VOICES & IDEAS
After weeks of individual meetings with more than 60 community groups, city agencies, community leaders and local workers, our team hosted a first round of public events to invite the local community into an open dialogue around the most important issues in the Islais Creek watershed and its surrounding communities.
Through workshops with students and residents from Bayview, Potrero Hill and Dogpatch, the team had the opportunity to learn about the most pressing issues around affordability, housing and job opportunities, and to discuss ways to structure a community-driven planning process - exploring tools that can help us create a shared vision for resilience in multiple aspects - physical, social, and economic.
March 28th – Learn About a Changing Climate
With the help of one of our community partners, APRI, the team organized a workshop with a group of high-school students ages 13-19 from Bayview, Hunters Point and surrounding neighborhoods, to discuss how climate change affects the Islais Creek basin and what tools we can use to protect, restore, connect and grow the watershed and its communities.
March 29th – RBD Midterm Presentation
Our team presented the progress of the first half of the Design Phase to RBD, including the findings of our research and first conversations with community groups, workers and the City. The team had the opportunity to reflect with the jury, advisors and the public on the process so far, identify gaps and set a roadmap for the next half of the design phase and beyond.
April 4th & 5th – Public Workshops in Bayview & Dogpatch
Equipped with maps and physical models, the team hosted two public workshops, north and south of the creek, to start a conversation with local residents and workers around environmental and urban stresses the area faces. The team was able to hear important hopes and fears directly from residents, discuss ideas about the future of the area, and brainstorm about the support needed for current local endeavors.
NEXT STEPS
Over the following weeks, BIG+ONE+SHERWOOD aims to define the possible outcomes of the RBD process and set a roadmap for a community-driven planning process after May that includes community groups, local businesses and city agencies. We hope to continue learning, and sharing the messages we hear while shaping a vision for a resilient Islais Creek, together!