The city’s crane-dotted skyline is a daily reminder of Miami’s explosive growth. Large-scale developments like Brickell City Centre and Miami Worldcenter are and will soon command blocks of space in the urban landscape. As Miami grows, advocates are pushing to protect and expand valuable green and public gathering space, vital for residents to connect with each other and their community. That was the rallying call at the August 26th Make Parks a Priority event. Hosted at C1 Bank in Wynwood, The Miami Foundation gathered more than 150 engaged residents, including Miami-Dade County Commissioner Xavier Suarez, to encourage all county commissioners to approve Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s proposed $13.5 million 2016 parks budget increase. The event also promoted broader investment in signature parks like the Underline, Ludlam Trail and Museum Park. The 18 winners of the 2015 Public Space Challenge were also recognized; they’ll share $305,000 in grants to create, activate, and improve local parks and public places.
Winners included nine permanent projects set to transform public spaces and parks throughout the county. Agorascape, a local philanthropic landscape design studio, will convert a vacant lot near Jackson Memorial Hospital into a healing garden. The project will add much-needed green space to a highly urbanized part of Miami and provide access to nature, a proven treatment that will help Jackson patients in their recovery. Challenge winners included residents, organizations and government leaders. Their ideas range from activating crosswalks in West Miami with public art and poetry to installing solar panels powering nighttime lighting at Wynwood Greenhouse. David Hazim’s project will install an 18-hole disc golf course at Homestead Air Reserve Park and create a meet-up group to engage his neighbors.
