sd24.senate.ca.gov/news/2017-02-23-senate-unveils-california-environmental-defense-act-public-lands-and-whistleblower

http://sd24.senate.ca.gov/news/2017-02-23-senate-unveils-california-environmental-defense-act-public-lands-and-whistleblower


This framework

provides a best

practice for

community-driven

collaborations for

park access and

health equity.

The report highlights an equitable planning framework with five major elements based on civil rights, environmental justice, and health equity laws. The framework promotes equity and avoids unjustified discriminatory impacts regardless of intent, as well as intentional discrimination and implicit bias.

The five major elements of the equitable planning framework are:

1. Describe what is planned. 2. Analyze benefits and burdens on all people. a. Include numerical disparities (in park access, for example), anecdotal and statistical evidence, empirical studies and surveys, demographic data, GIS mapping, and financial analyses. Define standards for equity, monitoring, and accountability. b. Analyze the values at stake - for example, health, jobs and displacement, climate and conservation, cultural values, and equal justice and democratic participation.3. Analyze alternatives.4. Include people of color, low-income people, and others in every step of the process.5. Develop an implementation plan to distribute benefits and burdens fairly, and avoid discrimination.

This framework provides a best practice for community-driven collaborations for park access and health equity.9

9 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, committee report, Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity (2017). The report and comic are available at www.nationalacademies.org/promotehealthequity. Robert García served on the committee and Nancy Negreate served as a consultant.


Established in 1986, the Waterfront Development Corporation (WDC) plans, coordinates and implements strategies to revitalize Louisville’sWaterfront.

The Role of Collaboration in Planning For Phase IV of Louisville Waterfront ParkLouisville Waterfront Development Corporation

Since its inception in 1986, the Waterfront Development Corporation (WDC) has used public input and collaboration as a valuable tool in the planning and development of Louisville Waterfront Park. The entire project began with a series of public forums held in different locations throughout the community, and the public dialogue resulted in an 85-acre public park that successfully connects the urban center to the river and is well-loved and well-used. The first three phases of the park, including the Big Four® Pedestrian Bridge that connects Louisville to Southern Indiana over the Ohio River, were completed in early 2013. That same year, planning began on a long-talked-about fourth phase of the park, 22 acres located on the river on the west side of the current park site.

Waterfront Park is an urban park at the northern edge of downtown Louisville, stretching east along the Ohio River for about a mile and a half and connecting to a new residential/marina development sparked by the park. River Road marks the southern edge of the park; it continues west past the park for several blocks before terminating at a parking lot at 8th Street. An interstate highway passes over the park and then hugs the river’s edge to the west, covering River Road and continuing on around the city. A simple RiverWalk rings the city from Waterfront Park along the river to the west, but long stretches of the walkway are not easily accessible from the city itself.

Just beyond the parking lot at 8th Street, a system of elevated highway entrance and exit ramps forms a visual and psychological barrier, effectively bisecting the east and west sides of the city at 9th Street. This is commonly referred to as the 9th Street divide. In 2013, community leaders began planning to help bridge that divide by developing Waterfront Park’s fourth phase.

Phase IV looking east. Illustration – Waterfront Development Corporation.


...Phase IV of Waterfront Park will provide new connections between the central downtown district to Louisville’s historic Portland community with its mixture of residential and small business inhabitants.

The Phase IV site is similar to the site of the first three phases in that it is physically cut off from public access from the city side by a floodwall, and the interstate highway passes overhead near the river. It is different from the first three phases in that the Phase IV site is mostly uninhabited by structures/buildings, and there are some existing grassy and tree-canopied areas with wonderful views of the river. The RiverWalk provides a pedestrian connection from the river’s edge to the future park site. The original Waterfront Park site was made up of heavy industry and scrapyards, with no real existing neighborhood; rather, a vital neighborhood sprang up in response to the park being built. The Phase IV site is bounded to the south by an active neighborhood of businesses of all sorts. While there is room for new businesses to locate into the area, there is also a built-in population eager for the development of new park space nearby. Continuing westward, Phase IV of Waterfront Park will provide new connections between the central downtown district to Louisville’s historic Portland community with its mixture of residential and small business inhabitants.

Led by Metro Council Member Cheri Bryant Hamilton, who represents the district where Phase IV is located, a group of stakeholders - community/government leaders and business owners from the Phase IV neighborhood - came together with WDC to begin the conversation about what it would take to build Waterfront Park Phase IV. The group would focus on major issues, including how to link east to west through the 9th Street divide; connect south to north through the floodwall, and determine what park features would best serve the community while complementing but not duplicating the existing park.

