|
Introduction
During 1995 and
1996, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), through its Livable
Communities Initiative, awarded the City of Tucson, Arizona, $1.5 million
to carry out a series of transportation enhancements along a 1-mile
stretch of South Park Avenue. The South Park area, located within Tucson's
federally designated Enterprise Zone/Enterprise Community, is a low-income,
minority community originally settled by African Americans during the
1940s. It is an area rich in cultural and historical significance because,
during its early days, it was one of the few places in Tucson where
African Americans could purchase land, build homes, start businesses,
and create a community.
| FTA's
Livable Communities Initiative (LCI) was established, in part, to
assist transit-dependent communities with economic recovery. From
1995 through 1999, the Tucson Department of Transportation (TDOT)
worked with residents and businesses in the South Park neighborhood
to plan and implement a series of improvements that increased transit,
pedestrian, and bicycle safety and accessibility; enhanced commercial
district aesthetics along South Park Avenue; and reinforced the
community's sense of pride in its unique history and culture. |
|
The
Participants
- Federal
Transit Administration
- U.S. Department
of Housing & Urban Development
- Tucson
Department of Transportation
- Tucson
Urban League
- South
Park Neighborhood Business Association
- University
of Arizona
|
|
From an environmental
justice standpoint, the South Park Avenue Improvement Project is noteworthy
for three principal reasons:
-
Partnerships
were developed to leverage financial and technical resources for
planning and implementing transportation enhancements in a low-income,
minority community. The project culminated a 10-year planning process
whose major participants included the Tucson Urban League, the South
Park Neighborhood Business Association, the University of Arizona,
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), TDOT,
and FTA.
-
Context-sensitive
design tools were used to reawaken a community's sense of identity
and pride. Art components of the South Park Avenue Improvement Project
-- including mosaics, totems, and sculptures -- were designed to
draw attention to and celebrate the neighborhood's history and strong
community spirit.
-
Highly creative
and effective public involvement strategies gave community
residents a strong sense of project ownership. For example, community
residents voted on project designs and created artwork integral
to the project.
|
The Livable
Communities Initiative
The U.S.
Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration,
developed the Livable Communities Initiative (LCI) to strengthen
the linkage between transportation services and the communities
served. The LCI is an experiment that uses sustainable design
concepts such as transit-oriented development, community-sensitive
transit services, mixed-use development near transit facilities,
safe and secure pedestrian access, and transit-supportive parking
management and traffic management techniques. The goal is to increase
access to jobs, health care, education, and other social amenities
and to stimulate community participation in the decision-making
process that leads to these improvements.
Eligible
Applicants
- Transit operators,
metropolitan planning organizations, city and county government, planning
agencies, and other public bodies with authority to plan or construct
transit are eligible. Nonprofit, community, and civic organizations
cannot apply directly, but they can participate as partners.
Eligible
Types of Project Planning Activities
- Preparation of
implementation plans and designs incorporating safe livable elements.
- Assessment
of environmental, social, economic, land use, and design impacts
of projects.
- Feasibility
studies.
- Technical assistance.
- Participation
by community organizations, businesses, and persons with disabilities.
- Evaluation
of best practices.
- Development
of innovative design, land use, and zoning practices.
Eligible
Capital Activities or Capital Project Enhancements
- Property acquisition,
restoration or demolition of existing structures, site preparation,
utilities, restoration of historic buildings, building foundations,
bikeways and trails, walkways, and open spaces physically or functionally
related to the transportation project.
- Purchase
of buses, enhancements to transportation intermodal centers,
park-and-ride lots, and transfer facilities incorporating community
services such as day care, health care, and public safety.
- Safety elements
such as lighting and rail crossings.
- Intelligent
Transportation Systems technology such as GPS vehicle location
and dispatch systems and associated computer software.
- Traveler
information for tourists and other rural travelers, improved
access to transit services, and operational enhancements such
as transit marketing and pass programs, especially for job access.
