Community outreach events continue with ARISE! Detroit Neighborhoods Day

ARISE! Detroit Neighborhoods Day is an annual city-wide celebration that brings together community groups and organizations to promote volunteerism in Detroit and encourage people to take pride in their neighborhoods.

The goal of the coalition behind ARISE! Detroit is to raise awareness about issues that affect community growth and prosperity- such as illiteracy, high school dropout rates, crime and youth violence, drug abuse, domestic abuse, neighborhood blight and unemployment.

With over 300 events organized as part of this day, it made sense that the Upper Detroit Riverfront Habitat and Parks Restoration Project should have a presence in the Jefferson-Chalmers Neighborhood, where residents hope to be included in the riverfront revival that has had success in Midtown Detroit.

The benefits of the Detroit Riverfront redevelopment and restoration in recent years are tangible; the improvements in outdoor green space and public access have resulted in more people being able to enjoy the waterfront for recreation, entertainment, dining, and commercial purposes. As a result businesses, festivals, and family-friendly amenities thrive in Midtown, and the Upper Detroit Riverfront is well positioned to offer such amenities to residents of the East Side and visitors alike.

Members of the project team were able to attend two events as part of ARISE! Detroit on Saturday, August 6 to meet with community members and share information about the Upper Detroit Riverfront Habitat and Parks Restoration Project. These community events are a good opportunity receive feedback from residents who live in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood who are stakeholders in the community, and possible future stewards of the improved habitat and park areas at Mariner, A.B. Ford, and Lakeside-East parks.

The first event was an Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup hosted by the Alliance for the Great Lakes at Maheras-Gentry Park, one of many cleanups that are hosted throughout the state each year by this environmentally conscious organization.

For more than 40 years, the Alliance has stood to conserve and restore the world’s largest surface freshwater resource using policy, education and citizen involvement. They work with a network of residents, teachers, scientists and businesses to sustain and preserve the Great Lakes for future generations.

Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup events focus on trash pickup and removal, and encourage participants by providing them with a detailed count sheet to record the types of trash and waste they find.

Ivan and Lawanda Villard are regular users of Maheras-Gentry Park, and were taking an early morning walk when they came to the pavilion where Adopt-A-Beach organizers were setting up for the event.

As residents of the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood, the Villards are excited to be involved in any efforts that help to improve their public spaces. “We’re doers”, said Lawanda. “We don’t like to hear people complain, we like to see people helping out if they care about something”. As long-tome Detroiters, the Villards have seen a lot of changes to their neighborhood in the last 20 years, but what they would like to see most is a great neighborhood park.

Local residents and community-minded citizens John Myers, Lawanda, and Ivan Villard walking in Maheras-Gentry Park on Saturday morning.

Lawanda went on to state that safety is her number one concern when she is out walking. She mentioned that she often goes out to walk only if her husband is with her. Lawanda shared an important insight about the balance between habitat restoration at parks and the affect it has on park usership. While she feels that the native plantings and large shrubbery planted at Maheras-Gentry as part of habitat restoration efforts are beautiful, she doesn’t always feel comfortable walking near the riverfront because the walking path is too concealed in places, and she doesn’t always know who she’ll run into.

What this means from a community development standpoint is that the Villards, and likely many others, don’t necessarily feel drawn to the Detroit River recreation boom that has brought throngs of boaters, kayakers, and paddle boarders to the area in recent years.

[endif]--The Villards also mentioned that while they were not comfortable kayaking on the Detroit River, they would like to kayak the historic canals that intersect Mariner, Lakeside East and AB Ford Park, or smaller inland water areas with shallow water, noting that neither know how to swim.

While Ivan and Lawanda were able to laugh at their general fear of deep water, they also acknowledge that many black adults and children (as many as 70%, according to the latest estimates) do not know how to swim. This is correlated with a higher instance of drowning among black children over other demographics by a rate of almost 3 to 1. What this means from a community development standpoint is that the Villards, and likely many others, don’t necessarily feel drawn to the Detroit River recreation boom that has brought throngs of boaters, kayakers, and paddle boarders to the area in recent years.

Community engagement that involves citizen narratives often draws out such perspectives. Ivan and Lawanda would love to see city parks and recreation programs focus on expanding opportunities for youth to learn to swim, which is tough to do when Detroit currently only has two remaining public pools and three park splash pads, serving a population of over half a million people. Collaborative planning efforts from the City of Detroit, community groups, and planners could help to ensure that a holistic approach to revitalization efforts along the Detroit River are inclusive of all users and promote a built environment that can help foster a from-the-pool-to-the-river movement that encourages outdoor recreation among Detroiters.

The second event that was hosted in the Jefferson- Chalmers Neighborhood was sponsored by the Southeast Waterfront Neighborhood Association and Jefferson-Chalmers Citizens’ District Council at Jordan Missionary Baptist Church.

The ARISE! Detroit churchyard cleanup and community picnic was a great time to sit down with neighborhood residents and talk about the Upper Detroit Riverfront and parks and share great conversation and great food.

An informational table was set up where visitors had the opportunity to fill out a community opinion survey and ask questions or share thoughts with project team member Kendall Gilbert and National Park Service Detroit Urban Fellow David Goldstein.

Nicola Binns, a long-time resident of the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood is passionate about her community, and even wants to start a community commons space in her home called the Marlborough and Essex Culinary Corner, named for the street intersection she lives at. Her vision is that neighborhood kids can have a place to learn about local food and have a chance to grow it, harvest it, and cook it all within walking distance.

Nicola noted that the Lenox Center, a since-closed former recreation center located in A.B. Ford Park would be a perfect place for environmental education classes and programs for youth.

Her favorite riverfront park is Lakeside-East, and she would like to see more natural areas developed along the riverfront along with interpretive signage so that she and others can lead nature walks, bird watching outings, and butterfly spotting programs.

Nicola’s vision and stake in the community are important and critical to the success of the Upper Detroit Riverfront Habitat and Parks Restoration Project, as she and others have the opportunity to become the future stewards of the project after the three year monitoring period.

Attendees to the event stepped right in and offered to distribute surveys at their local block club meetings, and even offered to go door to door to make sure that there is broad public awareness about positive changes coming to the Upper Detroit Riverfront.

If you have any questions about this blog post, please contact Kendall Gilbert at kendall.c.gilbert@gmail.com. ![endif]--