Urban Agenda: Washington, D.C. As Ranked by the Trust for Public Lands, 2015 City Park Facts Report, Washington D.C
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Urban Agenda: Washington, D.C. As ranked by the Trust for Public Lands, 2015 City Park Facts report, Washington D.C. is second in the nation for its high percentage of parkland and open space across the city. What makes Washington, D.C. unique is that nearly 90% of all parkland in the District - more than 6,700 acres or 20% of the city land area, is under National Park Service’s jurisdiction. NPS parklands are scattered throughout the city with hundreds of local neighborhood parks and green space, as well as, several of the Nation's most visited, iconic, and historic sites, including the National Mall, the Lincoln Memorial, Rock Creek Park, and the White House. In 2010, the National Capital Planning Commission along with the Government of the District of Columbia and the National Park Service jointly established the CapitalSpace initiative to assess Washington’s parks and open spaces and develop strategies to, “create healthy and sustainable neighborhoods, enrich the capital city experience, and protect our natural, cultural, and historic resources.” One of the “Six Big Ideas” set forth in the CapitalSpace plan is to “transform small parks into successful public spaces” to addresses fundamental social, economic, environmental, and community needs. By focusing at the neighborhood scale, the NPS, city agencies, and partners can better serve local residents, particularly those traditionally marginalized and living in underserved neighborhoods in the Southeast quadrant of DC. One of the NPS park sites receiving focused attention is Shepherd Parkway, which is located within the Ward 8 neighborhood of Congress Heights in SE DC. Shepherd Parkway primarily features wooded areas that are part of a series of park sites that ring the city and make up the larger national park site, Civil War Defenses of Washington. Shepherd Parkway also includes a small section that is developed and functions as a traditional neighborhood community park, Parkland, located at the roadway intersection named after two civil rights icons: Malcolm X Avenue SE and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. The Community Need: As part of the NPS Urban Agenda, the NPS focused on this area to address residents concerns about the safety of the park and the need for a comprehensive redesign of this recreational area. Issues initially raised by the community include homelessness, drug dealing, illegal dumping, and the safety of the busy intersection at the Northeast corner of the park, identified in the District Department of Transportation Vision Zero initiative as the most dangerous in the District with high rates of pedestrian fatalities. The NPS needs to gain a deeper understanding of community concerns and challenges related to these issues and engage residents, community leaders and agency social service providers that operate facilities located in the community. The NPS Response: In recent years, the NPS and United States Park Police have made attempts to address public safety, crime, and amenities at the park. The NPS and US Park Police have held events at the park in conjunction with National Night Out, and installed a playground area. The US Park Police also conducts regular patrols but are unable to dedicate officers to the site. Neighborhood community groups have conducted cleanups in the park and galvanized volunteers from around the region to participate. These past efforts have struggled to sustain success due in large part to the significant social issues identified above that are disproportionately impacting the neighborhood. With the vision and momentum offered by the NPS Urban Agenda as well as targeted planning and funding support for the neighborhood by several District agencies, the NPS has begun a new collaborative effort to focus on not just the NPS community park but the larger community as a whole. The Proposed Process: The intent for Shepherd Parkway is to have the community significantly shape this effort. The goal is to take steps to begin to build trust and demonstrate that NPS is committed to working with the community to understand and determine how to make a positive impact on the community’s quality of life. To accomplish this the NPS has committed to work to understand and collaborate with the community to address multiple social issues and park improvements. Greater insight into the community perspective will be discovered through partnerships using a multi-disciplinary approach to public inquiry. Coordination with law enforcement, local businesses, public officials, and service providers is essential to understanding the needs of the diverse communities who are already in the park and who would like to enjoy the park. In 2016, the NPS project team developed a multi-pronged approach. First, staff developed a plan to convene with community leaders, District agencies and other partners to help identify what is most important to the community and how best to engage. At the same time, the project team developed and directed funding to a Rapid Ethnographic Assessment Project (REAP) as an opportunity to listen and form a deeper understanding of the community and its residents and their goals for this neighborhood park while establishing and reestablishing relationships within the community. While planning for stakeholder and resident outreach, the project team also identified a set of tactical improvements that could be completed to spruce up the park grounds and show that NPS is committed to the future of this park and the community, which included new wayfinding and interpretation signage. The REAP will aid NPS with planning for additional community engagement activities and helps staff make better management decisions. Once this study is complete, the team recommended that NPS commit funding toward a long term comprehensive re-design of the park with significant community input. Finally, active organizations in the park offered another opportunity for NPS to engage with residents and the NPS planned to commit time and resources to local community group trash clean ups and invasive plant removal efforts in the park, which provide further opportunities for listening and being present in the community. Current Status: As of May 2017, the NPS, National Capital Parks - East has followed through with design of interpretation and wayfinding signs, and installation is underway. In addition, the park continues to participate in and commit resources toward community efforts in the park such as the bi-weekly park clean-ups and has begun to undertake the REAP in partnership with Howard University Department of Sociology. These efforts have provided a vehicle for opening and sustaining lines of communication between the NPS and the community. Proposed Project Completion: The effort is not a project with a completion date. It is a long term commitment by NPS to improve a NPS park site, build trust with the community, help create a healthy and sustainable neighborhood, and create community connections that enable Shepherd Parkway to become the active and vibrant heart of Congress Heights. .