Available
Funds
DOT provided
about $50 million for 21 capital projects and an additional $2
million for local planning, technical assistance and best practices
materials in FY 1999. Funding is available through the following
programs:
Federal
Transit Administration
- Transit Grants
and Loans for Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and those with Disabilities
- Rural
Transportation Accessibility Incentive Program
- Transit
Capital Investment Grants and Loans Program (Bus and Bus Related)
- Transit
Enhancements
- Urbanized
Aid Formula Grants Program
- Formula
Grants for Other than Urbanized Areas
Federal
Highway Administration
- The National
Highway System (NHS)
- The Interstate
Maintenance Program
- The Surface
Transportation Program (STP)
- Bridge
Replacement and Rehabilitation
- Federal
Lands Highway
- Transportation
Enhancements
- National
Scenic Byways Program
|
The
Region and Community
Tucson is located
in the southeast corner of the State of Arizona. It is the seat for
Pima County and home to the University of Arizona and Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base, the area's two largest employers. Tourism is the region's
third largest industry, followed by a growing high-tech industry.
|
Snapshot
of the South Park Community
Location:
Southeast of downtown Tucson
Population:
2,400
Racial
and ethnic composition:
- African
American - 43 percent
- Hispanic
- 39 percent
- Native
American - 3 percent
- Other
- 15 percent
Median
household income: $7,922
Households
below poverty line: 34.5%
Transportation
concerns: Absence of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit
amenities along South Park Avenue, the heart of the local
retail business district
Source:
1990 U.S. Census.
|
|
Minority
groups account for more than one-third of Tucson's population
(405,000 in 1990). Hispanics are the largest minority, representing
29 percent of the population. Other minority groups include African
Americans (4 percent), American Indians (4 percent), and Asian
Americans (2 percent).
The South
Park area of Tucson was first settled in the 1940s by African
Americans who moved to the city primarily from other southwestern
States. Although the majority of Tucson's African-American residents
at that time lived in substandard rental housing near the downtown
area, many of these new arrivals had previously owned their own
homes and were anxious to do the same in Tucson.
Because of
segregation, however, African Americans had only limited opportunities
to purchase land. The South Park area, at the time an unincorporated
area southeast of Tucson, was one of only two locations where
African Americans were permitted to buy lots. Families generally
built their own homes. With little access to credit, they paid
for materials and lived in tents while permanent dwellings were
being constructed.
|
The struggles of
these early residents helped foster a strong sense of community as residents
pulled together to overcome adversity. By the 1960s, South Park was
a well-knit, thriving community, anchored by a number of black-owned
businesses along South Park Avenue. During the next several decades,
however, South Park fell victim to problems of crime, gangs, and drugs
shared by many inner-city communities across the Nation. The neighborhood
declined, and by 1980, the incomes of almost 35 percent of South Park
households were below the poverty level. The neighborhood's unemployment
rate was more than 11 percent, nearly double that of the Tucson metropolitan
area.
The racial and
ethnic mix of the neighborhood also changed. By 1990, the area's African-American
population had fallen from 90 percent during the 1940s to less than
50 percent. The Hispanic population, meanwhile, increased to nearly
40 percent.
|
Project
Chronology 1982-1989
Kino Boulevard constructed on the eastern boundary of the South
Park community.
1989
Tucson Urban League receives CDBG funds to partner with University
of Arizona to create the South Park Area Community Development
Plan.
1991
South Park Area Community Development Plan published
by the Tucson Urban League.
1995
TDOT receives $1 million from FTA's Livable Communities Initiative
for improvements to South Park neighborhood.
August-December
1996
Monthly town hall meetings held at Quincie Douglas Center to obtain
public input on design and implementation of the project.
August
1996
TDOT receives additional $500,000 from FTA's Livable Communities
Initiative.
October
1997
South Park Community Art Center opens to provide community
members with instruction in the creation of mosaic art pieces
for the project.
July 1998
Construction begins on South Park Avenue.
September 1999
Project
completed.
|
What
Happened
The South Park Avenue Improvement
Project resulted from a decade-long planning process. In 1989, the Tucson Urban
League received HUD Community Development Block Grant funds to help prepare
a Community Development Plan for the South Park area of Tucson. Working in partnership
with the University of Arizona College of Architecture, which donated its services,
the Urban League conducted 9 months of intense
public meetings to identify key issues and opportunities. The process culminated
in January 1991 with the release of the South Park Area Community
Development Plan [Plan].
The
town hall meetings were a success because community residents could
see the evolution of their input on design mock-ups each month.
