atop the ford motor company’s rouge factory in dearborn, michigan, a vibrant 10.4-acre “living roof” stretches across an otherwise cloudy horizon, made up of thousands of tiny succulents. birds, insects, and pollinators flock to the rooftop, while hundreds of factory workers assemble trucks in the building below. 

the size of eight football fields, ford’s green roof is one of the largest in the world. every year, it collects and filters rainfall and, according to the henry ford museum, improves air quality in the building’s vicinity by up to 40%. notably, the museum reports the rooftop also reduces the building’s energy footprint by 7%, inching the company closer to its carbon neutrality goal.

installed more than 20 years ago now, company leaders at the time were quoted in press releases as saying the project was “not environmental philanthropy” but “sound business,” and, in the press & guide, “living proof of ford’s ongoing commitment to being an environmentally conscious corporate citizen.” the major project has since been acknowledged for helping kick off the green roof industry in north america.their living roof is just one project in ford’s efforts to decarbonize, which are part of a larger national movement toward carbon responsibility and environmental and social governance, or “esg,” in corporate spheres. ford is currently pursuing a goal of sourcing 100% carbon-free electricity for their global manufacturing operations by 2035.

a large rooftop with a small footprint?

ford employs over 177,000 workers globally and operates facilities in more than a dozen countries around the world. according to a ford 2024 integrated sustainability and financial report, about 1% of ford’s total co2 emissions come from operations whereas the vast majority of them result from tailpipe emissions as well as “energy production and consumption during vehicle use.”

tailpipe and energy production during use fall under the definition of scope 3 emissions, which are the kind that are indirectly linked to a company’s activities, such as those that result from a company’s product after it is purchased.

according to the 2024 ford report, in 2023 ford’s scope 3 emissions totaled 384,119,775 metric tons. given that total, a green roof would redress a fraction of a percent of ford’s total emissions.

the living rooftop’s meadow was installed at a cost of $15 million. “it was a risk. and it paid off,” added douglas plond, senior manager of the ford rouge factory tour. in his view, the rooftop’s value comes from its ample community benefits. 

“i think we see over 100,000 people come through this facility per year. so, we’ve sparked the interest of someone — at least one person — to see all the green initiatives that have gone on here at ford motor company. […] somebody may have gone home and said ‘well, i’m gonna try doing this at home,” plond said.

looking at the whole picture

ford, in addition to its emissions goals, aims to use only locally sourced clean energy in its manufacturing plants by 2035. other automakers like bmw and general motors have also announced sustainability ambitions, including carbon neutrality goals. automakers like subaru have focused on greening their plants, such as indiana’s subaru sia factory which produces zero landfill waste and is the only u.s. auto factory to be declared a natural habitat. 

still, back in dearborn, critics remain skeptical toward greening a plant that produces f-150s. among them is daniel becker, director of the sierra club’s climate change program. “whatever they did to the plant is marvelous, but if they’re producing pickup trucks that pollute too much, what are they accomplishing?” becker asked, as quoted in index project.

while the emissions of ford vehicles per kilometer driven have decreased 6% since 2019, according to ford’s 2024 integrated sustainability and financial report, “slower than expected demand,” in ev’s will require flexibility on ford’s part as they reach for carbon neutrality. recent market setbacks have curbed ev demand and prompted ford to shut down an f-150 lightning production shift at the dearborn factory. 

slowing growth of ev sales across ca, weakened carbon reporting rules from the sec, and difficulties decarbonizing ev supply chains raise ongoing questions about the future picture of sustainability. 

on the other hand, there are other initiatives at ford worthy of public attention: 

in 2022, for example, ford made the largest clean power purchase agreement in history, right in michigan. the contract with dte energy exceeds any other renewable energy purchase from a utility in the united states— including those by large tech companies. a press release by the energy company details that by 2025, all of ford’s purchased electricity for vehicle manufacturing in michigan will be carbon-free, and ford will avoid close to 600,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.  

“i think one of the things that we’ve focused on in the last few years, in particular, is the sourcing of the energy to run the plant. that’s been the biggest thing — trying to make contracts with [electricity suppliers] where our clients are located. […] and i think that that’s probably moving the needle the most,” said alyssa werthman, ford’s environmental sustainability manager.

essentially, whenever a company like ford buys more renewable power than they need, they can supply not only their factories but several of their major suppliers, and millions of homes. artealia gilliard, environmental leadership & sustainability at ford, notes that these agreements both strengthen the grid and “create that push and pull in the market.”

as a symbol of sustainable commitments, ford’s living rooftop is in many ways intended to compliment the company’s even more concrete strategies to leverage its corporate power for good: buying into power purchase agreements, persistently improving the accessibility and recyclability of electric vehicles, and directing all suppliers towards sustainability. 

