When it comes to creating equitable transit-oriented development, developers say the key to success is engaging the local community. Destination Crenshaw, a project that runs through “the spine of Los Angeles’ Black community,” is one example.
“It really is about addressing community through the equity and justice lens, and the inclusion lens, to positively impact communities that have been historically disinvested in and undervalued,” said Gabrielle Bullock, principal and chief diversity officer at Perkins&Will L.A. Studio. She made the remarks at the ULI Spring Meeting in Denver during the panel, “Transformative Urban Corridors: Equitable Revitalization of Communities in Three Cities.”
Los Angeles
The Crenshaw District of Los Angeles is widely recognized as “the largest, intact Black community west of the Mississippi,” Bullock said. The development of Destination Crenshaw, a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) strip along Crenshaw Boulevard, was in response to a light rail project along the corridor. To assure the community that the project would not compromise the neighborhood’s cultural identity but rather enhance it, local representation became a vital member of the design team.
“We hoped that we debunked the myth of architect and designer as savior but truly as partner, and the goal was to avoid cultural erasure by cementing and planting that this place is undeniably Destination Crenshaw for this community,” Bullock said. “And, obviously, to be an economic catalyst, for it to be sustained, and, hopefully, a model for social equity in other communities like it.”
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a 12-mile (19.3 km) “Florida Corridor” project, also led by Perkins&Will, involves a similar approach. The project traverses 17 diverse neighborhoods, which have a total of 85,000 residents. According to Eric Dexter, vice president of civic leadership initiatives at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the corridor is largely African Americans with an increasing number of Latino and Asian residents along the eastern boundary.
“This is an opportunity, as we saw this,” Dexter said, “to create something that’s shaped in the image and likeness and the wants and needs of the people in the community who live and work along that corridor.”
More than 4,000 residents and stakeholders were involved in the planning process. The goal is to reinvigorate what was formerly a thriving business district by encouraging investments in infrastructure and mixed-use developments, as well as improving transportation options. Officials hope a new Amazon fulfillment center will help galvanize the corridor as well.
Denver, Colorado
A major thoroughfare in Denver is also being transformed with the greater community in mind. A new bus rapid transit project is under construction on Colfax Avenue, sometimes called the “longest street in America,” according to Stephen Coulston, a principal in Perkins&Will’s Denver Studio, who moderated the ULI panel.
Curt Upton, planning manager for the city and county of Denver, said Colfax Avenue is more than simply a popular thoroughfare—it’s a destination in and of itself. Upton was made aware of this fact when he first moved to Denver a decade ago and asked his barber why he was wearing a hat with “Colfax” on it.
Coulston said the barber responded, “If you want to know what Denver is really like, go to Colfax.” Coulston later ascertained data to support what he said the barber inherently knew.
“There’s every walk of life that lives along that corridor,” he said. “There are a variety of destinations, a variety of physical designs of neighborhoods from different eras. It’s really a place that brings the community together from all of those walks of life.”
About 75 percent of the businesses along the east-west corridor are locally owned and independent. Coulston said preserving the culture and the unique character of the area while encouraging development are the chief objectives. Affordable housing is also vital.
“As we plan and design and construct these transformative improvements to the infrastructure of a city,” Coulston said, “we had the foresight and the leadership at the time within the city of Denver—and this was almost a decade ago—to look at the involuntary displacement risks of some low-income communities along Colfax, invest far in advance in land acquisition for affordable housing, and have it up and operating before the bus rapid transit system.”
Having the foresight to prioritize the needs of the communities is considered paramount. The panelists agreed that developers should also be cognizant of how much is at stake for local residents.
“I think when you engage the community, they’re engaged for everything,” Bullock said. “We may have been talking about a particular project, but they’re talking about their livelihood.”
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