Great Public Spaces: Creating Paths to Long-Term Sustainability
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GREAT PUBLIC SPACES: CREATING PATHS TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY | 1 GREAT PUBLIC SPACES CREATING PATHS TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY LAURA TRUDEAU REPORT SUPPORTED BY Table of Contents AUTHOR’S NOTE | 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 2 INTRODUCTION: A Mandate to Sustain Great Public Spaces | 4 A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY | 12 I. Ecosystem Focus: Maximize Community Ownership, Equitable Access and Learning from the Field II. Organizational Focus: Equip Stewards for Success and Gain Economies of Scale III. Financial Focus: Develop, Design and Execute a Multi-Faceted Financial Strategy CONCLUSION: Leading the Next Phase of Innovation in the Sector | 30 PULL-OUT: An Adaptable Framework to Develop an Operational Funding Plan | 31 BIBLIOGRAPHY | 33 SELECTED RESOURCES | 34 Cover Photo: An aerial view of Rhythm & Hues © 2016 Mural Arts Philadelphia / Brad Carney. Photo by Dave Tavani. Reprinted by permission. GREAT PUBLIC SPACES: CREATING PATHS TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY | 1 Author’s Note The transformative power of a beautiful public space was brought home to me in 1975, when gravel parking lots lining the Detroit River were transformed into Detroit’s Hart Plaza, centered by the Noguchi-designed Dodge Fountain and filled with places for people to gather. In 2002, another major effort came to life when The Kresge Foundation, the City and General Motors joined forces to initiate the community’s transformation of three more miles of the East Riverfront from a post-indus- trial area into a lovely, people-friendly RiverWalk. I was new to Kresge at the time and had the amazing opportunity to serve as the foundation’s program officer for the project. Since then, the community has supported the creation and improvement of parks, greenways and open spaces throughout the city, and helped advance the Detroit Future City Strategic Framework Plan that envisions opportunities for vacant land to become productive open space vital to the health of residents. During these years, Detroit has faced many financial challenges. But Detroiters are strong, persistent, resilient, and never give up on the city they love. Through public-private-philanthropic funding partnerships, many former industrial areas have been transformed into public spaces that speak of the unique charac- ter of the city. Parks and public spaces are being expanded and restored and are catalysts for other new investment. One lesson my peers and I have learned is that capital invest- ments, while hugely successful, must be followed by long-term commitments of time and money to ensure these spaces thrive and continue to buzz with activity and improve our quality of life. This paper is an attempt to capture some of the most innovative thinking from Detroit and around the nation and share methods and strategies that give us confidence in the sustainability of current efforts. I hope it becomes one more among a growing set of tools and resources that will help to secure amazing public spaces across the US for future generations. - Laura Trudeau November 2017 Laura Trudeau retired from The Kresge Foundation in December 2016. 2 | Acknowledgments This paper resulted from a brainstorming session with Eric Larson and Paul Trulik, leaders of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, about sustaining the beautiful public spaces in Detroit. We quickly realized the issues are felt more broadly than just in our hometown. Groups across the country work every day to increase access to high-quality urban public space and ensure that it contributes in essential ways to the vitality of cities. The information and advice presented here was collected from interviews, presentations, research and site visits and comes directly from people who lead such efforts in Detroit and in cities nationally. The following list acknowledges experts who contributed their wisdom and creative thinking to this report. Overall guidance of the project: Eric Larson, Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) Paul Trulik, Apparatus Solutions and DDP Interviews: Mark Wallace, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Matt Cullen, JACK Entertainment and Founding Chairman of Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Mariam Noland, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Susan Mosey, Midtown Detroit Inc. Kathryn Ott Lovell, City of Philadelphia Robert Gregory, Detroit 300 Conservancy/Campus Martius Park Carol Coletta, The Kresge Foundation/Reimagining the Civic Commons Roger Penske, Penske Corporation and Past Board Chair, DDP Cindy Pasky, Strategic Staffing Solutions and Current Board Chair, DDP Sam Reiman, Richard King Mellon Foundation Maura Lout, Central Park Conservancy – Institute for Urban Parks Katy