September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26

CONSERVATION
Fostering Park-Based Neighborhood
Resiliency in Detroit
How community trust and support effect change
By Lutalo Sanifu, MURP
A
cross 11 million acres of parkland in the United States, park
and recreation professionals are hard at work building, preserving
and protecting climate-ready parks. But we are not doing
it alone. Public-private partnerships are central to creating the
conditions for long-term success. Community engagement is the foundation
for resilience discourse, and community development organizations
elevate the urban community voice.
As director
of
neighborhood
resilience, safety and business district
services for Jefferson East Inc.
(JEI) - a nonprofit organization
that partners with neighborhood
residents and businesses to support
development, greater resources and
investments in 13 distinct riverfront
neighborhoods in Detroit - my
work has centered park-based solutions
to build neighborhood environmental
resilience.
My first exposure to neighborhood
environmental resilience was
on the Lenox Center/A.B. Ford
Park (tinyurl.com/yc22vwhh), a $4
million public-private partnership
to renovate the park and center. I
was the community engagement
and economic development manager
for East Jefferson Development
Corporation
(EJDevCo). I was
tasked with helping Detroit's General
Services Department (GSD)
incorporate the values and needs of
the community into the design of
the center. Engagement started in
May 2020, which was early in the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Initially, there was resistance to
this project because some community
members wanted the city to
reallocate dollars to renovate the
pool building at Maheras-Gentry
Park instead.
It was important to hear from as
many community voices as possible.
To do that, an Every Door
direct-mail piece was created with
project information, and signs
were posted throughout the neighborhood.
The mailer and signs
informed community
members
about the coming online engagement
survey - which was not a familiar
platform to many residents
at the time - and linked them to
the community survey crafted by
the project team. The team offered
the survey online, by phone and via
paper survey. Respondents could
return the paper survey at a drop
box at the Lenox Center. The team
East Jefferson Development Corporation and
Detroit's General Services Department carried out a
robust public engagement plan from May 2020 to
June 2021 to gather input on the renovation of the
Lenox Center and A.B. Ford Park.
26 Parks & Recreation | SEP T EMBER 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
IMAGE COURTESY OF CITY OF DETROIT

http://tinyurl.com/yc22vwhh

September 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2023 - Parks & Recreation

September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 1
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 2
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 3
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 4
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 5
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 6
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 7
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 8
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 9
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 10
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 11
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 12
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 13
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September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 16
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 17
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 19
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 21
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 22
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 23
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 24
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 25
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 28
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 29
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 30
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 31
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 32
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 33
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 34
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 35
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 36
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 37
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 38
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 39
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 40
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 41
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 42
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 43
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 45
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 46
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 47
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 48
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 49
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 51
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 52
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 53
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 54
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 55
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 56
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com