“we also write the requirement for our suppliers to establish science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets and action plans to support carbon neutrality no later than 2050 globally into our supplier code of conduct,” werthman said.

according to gilliard, it is these initiatives that “[drive] the suppliers to do exactly as we’re doing, which is purchase carbon-free electricity. it drives them to invest in the grid where they’re pulling from — or create their own.”

the bottom line

the living rooftop could have valuable signaling power as a “living pledge” toward more robust scope 3 decarbonization at ford.

even amid ev sales challenges, recent progress is promising. ford motor company received an “a” rating in a 2023 carbon disclosure project report and is reportedly on track to meet its 2050 carbon neutrality goal.

though the direct impact of the roof may be small, the greenery above the production lines may continue to be a useful living reminder of this commitment.

it’s hard to imagine a modern neighborhood without cars. or a city without parking lots. instead of rolling through a starbucks drive-thru on a 45-minute commute to work, imagine walking 50 feet to the neighborhood café while wearing pajamas. in a community without roads or garages, neighbors connect through shared walking spaces and european-style plazas. 

in tempe, arizona, a team of developers envisioned exactly this as they built culdesac. the six-acre residential community is filled with coworking spaces, local shops, backyard parks and plazas, small businesses, and transit alternatives such as electric bikes and ride shares. promoted as the “five-minute city,” the neighborhood houses over 100 residents in a 760-apartment complex with no residential parking. culdesac offers one-to three-bedroom apartments costing $1400 to $3200 per month. the neighborhood formally opened in may 2023.

culdesac may be the first of many car-free neighborhoods. its construction is timely, its developers say, as the united states grapples with road congestion and carbon emissions from the transportation sector. the transportation sector alone is a major source of greenhouse gas emission in the us and accounts for more than half of nitrogen oxides in our air, according to epa data. amid high costs of living driven up by parking lot construction, the question of whether to own a car at all has become a prominent dilemma for new city-dwellers. in three weeks, nearly 2,000 people signed up for culdesac’s interest list.

culdesac: a new housing model

the culdesac team is building what members call “missing middle housing.” missing middle housing entails neither single-family homes nor tall apartment buildings – it’s somewhere in between. this semi-dense, walkable urban living is “missing” since there’s not a lot of it on the market. “we’re building the kind of housing most americans are looking for,” said ryan johnson, co-founder and ceo of culdesac.

but is the united states ready for missing middle housing? 

the culdesac team would like to see more of it. however, the answer depends on each city’s level of readiness to ensure a comfortable transition. key factors include whether a neighborhood is close to a light rail or other public transit, as well as ensuring a robust selection of backup transit options such as discounted lyft rides, free e-bikes, and diverse micro-retailers to choose from. 

“zero residential parking” has a daunting ring to many policymakers. the culdesac team had to work closely with local government officials in tempe to achieve that goal while also planning to prevent congestion and navigating zoning regulations. the careful planning process was a time-consuming but not insurmountable challenge for tempe, and local officials were cooperative. (according to johnson, tempe’s mayor now dines at culdesac’s cocina chiwas restaurant nearly every week.)

a shift away from cars?

a growing number of americans are receptive to a car-free lifestyle. over 53% of americans want to live in walkable neighborhoods – but only 8% do. walkability is an important factor in community living – a 2020 survey from the national association of realtors found that people with a place to walk in their community continue to be the most satisfied with their quality of life. many americans instead satiate their walkability cravings by vacationing to the cobblestone streets and greenery of european villages, only to return a week later to a starkly individualistic lifestyle centered around highway commuting. 

the very luxuries americans seek out on vacations can be built into our working lives; for example, green space. when developers don’t have to plan (or pay) for parking lots, roads, and driveways, budgets for gardens, walkways, and patches of green space can rise in priority.

tempe’s car-free community offers three times the average amount of green space seen in typical developments, according to culdesac. this model of living is speaking to some people loudly in the wake of the pandemic, when work-life expectations have shifted dramatically toward remote work.

in addition to the cultural elements of walkability and green space, price is a factor that heavily influences tenants’ decision to go car-free.  not only are cars and gasoline expensive but, providing parking drives up costs for developers. even a surface parking space costs $20,000 to $30,000, said david king, an associate professor of urban planning at arizona state university. these lots accumulate financial, social, and aesthetic costs. “essentially, we require cities to build ample parking in these places where people want to go, and it diminishes the built environment – it makes it dry,” king explains. “if you have to cross the parking lot, that lot separates you from everything you want to do.”

the future of car-free neighborhoods

culdesac is evaluating new site locations across the country. the claim that tempe, arizona is home to the first car-free community of its kind in the united states is a stimulating one — but is more complicated when we consider urban design historically, said king.