The goals developed by the stakeholders included: Greenspace that transitions seamlessly between the natural riverfront and the built environment to the south and west; strong pedestrian and bicycle connectivity/circulation; festival space for civic gatherings, concerts and special events; and space for active recreation.

MKSK, an urban planning and design firm that had worked previously on projects with both WDC and the Louisville Downtown Partnership, was hired to work with the team of stakeholders to develop the master plan for Phase IV. The firm’s earlier work for the Louisville Downtown Partnership

Plaza. Illustration – Waterfront Development Corporation.


Working with the stakeholders and WDC, MKSK came up with a program that respects the rich history of the site while reflecting the needs and wants of the community.

included the development of the Downtown Louisville Master Plan, completed in early 2013, which emphasized the extension of River Road westward and the development of Phase IV.

MKSK, WDC and the Downtown Partnership determined the extension of River Road west to Rowan Street, which borders the Phase IV site to the south, would be essential to creating the connections needed for the success of the Phase IV development. The Downtown Partnership took on the management of engineering and implementing the road project. It was also necessary to collaborate with the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD), which needed to develop a new catch-basin tunnel in the Phase IV area. It was determined the tunnel would begin within the Phase IV site, and MSD would purchase the land needed for that expansion project, build their tunnel, and then allow that area of the park to be developed above the tunnel. By regulation, the tunnel must be completed by 2020, at which time park construction in that area could proceed.

Working with the stakeholders and WDC, MKSK came up with a program that respects the rich history of the site while reflecting the needs and wants of the community. The plan includes both passive and active venues, including:

• Fort-on-Shore plaza, located at the site of a frontier fortress established by Lewis & Clark in 1778; • Foundry Commons & Gardens, which will honor the site’s former steel foundries that produced ornamental steel which was used in the Vatican, French Quarter facades, and portions of the Eiffel Tower. These areas include a large green event space and a smaller passive space with shade structures, benches, gardens, and colorful lighting;• Exerscape, a concentrated area for active engagement that will include a mixture of outdoor exercise equipment and interactive landscape features; and• Waterfront Promenade, a RiverWalk experience that improves pedestrian and bicycle connections east to west and north to south.


Collaboration will be the key to ensuring all pieces of this development continue on a parallel track, resulting in an expanded outreach for Waterfront Park that complements existing offerings and serves the community well.

As planning for Phase IV continues, coordination between stakeholders, WDC, the Downtown Partnership, and MSD is crucial to the success of this project. As with the existing park, construction will be multi-phased over a number of years. Collaboration will be the key to ensuring all pieces of this development continue on a parallel track, resulting in an expanded outreach for Waterfront Park that complements existing offerings and serves the community well.

Exerscape. Illustration – Waterfront Development Corporation.


Katrina D. Lashley is a Research Specialist at the Anacostia CommunityMuseum. She received her B.A. in English Literature and Italian at Rutgers University.In 2011 she completed a Master’s in History (Public History track) at American Universitywith a focus on the British Caribbean.

The Anacostia Project - A conversation with Krista SchlyerKatrina D. Lashley

Seven years ago, Krista Schlyer was introduced to the Anacostia River for the first time after thirteen years as a resident of the DC area. The delay in introduction was due to reputation. “Going into it, my preconception was what a lot of the people in the area had. ‘It’s dirty…polluted, degraded.’ “I kind of had written it off. That’s the idea you get when you come to DC and have lived in the area for a while.” Schlyer was soon struck by another reality, the resiliency of the area’s eco-system. “I could see all the trash and the pollution but could also see a lot of birds. I saw a beaver that day, a lot of fish and

turtles…I was also struck by the stretch of the river between Bladensburg and the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and the Arboretum that day and how natural, wild and beautiful it was. I had no idea.”

This first experience with the Anacostia River was rooted in a project for the International League of Conservation Photographers which was sending photographers to various parts of the Chesapeake Watershed. Schlyer had been assigned to the Anacostia, Potomac, and James watersheds, locations closer to home, a contrast to where much of her career in documentary photography and writing with a focus on conservation had taken her. The impact of that day on the Anacostia encouraged her to focus more of her efforts in her own home ecosystem.

Schlyer’s path to a career in conservation was a natural progression from her early childhood in rural areas where she remembers hikes spent looking for snakes and butterflies. Her later childhood years were spent in more urban areas which led her away from those earlier connections to the natural world. An accident and time spent recuperating changed her path once again. “My mom took me to the mountains while I was recovering, she would take me to different places. I think that kind of changed something for me…it made me remember what I’d learned from childhood, how much that meant to me, being around wildlife and healthy ecosystems. That moment is when I started to gravitate more towards nature and the natural world.” Schlyer continued in her work as a political journalist until a year spent traveling the country. Visiting the various National Parks, convinced her it was time to focus her various interests and skills, journalism, photography, and an interest in conservation, into a career path.

