21 downtown Seattle have spurred investment in the area, raising the cost of living and displacing longtime residents. According to the US Census Bureau, the Black population of the Central District — of which Midtown is the heart — dropped from over 70% in the early 1970s to 18% in 2014. So when a new mixed-use development was proposed at 23rd and Union, the historic center of the community, residents banded together to block it. Developers had already built two developments in the area with little resistance. But Midtown, with its deep history and significance for the community, was different. To design a development in collaboration with the community, the developers brought in architect Rico Quirindongo, AIA, a principal at DLR Group. “The developer had been buying up property in a traditionally African-American neighborhood without much resistance,” Quirindongo says. “Then they picked this site, and the community was not happy about it at all, blocking their ability to get permits. I was brought in to join the development team and bridge the gap.” Reaching out to local residents through surveys, open houses, and meetings, Quirindongo made the community an active partner in the design. The community wanted the space — which would occupy a former strip mall — to create a healthier, greener environment that would reflect their culture and values. So Quirindongo worked with the developers to design an open-air, privately managed public square, inspired by markets in Africa, in the center of the mixed-use development. Featuring art installations, trees, portraits of residents, and retail space for locally owned businesses, the Midtown Public Square is a mixed-income residential development of 428 units, 30% of which will be zoned affordable, that aims to honor the neighborhood while ensuring it has a foothold for the future. By working with civic leaders, politicians, and groups like the Africatown Community Land Trust, Quirindongo was able to help the development make best use of local policy. In addition to the landuse policy that requires developer engagement of communities through the design review process, the Seattle City Council incorporated a new policy, called community preference, which allows nonprofit developers to offer a portion of their affordable units to people with ties to the neighborhood being developed, especially those at high risk of displacement. “Architects have created checklists for environmental sustainability, but we’re only now beginning to discuss social sustainability,” Quirindongo says. “Environmental and social sustainability and gentrification are all entwined. This is particularly true in communities of color, which have been forced to accept the brunt of negative health impacts from the built environment, like bad air quality, bad soil, and contamination. One solution is to facilitate a collaborative design process, in which you have developers, designers, and communities working on common solutions with common benefits.” 3 WAYS GREEN DESIGN ENHANCES SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY 1. Healthy, stable, and affordable housing near public transportation hubs: Diverse housing for different income levels near major transportation hubs ensures easy and affordable access to travel for work or other essential services, like healthcare and food — while also reducing pollution from cars. 2. Parks and mixed-use green spaces in neighborhoods: Parks and green spaces in neighborhoods improve air quality and mental health while also providing a sense of community and spurring visits to adjoining businesses, enhancing the health, safety, and economic prosperity of neighborhoods. 3. Green and resilient features in buildings: Sustainable features in buildings improve the health of the environment and its occupants, but the benefits can extend beyond the walls. Features like a tree canopy to reduce the heat island or a rain garden to manage stormwater can provide ambient temperature for those in the area. CONTINUING CULTURE The site map of Destination Crenshaw, a 1.3-mile stretch of parks and art installations celebrating Black Los Angeles. The art and culture experience runs along Crenshaw Boulevard from 48 to 60th Streets. In Los Angeles, the Crenshaw neighborhood is the historic heart of the Black community. After federal fair-lending enforcement began in 1977 with the Community Reinvestment Act, the neighborhood opened to large numbers of Black citizens and Japanese-Americans, creating a multicultural hub in the city. Yet in recent years, as economic development along the Crenshaw/LAX light-rail line led to increasing growth that threatens to displace longtime residents in neighborhoods like Leimert Park, residents of Crenshaw became concerned about their future. So, they banded together to create a new vision for their neighborhood: the 1.3-mile Destination Crenshaw park with permanent and rotating art installations along Crenshaw Boulevard from 48 to 60th streets. The I AM Park, located at Slauson Avenue, will celebrate resourcefulness as the positive outcome of struggle.
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