Olmsted Now Committee of Neighborhoods

Image Descriptions & Credits:

Existing Conditions: There are several communities in Boston (e.g., Mattapan, Roxbury, Dorchester, South End, East Boston, Chinatown) that have relatively low access to open space compared to other neighborhoods.

- Proximity to open space for Boston neighborhoods (Aline Reynolds)

Gaps Analysis: While there is uneven park access across Boston, our team focused specifically on the Emerald Necklace. Our analyses found that some neighborhoods have low access overall (e.g., Chinatown); others are proximate to open spaces, but are not involved in Conservancy decisions.

- Analysis Drawings (Grayscale Collaborative)

Opportunities Analysis: The project team conducted a preliminary scan of potential Committee members, with a focus on organizations who served “higher-need” park populations and whose missions aligned with Shared Use, Health, or Power.

- Analysis Drawings (Grayscale Collaborative)

Proposed Design: The Olmsted Now plan focused on reshaping internal processes and external programs to maximize access and equity, and to resituate Olmsted’s legacy values in the present day.

- Community programs funded by Committee of Neighborhoods (Emerald Necklace Conservancy)

- Olmsted Now guiding values (Grayscale Collaborative)

- Translating Olmsted’s legacy values to the present day (Grayscale Collaborative)

New Partnerships: Through Olmsted Now, the Conservancy grew from 17 to 186 partnerships and transformed internal leadership in terms of geographic, racial, and ethnic diversity.

- Images from Olmsted Now impact report (Jen Mergel)

- Committee of Neighborhoods headshots & image from June 2022 meeting (Emerald Necklace Conservancy)

Parks Equity & Spatial Justice Projects: Community members established arts installations, performances, movement sessions, and traditional ceremonies across the Emerald Necklace - demonstrating the many ways that parks are for all.

- Images from the 16 projects funded by the Committee (Boston Liberation Center; Mark Saperstein; Linda Wells; Lee Daniel Tang; Aaron King; Nohemi Rodriguez; Carven Boursiquot; Jen Mergel; Tran Vu; Scott StrongHawk Foster; Stephanie Belnavis; Al Godfrey; Kyeana Jones; Veronica Robles; Devin Edwards)