 “certainly, it’s very unique now,” said king, noting culdesac is “harking back closer to the way we used to build things 100 years ago. i think we need more of this.” 

geographically, the culdesac model of living is much more popular outside of the united states. founders of culdesac were inspired by walkable neighborhoods in europe, africa, and latin america. some intentional car-free projects have had positive impacts on air quality—including a 40% reduction in no2 levels on car-free days—and getting people moving, which is good for health. a rising number of cities are trying their hand at the car-free model. in freiburg, germany, for example, a ban on cars in the center city increased bike use and decreased traffic and air pollution, while other projects, like google’s sidewalk labs in toronto, have fallen short with an overload of sustainability requirements.

johnson and his team consider culdesac a “reference project” for cities built for people in the 2020s. “to be honest, we’re not sure if future cities will ever be completely car-free,” said johnson. “we’re not necessarily ‘anti-car’ but rather, we’re against our cities’ dependency on private cars.” 

whether or not the 21st century will be defined as a post-car era, culdesac could be one of the first communities to break the cultural mold of car dependency. if successful, the united states may see an upsurge in neighborhoods seeking mobility, community, and the symbolic quietude of a car-free cul-de-sac.

turning grey spaces green: urban cities return to nature is a short video project imagining what the world could be if nature and cities work together to heal the planet. it explores how biophilic design and the rewilding of urban areas could efficiently combat climate change and aid the planet’s recovery from such actions. furthermore, the video discusses commentary on our reconnection to the natural world and the benefits that come from doing so.

full transcript:

ghana, an african coastal nation of over 30 million people, is a perfect destination for westerners –– especially those tracing their roots. yet, the cost of living in ghana is higher than most arrivals may expect. one of the main drivers for the high real estate prices is the expensive cost of building materials.

what if there was a solution that doesn’t only provide affordable housing, but helps to protect the fragile environment which is already vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change?

nelson boateng, founder and chief executive officer of nelplast eco ghana limited is a young ghanain entrepreneur, a leading voice that is repurposing and diverting tons of plastic waste from landfills and oceans into affordable building materials for the construction of low-cost houses in ghana.

“when the collected plastics are brought to us, we scale and pay the collectors according to the weight. the plastics are crushed, washed semi-dried and mixed with sand and sometimes, pigments to add beauty. the mixture is then fed into an extruder with 3 heating zones, which we build ourselves. since we are using all kinds of plastic waste at their right proportion, these plastics have different melting points. as they travel through the extruder, let’s say starting from 150 degrees celsius, 180 to 220 degrees celsius, the heating zones ensure that all kinds of plastic waste is well melted and mixed with sand. this mixer comes out as a paste, which is placed in a mold with a cooling system around it and then pressed under hydraulic press. between 60 to 70 seconds, we eject one product out depending on the size and shape of the product. this product would then be packed on the palette and ready to be installed. nelplast echo plastic houses are 30% to 35% cheaper than the concrete buildings that we have, and most of our clients are happy with our projects.”

for the longest time, plastic has been the material of choice for different kinds of packaging due to its lightweight, affordability and ease of use. however, the long run consequences of easy packaging on the environment are far reaching. according to a recent undp report, ghana generates over a million tons of plastic waste every year and only 2% to 5% of the plastic waste is being recycled, and project drawdown reveals that recycling could help reduce our carbon footprints by 2 gigatons come 2030. yet, more and more concerns on the negative effects of plastic use on health, raises questions on whether there are any negative impacts of living in a house constructed from plastic waste! and how solid and resilient are these structures to natural disasters? 

“nelplast bricks are not laid with cement. they are interlocked with each other and due to that nature, they are able to contract and expand when there’s uncertainty on the earth. it can also withstand earthquakes because the walls are not rigid. they have the ability to be flexible when there is any earthquake. also in terms of cracks, the wall with plastics doesn’t crack so easily. the bricks are cheaper and stronger than conventional bricks. they can withstand water lock areas and also avoid dampness to the walls. they are safe in terms of fire, because the high percentage of the sand makes the product fire retardant. it’s not easy for these bricks to just get burnt. the bricks are designed in such a way that there is a groove in the middle of the brick that heat from outside to penetrate into the inner part of the room and also maintain the temperature of the inner part of the bricks.”

reduce, reuse, and recycle! this is the recommended way of life that boateng is actively working to promote in his home country – ghana. nelplast eco ghana limited, born out of frustration with the disturbing amounts of plastic waste continuously buried in landfills is an initiative committed to rid the country of the gulf of plastic waste that is polluting the environment and water bodies, while securing economic opportunities for the unemployed youth in ghana.

“we have the problem of plastic waste, the problem of school infrastructure, housing deficit and  unemployment. nelplast is trying to use the problem of plastic waste to build affordable houses and solve the problem of housing in ghana. build schools, create jobs for unemployed youth to reduce social violence and clean the environment. currently, nelplast employees 63 workers directly and over 300 indirect workers and 98% of this indirect workers are women who go around the landfills, drainage and beaches to collect plastic waste and sell to us – and that’s how they earn their living.”

boateng’s drive to save the environment from plastic pollution does not go by unsupported or unnoticed. 

