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Field Session

WED-FS-05: The 11th Street Bridge Park: Building Trust and Strengthening Community Resilience

Wednesday, October 9, 2024
7:45am – 1:00pm ET
Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Field Session Departure Area 2
SOLD OUT
2.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW, AICP, NY/HSW, FL
Ticket Price: $115 per person
From the moment that the competition for 11th Street Bridge Park was awarded, the real work began. In a historic but neglected area of Washington DC, residents were initially skeptical of a new park. In an historic but neglected area of Washington D.C., residents were skeptical and even hostile to the idea of a new park billed as a dream to bridge communities divided by a tangle of highway infrastructure from the Anacostia River and from the Capitol District on the other side. This is a case study in how “change happens at the speed of trust”. This field session shows how to remove barriers to community participation and embed community into building a park from the ground up.

Includes: transportation, boat ride admission. Moderate walking.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Develop strategies to include as many constituents as possible by removing barriers to full stakeholder participation.
  • Learn how to tap into existing community strengths and resources to build a strong network of ownership for the project.
  • Learn how building on existing ecological initiatives amplified goals of the park, creating an opportunity for a new community of ecological stewards focused on river health and community health.
  • Explore unique solutions to meet desired community programming needs, combine architecture and landscape, and address environmental goals without sacrificing great design.