Krista Schlyer is an award-winning photographer and writer focusing on conservation, biodiversity and public lands. Courtesy Krista Schlyer


Photography has been a means of engaging the community.

The first project in which these interests intersected started in 2007 along the US-Mexico border with an assignment for Wildlife Conservation Magazine which was featuring a story on the impacts the construction of the border wall could have on trans-migrating Bison who moved back and forth between borders. “We were up in a plane trying to find these bison, and we spotted them right at the moment they were crossing the border…it was a barb wire fence they’d broken down. There was that light bulb that went on in my head that said ‘Oh my gosh!’” Why I had to see that with my own eyes, to have that lightbulb go on I don’t know, but that’s true of most people in general. We can be told about something, but unless we see it for ourselves or see a photo that helps us understand it, it just doesn’t enter our consciousness. I found as soon as I showed those photographs and talked to people about it, they would respond with concern.”

Schlyer has used images to engender the same connection and concern to her home watershed. Following her 2010 introduction to the Anacostia, Schlyer spent more time on the river, getting to know the various organizations and people advocating for its health and the health of its communities. Connecting to the community proved to be a challenge. In contrast to her work along the border, she found many people who have been advocating on the river’s behalf for a long time and realized she would have to prove herself and her intentions - treading slowly, gaining trust, and proving she’s committed to the work.

Photography has been a means of engaging the community. In a presentation for the DOEE, she was able to see how individuals who have been a part of efforts to restore the Anacostia were impacted when presented with depictions of the watershed. It allowed them to connect their work to the story of the river itself, to step beyond the pockets they have been working in and see the Anacostia’s story laid out with their efforts and the resulting impacts included. “Even though you’re getting frustrated at this moment, there was a before that was a lot worse, that means there’s a future that can be a lot better, and you’re playing a part in that.” Life along the Anacostia.

©KristaSchlyer.com

KristaSchlyer.com


"The

degradation

that’s happened

historically

to this river

parallels the

degradation

that has

happened to

the human

community.”

– Krista Schlyer

Schlyer’s focus has shifted from the documentation of the early years of the project to exploring how the documentation can be used in a meaningful way. One avenue is a book on the Anacostia. “It’s an homage to a Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold’s book, which was written in the 1940’s. At the time, he was looking at the disappearance of this place he loved.” Based loosely on this framework, the book will try to convey a sense of place and care for the watershed and its communities. Going month by month, the book will start by tracing the natural history of the watershed, the years it took to build the landscape. It will then move into exploring the challenges the river has faced weaving history, community, ecology, and degradation in all forms into the narrative. “I think that a lot of times we as people see ourselves in human communities and even those human communities we make smaller and smaller so that we only have to care about those who fit into our community. The truth is we’re all part of the whole human community, but we’re also part of the land community, and we play a part whether we acknowledge that or care about it, the part we play on the land affects us, our community. We see that all the time in the Anacostia. The degradation that’s happened historically to this river parallels the degradation that has happened to the human community.”

The manner in which the Anacostia’s story will be presented reflects the comprehensive lenses through which many communities have experienced, viewed, and tackled the challenges to their waterways and themselves. And while Schlyer sees a move toward an understanding of the necessity of such an integrated approach, she believes for many, that approach is still a novelty. She points to

the progression in her own work. “This book is going to be much more complicated than the last book I wrote about a landscape. I’m really glad to do this one in this way because I understand this landscape more complexly. The more we can do that, the more we can look at these places and all the connections that make up the ecosystem…. we always use the word “ecosystems” as something related to the natural world, but all these ties that connect the salamander to the vernal pool to the forest, there is a tie that is connecting us too and our history. The more we can see these connections and express them in different ways, the more we’re going to get to the important changes we need to make.”

A great blue heron moves beyond theory along the Anacostia ©KristaSchlyer.com

KristaSchlyer.com


“You can tell people all you want that this river is a beautiful place, but if they don’t see, it’s just a theory. If there’s a photograph of a beautiful, great blue heron, it’s much more likely they’re going to want to spend some time on the river, they’re going want to protect it."

– Krista Schlyer

Another means of using her documentation in a meaningful way is by providing easier access to the very images that can serve to connect people to the Anacostia. Schlyer is working toward a royalty-free database of images that could be used by those advocating for the Anacostia watershed. Organizations constrained by funding often lack room in their budgets for the documentation and storytelling which serve to convey the message that “this place matters.” In order for people to engage with the Anacostia, it must move beyond the realm of ideas to reality. “You can tell people all you want that this river is a beautiful place, but if they don’t see, it’s just a theory. It’s just disconnected. If there’s a photograph of a beautiful, great blue heron, it’s much more likely they’re going to want to spend some time on the river, they’re going want to protect it. Those images are really important. They’re part of a whole toolbox.”