“we won ghana uk based achievement award as innovation and technology of the year; emy africa – the green corporate star award; african product and service award; ghana property award as best echo construction product; ghana industry award; seed low carbon award and the business executive excellence award.” 

however, his ability to scale the business is confronted by many challenges.

“ghana has a lot of challenges and one of them is the cost of electricity. there are no subsidies for recyclers in ghana and that is really discouraging others to join the line. i have passion with plastics because at the age of 13 i was already working with the plastic industry. i did computer network engineering but my passion is how to deal with plastic waste. also, because of our capacity issues we get a little bit scared of accepting more contracts. a lot of people are calling who want a house, but the problem has to do with our capacity. so because of that, this year we are handling only 15 clients, next year we can add on. if we can have subsidies from the government on electricity bills, soft loans to help us expand, i think it will go a very long way.”

a recent world bank report projects that waste will grow from 2 billion tonnes in 2020 to nearly 3 billion tonnes by 2050, and the effects may be more adverse for developing countries, where more than 90% of trash is either dumped in the open or burned, worsening the climate crisis. as many look forward to the un international climate conference – cop27 – just around the corner, boateng is curious to know where plastic pollution fits in the conversations.

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[editor’s note: this transcript was edited for clarity.]

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correction (9/7/2022): an earlier version of this story misidentified where in africa ghana is located. this version corrects it.

• most buildings were designed for an earlier climate – here’s what will happen as global warming accelerates. climate change is drastically altering the environmental conditions in which our buildings were designed to function. but how exactly does climate change affect our building materials? 

• 5 ways to make buildings climate change resilient. building for resilience against heatwave, cyclones, coastal flooding, and extreme cold — what does the future of infrastructure look like?

• an architect with an eye on the environment. increasingly, architects, and builders are thinking about how their creations affect the health of the planet. meet kunlé adeyemi, a nigerian architect who has built his career around that question.

check back tomorrow for more info on what is being explored on the final day of cop26 — and more good reads to keep you informed!

in the days following then-tropical storm ida, i studied its catastrophic impact on the region i call home — philadelphia — from 140 miles away at my university in washington, d.c. my social media feeds were filled with dystopian images of flooded below-ground highways, bridges nearly submerged by water, and residential streets that looked a lot more like venice than the northeastern american city.  

the vine street expressway (i-676) in #philadelphia, before and after #ida. pic.twitter.com/o5v19dahhe

— todd chappelle (@toddchappelle) september 2, 2021

one visual stood out to me in particular — a twitter video, below, of so-called “vine street swimmers” jumping into the submerged expressway in a characteristically unhinged philly-fashion, despite officials’ warnings to stay out of the water. my inner germophobe reeled: gross.

philly wild right now pic.twitter.com/72cllpybha

— bradford pearson (@bradfordpearson) september 2, 2021

it turns out that my casual disgust was worthy of more attention. i took it upon myself to do something i never thought i’d do: to research the inner workings of my city’s sewage system.

what i found was fittingly unsavory: tropical storm ida was another reminder of the intense pressure put on philadelphia’s centuries-old sewage system by weather events intensified by changes in our climate, like hurricanes, increased precipitation, and flooding. the makeshift pool the vine street swimmers enjoyed was mixed with both wastewater and potentially toxic materials.

some 60% of the city has what’s called a combined sewer system (css) — an apparatus that accumulates sewage, industrial wastewater, and rainwater runoff into one channel, which is sent to a sewage plant for treatment, according to the epa. but when the collected water exceeds the plant’s capacity, untreated water enters nearby waterways and streets.

such an event is called a combined sewer overflow (cso) — the phenomenon that i witnessed on my social media feeds as a result of ida. the impacts of a cso are also made worse in urban areas where water can move swiftly on asphalt surfaces, unabsorbed by green spaces, according to the philadelphia inquirer. 

so, why does this matter? storms happen, places flood, and we clean up and move on with our lives.

as a college student a few states away, i’m relatively unaffected by philadelphia’s climate problems. i live in the suburbs anyway — a 20 minute drive from center city — and visit home sparingly for holidays and breaks. 

schuylkill river flooding from ida in the manayunk section of philadelphia @phillywx @stormhourmark @stormhour @jimcantore @spann @stephanieabrams @garyszatkowski #idaaftermath #ida pic.twitter.com/c7c8ijqjdf

— weather brewed (@weatherbrewed) september 2, 2021

but what if the problem expands? the green lane bridge in the manayunk neighborhood of the city, a mere four miles from where i grew up, was nearly submerged by ida. i can’t help but think about my aging mom, and the house and vibrant garden she’s worked so hard to improve and beautify, becoming submerged by not just floodwater, but contaminated water. and having grown up in the region and witnessed the deep inequities in housing, education, and infrastructure across the city, i’m concerned that these extreme weather events and their putrid consequences will affect vulnerable communities the most.