Locker, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Jim Boyle, Ralph C. Wilson Foundation GREAT PUBLIC SPACES: CREATING PATHS TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY | 3 Interviews (continued): Lavea Brachman, Ralph C. Wilson Foundation Gina Cavaliere, DDP Business Improvement Zone Jed Howbert, City of Detroit Faye Alexander Nelson, DTE Energy Site visits & hosts: Fairmount Parks Conservancy, Philadelphia: Jennifer Mahar, Rick Magder, Tim Clair, Project for Public Spaces: Steve Davies, Elena Madison, Ethan Kent, and Andy Manshel, PPS Board New York Restoration Project: Deborah Marton, Bethany Hogan, Matt Shapiro Central Park Conservancy, NYC: Jane McIntosh Prospect Park Alliance, Brooklyn: Sue Donoghue, James Snow The Trust for Public Land: Adrian Benepe Urban Land Institute: Patrick Phillips, Rachel MacCleery, Ed MacMahon Half-day workshop with PwC subject matter experts: PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC: Ray Telang, Britt Harter, Kelly Walsh, Raquel Malmberg, Angela Wu Panel discussion at the Reimagining the Civic Commons Studio: David Gould, Deputy Director, REBUILD, City of Philadelphia David Reifman, Commissioner, City of Chicago Dept. of Planning and Development Will Towns, Executive Director, Benefit Chicago Finally, my deep and sincere thanks to The Kresge Foundation for their most generous support of this project, and especially to Jennifer Kulczycki and Alejandro Herrera for their invaluable support in editing, graphics and layout. 4 | Fairmount Park, Introduction: A Mandate to Philadelphia. Photo: Albert Yee. Sustain Great Public Spaces Cities across America are experiencing a resurgence of urban parks and public space. New public spaces are being built in abandoned post-industrial riverfronts, under overpasses, over freeways, on elevated former rail corridors and even on pylons extended over great rivers. Parks built during the heyday of our cities -- in periods of booming growth and seemingly boundless municipal riches – are being updated and renovated. And not surprisingly, people are embracing these beautiful outdoor environments as an essential part of their everyday lives. GREAT PUBLIC SPACES: CREATING PATHS TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY | 5 In this report, the term “Public Space” encompasses all types of parks and open space: large-scale, signature city parks, small neighborhood parks and playgrounds, dog parks and green alleys, urban plazas and waterfront linear spaces, greenways and walking/biking trails, urban forests and natural areas. They form an ecosystem of connection for people to appreciate and experience the urban outdoors and have hugely valuable environmental and economic impacts. These public spaces contribute to a dramatic shift in the narrative and attitudes about cities. Cities that combine dense groups of people, authentic, diverse cultures, and economic vitality have become “people magnets” to retain residents and attract others in the 21st century. These cities are defined by public spaces that offer auxiliary living space, gardens, games, sports and places for quiet contem- plation. A recent New York Times article1 lays out these benefits and opportunities using Philadelphia and Chicago as examples. In the decades when American cities like Detroit were growing rapidly, the expense of building, maintaining and programming parks and open space were borne mostly by city governments that used their growing tax base to create amenities for residents. As population declined in the later years of the last century, budgets decreased year by year, and decisions about allocating an ever-smaller resource pool became very difficult. Parks and public space were hard-pressed to compete with other priorities, and in many cities, business, individuals and foundations stepped in to fill the gap. It seems this trend will continue, but many park supporters are searching for the most appropriate balance between public and private support. Dedicated people who have come together as partners to create and restore these great public spaces want to ensure they will be strong assets for future generations. At the same time, we must continue to build, recognizing the need for equitable distribution throughout cities of well-functioning open space. It was this desire to expand access and ensure sustainability that drove the research and development of this report. The ideas and information it contains come from dozens of people around the country who are listed in the acknowledgements; the writer’s task was to compile and organize their thoughts, advice, and immense knowledge about what can and will work. 1 Kimmelman, M. (2017, March 12). In Chicago and Philadelphia, the Difference a Park Makes. New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/12/arts/design/chicago-philadelphia-parks-rahm-emanuel.html?n- l=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20170313&_r=2 6 | Detroit’s annual JazzFest Detroit: Decades of Innovative at Campus Martus Park. Public