For more information: https://kristaschlyer.com/anacostia/

A quiet moment along the Anacostia River. ©KristaSchlyer.com

https://kristaschlyer.com/anacostia/

KristaSchlyer.com


Noteworthy News

Community ForumsWomen’s Environmental Leadership

Moderator - Vernice Miller Travis, Skeo SolutionsPanel - Liz Schmitt, Union of Concerned Scientists - Josephine Chu, Common Good City Farm - Kerene Tayloe, WE ACT For Environmental Justice - Ellyn Weiss, Artist

On March 18, 2017, the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum hosted a forum exploring the various ways in which women have led environmental advocacy efforts. The panel first highlighted the importance of rethinking notions of how environmentalism is practiced and challenging the traditional image of the environmentalist. For Liz Schmitt, protecting the environment is not only about protecting nature for nature’s sake, it’s about people. Josephine Chu echoed the importance of the expansion of definitions, the space in which advocacy can take place in order to welcome those who may not identify themselves as part of the environmental movement. The underlying power of dictated norms was reflected in the experiences of Kerene Tayloe, who did not initially connect her work on civil rights issues to environmental advocacy. Her travels to various communities have highlighted the fact that the issues facing communities of color and low-income was not coincidental. Having less impacts communities’ access to clean air and water. Environmental Justice is a part of the larger Civil Rights movement that is concerned with the quality of life for all.

The importance of reconciling a chosen career path with environmental advocacy is reflective of a movement across imagined borders, a breaking down of silos. Such deconstruction allows for a recognition of strength and a building-up of an infrastructure which can serve as a foundation for resistance and progress. Ellyn Weiss has actively sought ways to bring her two worlds together, environmental law and art, with a belief in the power of visual communication to educate and awaken communities. Josephine Chu’s journey has been shaped by a desire to understand how business can play a role in sustainability and how conversations around healthy eating and food access point to the connections between what and where we eat to larger environmental and social concerns. Kerene Tayloe’s experience highlights how the work associated with community organizing, advocacy, and policy are constantly happening in Environmental Justice communities, requiring residents to fulfill multiple roles. Liz Schmitt pointed to the Union of Concerned Scientists’ efforts around climate change, clean energy, democracy, and agro-ecology. Engagement and action can be approached from a multitude of pathways.


Another key topic of discussion was the acknowledgement of women’s leadership in the environmental movement. In the midst of doing the work, Vernice Miller-Travis asked, has there been a lack of attention paid to highlighting the presence of women’s leadership from the very beginnings of the movement? Where does the tendency to name the “Fathers” of the Environmental movement come from, while bypassing the voices and teachings of “Mothers”? A possible answer offered was the power of gender bias and perception. While women have the qualities to lead, there is often a questioning of their right to assert or claim the very skills and experiences which have enabled them to lead a multitude of efforts in the larger movement. Panelists pointed to the importance of mentoring the next generation of young women in order to dispel the notion environmental advocacy is a closed circle. Ultimately, advocating for the responsible management of our natural resources and the creation of healthy, sustainable communities requires a multitude of perspectives. It is through a dedication to a broader definition of “Environmentalism” that those whose voices and efforts are needed will come to understand the movement’s work, as Vernice Miller Travis summarized, is “about them and reflects them.”

The museum’s next community forum, Well-Being and the Natural World, will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2017.


Noteworthy NewsUPCOMING EXHIBITION!

A RIGHT TO THE CITY

Curator: Samir MeghelliApril 2018 – April 2019

After a half-century of population decline and disinvestment, Washington, DC and similar urban centers around the country have been witnessing a “return to the city”—with rapidly growing populations, rising rents and home prices, but also deepening inequality. “A Right to the City” explores the history of neighborhood change in the nation’s capital, but also its rich history of neighborhood organizing and civic engagement that transformed the city in the face of tremendous odds. With a focus on a diverse range of neighborhoods across the city, the exhibition tells the story of how ordinary Washingtonians have helped shape and reshape their neighborhoods in extraordinary ways—through the fight for quality public education, for healthy and green communities, for equitable transit and equitable development, and for a genuinely democratic approach to city planning.