my personal concerns coincide with observed trends and the potential future impacts of extreme weather events on philadelphia’s wildlife, people, and economies. the 2018 national climate assessment indicates that the northeastern united states as a whole has seen, and will continue to see, some of the highest rates of sea level rise and ocean warming in the country as a result of human-related greenhouse gas emissions. rising ocean temperatures strengthen and intensify hurricanes with extra heat energy. philadelphia in particular will see extreme flooding every year by 2050, according to nbc10 philadelphia.

frank kummer, an environmental writer for the philadelphia inquirer, has reported the most extensively on the impact of climate change on the city and its sewage system, specifically. his reporting demonstrates the multitude of ways in which climate change will wreak havoc on the area.

in his article, “the secret scourge of climate change? more raw sewage in philadelphia’s waterways,” he shares data that shows philadelphia’s rainfall average for the 21st century — 2000-2018 — was up eight inches from the 20th-century average. additionally, he writes, waterways polluted by a css overflow can cause water oxygen level drops that can harm aquatic life — a drop that was observed in a local creek after a quick afternoon storm in september. further, in another article, “climate change is straining philly’s 19th-century sewage system. ida was a ‘wake-up call,'” he explains that after ida, the schuylkill river was designated “red” by the water department, meaning that bacteria levels were so high, the water wasn’t suitable for boating, wading, and fishing.

besides the fact that the consequences of human-induced climate change are brutal for ecosystems, they’re incredibly costly to the communities they impact. from a national perspective, the total cost of extreme weather events to the american people has exceeded $1.1 trillion since 1980, according to the 2018 national climate assessment.

and now zooming into philadelphia, in another kummer article, brian rademaekers, a spokesperson for the philadelphia water department, said that a plan to redesign and construct a new sewage system that could handle extreme weather events would cost billions of dollars. city officials are hoping that funding from biden’s infrastructure will aid in this investment. 

so now, i feel that i’m back at square one. we can improve our infrastructure, but we can’t stop the inevitable: climate change is altering our hometowns, our country, and our world in scary ways. flooding in philadelphia is just a microcosm under the vast umbrella of climate change’s wrath. and for those who deny climate change, or refuse to act on it — especially in the philly region — well, its impacts might soon submerge their city. and it’s really going to be shitty.

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editor’s note: check back each day during cop26 for more pieces in planet forward’s climate hits home series.“

these images are taken in several different neighborhoods in syracuse, n.y., including the near west side, the south side, and downtown areas. the purpose of this is to create a visual display of what kind of art is acceptable in these areas, and to use these differences to unpack the varying privileges between these neighborhoods.

depicted is the wall of an abandoned building in the near west side of syracuse, n.y. this neighborhood is an area of concentrated poverty and racial disparity, caused by the history of the city’s urban planning. according to cny fair housing, these neighborhoods were shaped by the racist practice of redlining, as well as the construction of the interstate 81 viaduct, which cuts through the city and divides the neighborhoods based on socioeconomic status and race (muñoz 2020). redlining prevented families and individuals in this neighborhood from securing mortgages and loans, a blatant act of racial discrimination. this building stands out among syracuse’s 1,800 abandoned buildings because of the vibrant art covering every available area. what’s unique about this site is the legality of this graffiti. a battle was fought for the transformation of this building, resulting in it being the only site in the city that allows graffiti. before this practice was legal, the artists were stereotyped as vandals and criminals.however, with support from the residents, this space was dedicated to acts of self expression and community beautification. (ibrahim 2018). this building now adds color, depth and identity to the near west side. this is crucial as it symbolizes a resilience against the city’s systemic neglect.

this mural, captured at the same site, contrasts the most from any other i was able to find. it’s not done in the traditional graffiti style of stencils, bold lettering/colors, or signatures. the tones are unique and there’s no obvious connection between the figures painted. the characters displayed here are abstract and non-conforming. depending on the viewer, this could either be appreciated or cataloged as disturbing. personally, i believe the design choices and creation of eccentric beings are a symbol of creativity and an act of pure expression. it appears to be done by the same artist, but the lack of unity contrasts with the commissioned murals found in wealthier or more commercial areas of the city.

according to the city’s public art ordinance, any public art must require a formal application and be reviewed by an official committee before it is permitted. the formation of this committee is to facilitate art in the city, but by requiring approval, the type and location permitted becomes limited and exclusionary. the committee is made up of only eleven members, therefore diversity is crucial in order to allow a multicultural, decentralized scope. incorporating art into the city is well intended, but poses a risk of a particular type of gentrification, known as artwashing.

artwashing occurs when graffiti or murals are commissioned by the city in an attempt of beautification. this in turn attracts wealthier individuals to a city, who may be chasing a visual aesthetic or be drawn in by a sense of curated culture. an increase of new renters or homeowners to a city can pose dangerous risks to long term residents. art can improve the status of real estate, resulting in an increase in property taxes and values. newcomers may be able to afford this cost, while current residents may be forced out. this displacement is dangerous, as it is rooted in racial inequalities. while the process of shaping communities and restricting loans is now illegal, the implications of this redlining have been long lasting. according to census data from 2017, 35% of syracuse’s population lived below the poverty line (mapping the food environment in syracuse, new york 2017). this income inequality is disproportionally observed in redlined communities.

