Leaders from around the world recently gathered together for the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference to negotiate how to lower global carbon emissions—as well as to build resilience in the face of more extreme weather. When it comes to resilience, public spaces are key. Already more and more cities are investing in climate adaptation infrastructure, but when they do, it’s important to take placemaking into consideration. By creating places where people gather and interact, civic leaders can strengthen the social resilience of our cities, as well as our physical resilience.

Over the past year, Project for Public Spaces has been putting this approach into action using funds donated by the Makers of Claritin® as part of its Clarity Parks Project™. We've used those funds to provide grants to communities in the United States impacted by natural disasters. Awardees in Austin, Texas, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Tulsa, Oklahoma received $150,000 in direct funds as well as technical assistance and capacity building from Project for Public Spaces. Read on to learn more about these exciting projects to strengthen community through public space.

Lafitte Greenway Plaza, New Orleans, Louisiana

In New Orleans, we teamed up with the Friends of Lafitte Greenway, the community, and city government to achieve one mission: To connect a 2.6-mile linear park and stormwater management system to the nearby neighborhoods through a new cultural destination. Together, we completely transformed the Greenway Plaza, originally an empty driveway, with art, special pop-up installations, and community programming. 

The first step in making this outdoor space more welcoming was to find out what people in the community wanted from the project. The Friends of Lafitte Greenway and some of its 500 enthusiastic volunteers got to work. They conducted online workshops to reach people who were staying indoors. They also conducted on-site engagement—masking up and talking to people as they walked or exercised along the Greenway—to reach more neighbors including those with low internet access. By taking this two-pronged approach, the volunteers were able to meet members of the broader community where they were. 

After engaging with the community, we knew that people wanted a gathering space and a focal point for arts, music, and culture, as well as an opportunity for education on the local environment and green infrastructure. We were able to bring these ideas to life thanks to our fantastic local partners including Urbanscapes Design+Build Collaborative and the Black-and-woman-owned Mastodonte Construction. The results included custom seating, a new stage, benches, and bike racks. Community-driven support, in the form of small local gifts, also help to ensure Greenway Plaza’s continued success.

Today, the new Lafitte Greenway Plaza functions as a holistic response to the key need for more outdoor public spaces in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. The area where the Greenway meets the Bayou St. John is now a lively and friendly pedestrian plaza. On any given day, there are people gathering for picnics, farmers markets, culture, and youth activities. 

“The scale of the benches make them extremely climbable for children and they love the colorful murals,” said Sophie Harris Vorhoff, the executive director of the Friends of Lafitte Greenway. “Every afternoon you see parents and little kids playing and having fun.”

‍Republic Square, Austin, Texas‍

Having collaborated with the Downtown Austin Alliance on past projects, Project for Public Spaces was excited to work in the very place where the city was founded: Republic Square. 

While the park boasts majestic live oaks, these local treasures needed some love. “We typically get calls about the heritage oak trees,” said Mandi Thomas, the Senior Director of Marketing at the Down Austin Alliance. “Downtown residents and citizens who care about these important trees were worried they weren’t healthy because of the environment.” The soil in this area needed improvement and non-native plants had proliferated. Coupled with the shallow root system of oak trees and downtown Austin’s flash floods, it was only a matter of time before these historic oaks were fatally disrupted.

We quickly convened with local stakeholders including an arborist, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and other environmentally focused groups. Through in-depth interviews, a consensus emerged: We would focus the funds on trimming the live oaks trees and giving them proper care. In addition, we would bring in native plants to visually enhance the area while ensuring that they would be in harmony with the trees. 

Thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Downtown Austin Alliance, all the tree maintenance and renovations were completed in just a few months by October 2020 despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic. 

Only four months later, Texas was hit by one of the most costly extreme weather events in its history—Winter Storm Uri. Our investments in tree maintenance protected the live oaks from the sudden frost, while other enhancements increased the area’s ability to absorb stormwater. If this work hadn’t been done, the damage to Republic Square would have been much worse, or in the case of the oaks, irreparable. 

Since the storm, volunteers came out to replace some of the native plants that had been destroyed. Today, Republic Square buzzes with activity and people. The local farmers market has also found a home there. A new cafe has opened up and is serving the increased number of visitors. 

“The inclusion of wildflowers has brought so much color and personality to the park,” added Thomas.

And as for the oaks? They are still standing strong.

‍H.A. Chapman Centennial Green, Tulsa, Oklahoma‍

Chapman Green is surrounded by striking Art Deco architecture and hosts unforgettable events like the Fairy Festival where over 300 fairies of all ages magically appear on the green for storytelling and magic—but sometimes it gets unbearably hot. 

“Tulsa has a severe climate, especially in the summer when temperatures can soar over 100 degrees,” said Shawn M. Schaefer, Director of the Urban Design Studio at the University of Oklahoma. “Users of the park love its large elliptical lawn in the middle of downtown, but lamented the lack of shade.”

All of the stakeholders agreed that this lawn had great potential to be unlocked if they could overcome a few challenges. Before Project for Public Spaces got to Tulsa, Shawn’s design students had completed in-depth observation work. For example, the students recorded the number of users at different times of the day as well as their activities and paths. They also used time-lapse video and survey boards. 

Project for Public Spaces built upon this by hosting stakeholder workshops and interviews as well as leveraging their work in our weekly collaboration sessions with ahha Tulsa, a local arts and humanities nonprofit. By bringing together all of these different stakeholders, we were able to conduct extensive design studies and develop concepts featuring multiple iterations of pergolas, greenery, and shading plans. 

All of this was in service of improving the microclimate of the park and giving visitors a respite from direct sun. These investments will support the great work the community is already doing by making it more comfortable for people (and returning costumed fairies) to attend events and other fun activities. 

After all the new changes, we are happy to see that more families are enjoying the space. The area is more approachable and welcoming: Kids play soccer and friends catch-up with each other. Once the pergola goes up, Chapman Green will further contribute to Tulsa's spirit of bringing back its downtown. ‍

Recreation Meets Resiliency‍

When we started working with Lafitte Greenway, Republic Square, and Chapman Green, we already knew they were special places with passionate stewards. We are so proud of the communal placemaking work we were able to achieve together. 

Knowing that these investments also serve a dual function as resiliency interventions only adds to the joy of these projects. We look forward to seeing how these public spaces continue to grow and serve their communities over time!