Led by the late Walter Pierce, local youth reclaimed an unused lot in the Adams Morgan neighborhood for the purposes of athletics, community gardening, and beautification projects (circa 1960s-1980s). That park, once known as “Community Park West,” is now officially named Walter Pierce Park. Photo: Courtesy of DC Public Library.


ContributorsLee Cain spent his childhood fishing and crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay, finding belonging as he would often bring home dinner at age 8, winning the bread, well, fish, for his family. When he was 18 there was not much left to catch. He graduated from Junaita College with a degree in Physical Science, Culture and Writing and then went to work as an 8th grade science teacher in the District. After a decade of community engagement, education work, restoration and supporting advocacy efforts to clean up the Anacostia River with the Anacostia Watershed Society he is now the Director of Kingman Island with Living Classrooms. During his time fighting for clean water and air he’s realized that the most important part of this equation is people. He helps people find their connection to nature empowering them to work and fight to keep Kingman our breath of fresh air – our escape in the city, while providing young people in the District with academic enrichment and employment opportunities. Cain enjoys kayaking, sailing, fishing, and playing in a band called Blue Plains, these are all part-time jobs. His full time job is to be the best Dad and partner he can be for his two daughters and wife.

Robert Garcia is an attorney who engages, educates, and empowers communities toachieve equal access to public resources. He is the Executive Director, Counsel, andfounder of The City Project, a non-profit legal and policy advocacy organization basedin Los Angeles, California. He received the President’s Award from the American Public Health Association in 2010. Hispanic Business Magazine recognized him as one of the 100 most influential Latinos in the United States in 2008, “men and women who are changing the nation.” He has extensive experience in public policy and legal advocacy, mediation, and litigation involving complex social justice, civil rights, human health, environmental, education, and criminal justice matters. He has influenced the investment of over $41 billion in underserved communities, working at the intersection of equal justice, public health and the built environment. He graduated from Stanford University and Stanford Law School, where he served on the Board of Editors of the Stanford Law Review.

Melissa Green is Director of ArtReach and the Community Gallery at THEARC with George Washington University. For over ten years—first as Director of Community Partnerships at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and now in her role at THEARC—Green has overseen the ArtReach program, which provides free afterschool arts education and community arts engagement projects for communities in Southeast Washington, DC. Through her leadership, the program has developed into one of the most respected youth arts programs in the District and has worked with such organizations as The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery, the National Park Service, Eleventh Street Bridge Project, Art in Embassies, and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Green also spearheaded the development of the ArtReach Master Class, Portfolio Development and Visiting Artist Program. In 2013, ArtReach was awarded the Mayor’s Arts Award for Innovation in the Arts.Beside her work with ArtReach, Green has taught community and museum arts engagement at George Washington University and the Corcoran College of Art + Design. She has a passion for building community through collaborative, cross-disciplinary and socially engaged creative practice.


Contributors

Katrina Lashley is a Research Specialist at the Anacostia Community Museum. She received her B.A. in English Literature and Italian at Rutgers University. In 2011 she completed a Master’s History (Public History track) at American University with a focus on the British Caribbean. Katrina has worked on projects for the National Museum of American History and Arlington House. In addition to her public history work, Lashley was a teacher of English Literature and Language for twelve years.

Nancy Negrete is the Program Manager at The City Project. Nancy graduated from Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Latin American Studies. During her undergraduate years, she worked in various organizations such as the United Nations Development Program and the Office of Community Development in Southeast Los Angeles to ensure low-income youth have access to public spaces. After Wellesley, she worked as a Legal Assistant providing legal services to undocumented crime victims in Los Angeles. As a native to Los Angeles, she is excited about working closely with her community to ensure everyone has equal access to healthy and just environments.

Hyon Rah is a hybrid designer-engineer who has worked around the world, integrating sustainable design, energy efficiency, water management, and equitable development Hyon received her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a Master of Science in Water Management and Hydroinformatics through the European Commission’s EuroAquae Programme, a consortium of five EU-based universities. Hyon serves as Executive Director of Anchor Coalition – Securing Water and Energy for Our Communities, a DC-based non-profit organization and a Project of The Ocean Foundation.

Louisville Waterfront Development (WDC) was established in 1986. It plans, coordinates, and implements strategies to revitalize Louisville’s Waterfront. WDC was created by an interlocal agreement between Jefferson County, the City of Louisville (now Louisville Metro), and the Commonwealth of Kentucky to oversee redevelopment of Louisville’s waterfront from a blighted and underutilized area into a vibrant, active area. The result is Waterfront Park, which has improved the quality of life of Louisville residents and has also been a catalyst for business and residential redevelopment in the Waterfront District and connecting areas of downtown Louisville.

urban waterways newslettercdi.anacostia.si.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/...newsletter staff...

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