pictured above is a commissioned mural on clinton street. this mural is located in the downtown neighborhood. it’s in close proximity to businesses, restaurants, and public transportation. the surrounding area also includes forman park, historical archbold stadium and a veterans memorial. this, along with the surrounding expensive apartments in the downtown area contrast with the lower income neighborhood of the west side. the type of art displayed in the streets, graffiti versus commissioned murals, may be an indicator of status or urban investment.

i chose to include this in my photo essay because of the candid shot of people gathered around to inspect the art. this makes me wonder about the implications of tourists to these street art attractions. increasing the number of visitors to a location for art will surely boost the local economy. how might this impact the property values of surrounding homes?

art that is criminalized, censored or permitted is proof of the history of the area. this is a complex issue, as street art in itself is not dangerous. it encourages beautification, allows for self expression and creates a sense of identity. the problems involved are rooted deeper than the paint on the walls. in order to maintain the true culture of a neighborhood, the art of local residents should be encouraged and permitted. gentrification poses a risk when outside influences get a larger say in what should be displayed, as long term residents will end up bearing the burden if the end result is artwashing.

these photos were captured in kirk park in the south side of syracuse. like the near west side, this neighborhood was also shaped through redlining, and therefore exemplifies racial disparity and income inequality. the community center and pool house are both covered in murals. the murals depict a sense of pride and place in the community. this is evidence of organization and public participation. the coordination of colors, patterns, and the representation of a sports team are proof of this. the inclusion of this art fosters a feeling of community. it keeps the park well maintained and visited. the community center itself serves as an attraction. because of the local identity established when looking at the art, it can be claimed that this art properly serves the neighborhood, rather than just appealing to the local government and city officials.

this is a close-up shot of another mural in kirk park. instead of paint, this mural is made up of clay/stone. the etchings included were submitted by children in the community. imagine walking through a park, and seeing your own handwriting in an engaging, public display. this helps curate a sense of pride, familiarity and a feeling of being at home. this mural attempts to cover large issues from the perspectives of young students. one example reads, “peace in the park”, written on falling leaves. one rather striking inclusion reads, “when struggling with all earthly strife seek answers on the tree of life”. these submissions depicted on the wall are proof that community, culture and spirituality serve important roles in art.

public participation should be encouraged in murals and other forms of art. the example of kirk park in syracuse’s south side is an example of how this participation can amplify local, diverse voices while creating a beautiful display.

this is an act of limiting self expression and censorship by the city. doing this continues the criminalization of graffiti artists. it poses the question, what kind of art is allowed? and where can it be displayed? the answers to these questions have strong implications as to how much wealth a neighborhood has, as well as how much community involvement is allowed.

public art has implications that contribute to the establishment of a complex issue. stigmas and stereotypes can hinder the validity and legality of graffiti, while the processes of approving and commissioning murals can lead to gentrification. the challenge urban spaces face today is finding a balance between these extremes that allows art to foster identity and pride. one approach is to allow legal spaces for graffiti, such as the abandoned building in the near westside. this way, the reputation of graffiti artists can be improved and complex paintings of community significance be created. legal spaces allow everyone to be artists, not just those hired and approved by a committee. this also counters the risk of artwashing, and therefore reduces the chance of displacement, which is a threat that has historically loomed over the residents of syracuse.

sources:

daily orange. (2021, march 2). between 2 worlds: how syracuse’s racist housing policies created a racial divide. the daily orange. 

http://dailyorange.com/2020/09/2-worlds-syracuses-housing-policies-created-racial-

divide/

ibrahim, s. (2018, february 19). near west side. city blocks: syracuse.

https://mag.syr.edu/syracuse-blocks/near-westside/

onondaga county health department. (2017). mapping the food environment in syracuse,

new york 2017.

the black panther party was founded in oakland, calif., in 1966. they preached a message of radical black power throughout disinvested in, low-income urban areas until the early 1980s. part of their message was policing the police — often remembered as violence — but their commitment to community safety went further.

the panthers’ goal was to address and mitigate the injustices caused by national, endemically racist policies and programs that have systemically undermined black communities since their inception. policies such as the requirement for public housing to be segregated, often segregating previously desegregated neighborhoods when initially built, and processes like redlining.

while the black panther party’s overall goal was to bring about systemic change for black communities, with an end to police brutality and economic subjugation, they provided important resources as a stopgap measure to sustain urban communities until radical change or revolution came. the panthers’ “ten point program,” detailed their mission — both what they wanted, and what they believed. it makes explicit calls for institutional change, and reaffirms the rights of all people to the basic necessities to live a healthy life.

