Elmhurst Clean & Green

In spring 2008, a gang-related shooting at Davis Park in Providence, RI spurred a newly-formed neighborhood association, Elmhurst Clean & Green, to undertake a bold mission to rethink the park. Located at the junction of three neighborhoods, Smith Hill, Mount Pleasant and Valley, this once flourishing recreation area for families has fallen into a state of disrepair and has few options to attract and engage residents. However, it has the potential to be a tremendous resource for the densely populated residential neighborhood. For those of us involved in this project, we see Davis Park as a diamond in the rough.

The Elmhurst Clean & Green group formed in January 2008 and throughout the past year has been meeting at least monthly to draft a rehabilitation plan for Davis Park. The thread that keeps the group together is the goal of creating a safe, accessible and inviting neighborhood outdoor space to encourage children and adults to be physically active, and to also build ties to other neighborhood families and the community.

Our initial plans for Davis Park are very ambitious and include a community garden, a farmers’ market that will accept vouchers from lower income residents and Seniors, new playground equipment, enhanced curb appeal, new solar lighting, a paved walking path, new flowers, art sculptures, improvements to the existing baseball fields, and an amphitheater or area for a stage to encourage performing art projects in the park. Located across the street from the park, Nathanael Greene Middle School currently conducts its spring physical education program there, and, incidentally, is the only middle school in Providence with a drama program. To accomplish these projects, we spoke with several community partners to gather buy-in to the ideas, identify the decision-makers, and research potential funding sources. Our partners include the City of Providence Parks Department, the Smith Hill Community Development Corporation, 3 Providence City Councilmen (Terry Hassett, Michael Solomon and Peter Mancini), Joanne Giannini, a RI State Representative, the local chapter of the Cal Ripken baseball league, teachers, faculty and students of the Nathanael Greene Middle School, including the President of the Parent Teacher Association and the Assistant Principal, Community Build (a local non-profit), Providence College, Rhode Island School of Design, several Master Gardeners who are residents of the neighborhood, local and student artists, and dedicated neighborhood residents who all bring their own expertise to the group.

In addition to start-up funds from Joanne Giannini, the project received a very generous commitment of resources from the Providence Parks Department to install a water line for the community garden and make general improvements to Davis Park. Many of these improvements have been in the planning stages for the past year and will begin in early April. In February 2009 we submitted an application to KaBOOM!, the non-profit organization that helps neighborhoods build new playgrounds. A decision on funding is expected in March. The Davis Park revitalization project was also the target of a unique opportunity and collaboration. A professor at the Rhode Island School of Design and his architecture class of over 70 students has adopted Davis Park for their class project. The outcome of this will be six sets of plans for how to best utilize the space taking into consideration the initial plans for the park. The student presentation is scheduled for March 19th at Davis Park. The students’ ideas have added an invaluable perspective and identified new ideas and opportunities that the group had originally not discussed.

We have been continually surprised by the willingness of others in the state to share their experience and expertise with revitalizing other parks. This project, which has grown from discussions about the potential for Davis Park, has transformed into a truly outstanding example of community partnerships to improve the built environment with the ultimate goal of improving the health and well-being of community residents.