10. we want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace.” 

— the black panthers ten point program 

the panthers designed a series of survival programs, which targeted a wide range of needs, including food, clothing, jobs, education, health, and more — items highlighted in their mission. four are particularly relevant to the ways we conceptualize food movements today. 

the first two, free breakfast for school children and the free food programs most explicitly provided communities with food security. 

the free breakfast for school children program provided hot, nutritious food, free of charge, to any child who attended the program. by the panthers’ own admission, the purpose of the program was threefold — to feed children, to bring attention to the pervasive issue of childhood hunger, and to provide a positive introduction to the panthers and their message for children, their parents, and the broader public. it is sometimes credited with inspiring the expansion of federally sponsored free breakfast programs, the government’s response to its wild popularity and the way it palatably introduced the panthers’ beliefs and message. 

the free food program addressed hunger beyond just the school day. the panthers accomplished this through ongoing food deliveries to program participants, and periodic widespread food distribution to a wider swath of the community. a third program, the seniors against a fearful environment (safe) program, aimed to meet the variety of needs of elders in the communities, and included food distributions to seniors.

the exploited and oppressed people’s needs are land, bread, housing, education, freedom, clothing, justice, and peace, and the black panther party shall not for a day alienate ourselves from the masses and forget their needs for survival. … when people call in to say they need food we do not spout a lot of superficial rhetoric, but see that they are fed.” 

— a bpp member named marsha in an april 1969 issue of the black panther 

all of these programs relied heavily on community assistance to run. donations of food, funds, space, and time were necessary. while many of these donations were made by community members on their own volition, the panthers also took a more active role in securing donations. this included calling grocery stores to ask for food donations, requesting that program participants occasionally volunteer, or asking churches and community centers to lend them space for organizing and distribution. this was often an effective strategy for the panthers, but if an entity refused to provide the requested assistance, a more aggressive tone was often adopted, including boycotts or protests of offending businesses, according to the book “black against empire: the history and politics of the black panther party,” by joshua bloom and waldo e. martin.

these three survival programs are clearly understood within the framework of food security movements, ensuring that all in the community had access to affordable, healthy food. but when coupled with the panther’s demands for just and equal living conditions, it elevated the food movements the panthers were a part of to a class of food justice activism. 

there is another survival program of the panthers — and the fourth on our list — that is worth mentioning in its relation to food movements. although it was never realized due to a lack of funds, the panthers designed a land banking program, which would have given the community the power to make land use determinations. these decisions could have created a space for a food sovereignty movement to flourish, as community members would have been able to create jobs and access to healthy, affordable produce growth within their community. the panthers imagined a system that would see the “merger of land conservation and ‘human conservation’ — the interconnection between the preservation of our natural and human resources, recognizing that each have little without the other,” according to the book “the black panther party: service to the people programs” by the dr. huey p. newton foundation and edited by david hilliard. this could have been used for urban farms and gardens, where the means of production would have been put back into the hands of the community, but without the means of purchasing land, the land banking program was unfortunately never actualized. 

the panthers imagined a radical equality, never before seen in america, and were willing to take active measures to secure this reality. at the same time, they realized the immediate needs of their communities. 

the creation of the survival programs was a hallmark of their approach, integrating the practical needs of the community with broader radical ideological struggle. the survival programs ingrained mutual aid and community care and were creative in adopting strategies from other movements to best fit their needs. 

racial and environmental injustice has many effects, and the survival programs were designed to address them all. food was just one facet of their programming to right injustices. part of the panthers’ downfall lay in the ways managing this multitude of programs strained resources. predicated on substantial systematic change, the programs were never designed to provide for communities indefinitely. 

across the country, urban farming organizations continue to provide mutual aid, access to healthy and affordable food, and educational opportunities to advance food security in the same spirit as the panthers. 

in oakland, the black panther party’s birthplace, organizations like spiral gardens, city slicker farms, and phat beets produce, all work with the local community to provide fresh produce for free or at affordable rates, or supplies for community members to grow their own. 

similar organizations exist in major cities across the country, such as the urban growers collective in chicago, and revision urban farm in boston. they also exist in smaller cities, suburban, and rural areas, like soul fire farm in petersburg, new york; the natwani coalition in northern arizona; and liberation farms in androscoggin county in maine.

in today’s movements, taking a narrow focus has led to longer-term success for organizations.  this is unlike the panthers multifaceted approach, which when combined with pressure, white supremacist systems, and the forces that uphold them caused strain on their resources. with this narrower approach, in order to effectively challenge the systems that produce and maintain inequality, an intersectional, multi movement coalition will be necessary. to do this, many food sovereignty and justice groups partner with groups addressing other symptoms of oppression to challenge the larger system. 

in this struggle, by remembering the panthers’ approach — by utilizing mutual aid networks and uplifting urban communities from within — organizations can address the current realities or low-income communities while striving as a collective for systemic change.

as we move toward urbanization, montreal is a leading city when it comes to this type of innovation. while traveling the city, there are many examples of architecture that have adopted new, green practices, but one of the most striking lies in parc frederic-back.

located in the north-west corner of the city, parc frederic-back is a beautiful piece of urban greenery that spans over 350 acres. this park lies in the middle of the saint-michel environmental complex, the green space is being utilized in a unique way. the park lies on top of the remains of a former quarry and landfill site. creating green space on any old landfill is a win for environmentalists. the most notable aspect of the park are the hundreds of biogas-capturing spheres that dot the land. not only do the spheres collect gas from the earth that is then turned into sustainable energy, they also glow in the dark.

the land has an interesting history tied to it. it has not always been a beloved, manicured green space. its original form was as a limestone quarry for 60 years. it was not loved by the saint-michael community, the neighborhood it is located in. the surrounding residents hated the deafening blows into the earth, and numerous quarry accidents angered them. local protests took place to end work at the quarry. the cries for change were heard, and in 1988 the city of montreal acquired the land from the miron family. it was not yet acquired to be made into a park. according to the city of montreal, it was turned from quarry to landfill by the city, and until 1995 it collected the city’s garbage. during the 90’s, it’s environmental transformation took place. during the renovation, the city called it the “most ambitious environmental rehabilitation project ever undertaken” in an urban area in north america, as reported by the cbc.

one of the first steps to creating an eco-friendlier space was creating a recycling center. the waste treatment and disposal centre was created. then, came the most notable aspect of the park, the alien-like spheres that define the land. montreal-based architecture firms, lemay and morelli, designed the balls for the urban rehabilitation. they created 250 spheres to collect the methane gas that is still being emitted from the remains of the landfill below the surface. about 40 tons of garbage from the landfill still generates fumes and is collected, according to world architecture. from there, the cbc article explains the gazmont power station starts converting into electricity biogas extracted from production wells, which is then sold to hydro-quebec.

the spheres are not only proof of montreal’s dedication to environmentally friendly and sustainable urban planning, but they were created with park-goers in mind. they are safe to be around, and they are interactive. they collect light from the sun on their fiberglass surface, and at night they give off a soft, green glow. when a light source at night, such as a park-goer waving a flashlight, runs across its surface, a multi-colored bright light follows the pattern drawn on by the person. it leaves behind the drawn light pattern and impresses novice flashlight artists. 

marrying an old landfill and a popular park may seem counterintuitive, but the collaboration has created a unique, beloved park in the middle of the saint-michael neighborhood. the transformation of this former brownfield is a feat for the city of montreal, and an example as other cities push to create more urban green spaces. 

“we tend to undervalue our public spaces until we really need them,” bejjani said.

public spaces are becoming symbolic images of the crisis as the nation stays indoors. while many businesses have shut their doors, public green spaces are now the go-to place for many seeking refuge from their indoor routines.

“utilizing green spaces during times of crises and empathizing with others attempting to cope, even at a distance, could provide a feeling of community and comfort,” explained christina baum, a masters of public health student from the university of arizona who works with the pima county planning division.

“i do hope that as people become more desperate for the outdoors and physical activity, the value of green spaces for all community members will be recognized,” baum said. “many people seem to be hesitant about getting outdoors and exercising in public spaces because it’s unfamiliar to them, but this pandemic has been pushing people to engage in new activities.”

in parts of the country like tucson, arizona, people are starting to take advantage of clear skies and warm temperatures. tucson is home to 128 parks and 131 miles of paved bikeways to connect community members with the outdoors.

these green public spaces have seen an uptick in usage as residents were ordered to remain at home and engage in social distancing. 

“i believe that these trying times are shedding light on peoples’ desire to access public spaces,” said julian griffee, climate adaptation planning outreach assistant to the city of tucson and urban planning graduate student from the university of arizona.

“i’m interested to see if the public will continue to adopt new habits like cycling and walking outdoors once the pandemic begins to calm down,” griffee said. “will we start to see cities across the nation promote and invest in public spaces and green infrastructure?”

in 2018, voters approved a $225 million bond package  to improve park amenities, a sign that the tucson community is committed to investing more in green spaces for public use.

“public spaces like parks and bike pathways serve important contributions to our community’s public health by promoting healthy outcomes and reducing the number of injuries and fatalities associated with automobile incidents,” griffee said. “but these green spaces also serve an important function in our fight to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.”

cities like tucson are challenged by the onset of rising temperatures and the urban heat island effect. increased concentrations of buildings and pavement absorb and retain heat that increase an urban environment’s energy costs, air pollution levels, and heat-related illness and mortality.

urban mitigation and adaptation efforts to “green” public spaces are enabling residents to make more sustainable choices for their health and built environment.

“i think the pandemic is showing how adaptable we all can be,” baum said. “i hope that some of the changes we are making today will empower us with skills and confidence to continue making those changes once it is over.”