_
Too-Ree-Nee Keiser
Lead Public Artist
South Park Avenue Improvement Center
|
Context-Sensitive
Design
Context-sensitive
design is a way to integrate highways and communities. This
concept encourages designers to balance the transportation goals
of mobility and safety with community values by enhancing and
preserving a community's cultural and natural resources, while
not establishing any new geometric standards or criteria. Context-sensitive
design is supported by provisions in the ISTEA, NHS Act, and
TEA-21, which emphasize the importance of good transportation
design that is sensitive to the human-made and natural settings.
Successful
context-sensitive design requires involvement of an interdisciplinary
team in which the community plays an active role throughout
planning and implementation. With early and continuous collaboration,
the team may identify valuable features for incorporation into
plans and projects.
The U.S.
DOT fully supports the concept of context-sensitive design as
an important part of the effort to provide sustainable transportation
service to the public. In recent years, U.S. DOT has actively
promoted context-sensitive design in training materials, publications,
conferences, and workshops.
|
|
Creating
the art to complement the South Park development was a hands-on
project.
|
One area
of concern targeted by the Plan was the commercial district along
South Park Avenue from 18th Street to 36th
Street. Businesses along this corridor had been struggling recently,
in part because of the construction of Kino Boulevard during the
1980s, a north-south arterial route for traffic between downtown
Tucson and Tucson International Airport. This arterial diverted
significant traffic volumes from South Park Avenue to Kino Boulevard,
causing South Park Avenue commercial establishments to lose business.
In 1995,
TDOT identified the FTA's Livable Communities Initiative as a
potential funding source for improvements along South Park Avenue.
TDOT ultimately submitted a proposal to FTA that incorporated
concerns and recommendations recognized by the Community Development
Plan and by the recently established South Park Neighborhood Business
Association. The proposal included canopied bus stops, landscaping,
and pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
|
FTA awarded the
City of Tucson a $1 million grant for streetscape improvements to enhance
pedestrian access to transit and local businesses along South Park Avenue.
Project elements included:
- Sidewalk improvements.
- Construction
of accessible bus shelters.
- Landscaping.
- Street lighting.
- Designated curb
cuts and curb infill.
- Lane reductions
on South Park Avenue.
During 1996 and
1997, TDOT held a series of town hall meetings to gain public input
on the project's design. Although TDOT went to considerable lengths
to publicize the first of these sessions, attendance was poor. Moreover,
the few participants were skeptical about the city's plans and its commitment
to meaningful public involvement on the project.
After this disappointing
start, TDOT resolved to become more aggressive in its outreach efforts.
Neighborhood "walkabouts" were held to show the community
that "the project and people working on it were real and accessible,"
as one TDOT representative put it. Throughout the hot Tucson summer,
project staff members walked through neighborhood streets and parks,
introducing themselves to residents in a personal, informal context.
In addition, TDOT also conducted in-home interviews with several respected
elders in the South Park community.
Within months,
participation at the town hall forums increased to more than 40 individuals.
The increased turnout resulted, in part, from TDOT's increased solicitation
efforts as well as the format of the meetings themselves. Residents
were invited to "view and vote" on design mock-ups of bus
shelter placements, crosswalks and other pedestrian facilities, and
public art components of the project. Residents were provided five "ballots"
each and given the opportunity to affix their votes next to their preferred
designs. After each meeting the project team tallied the "votes"
for each design. The effect was a continually evolving project design
that reflected ongoing community input.
One of the most
creative aspects of the South Park Avenue Improvement Project was to
use public art to enhance the streetscape along South Park Avenue. TDOT
hired a public artist to oversee this project task, which featured community
participation to create mosaics and totems. In October 1997, classes
began at a new community art center opened along South Park Avenue to
instruct area residents in mosaic tile work.
Community members
visited the art center during the day to decorate trash container shells
and to work on the mosaic tiles and totems and other art components
of the project.
Much of the project's
artwork was intended to draw attention to the South Park area's history
and identity as a community. For example, a number of new bus shelters
featured colorful figures at each corner, their upraised arms "holding
up" structure roofs. This design was intended to symbolize the
South Park neighborhood's strong community spirit and legacy of helping
others during difficult times.
In August 1997,
citing the tremendous public involvement in town hall meetings and the
community's design recommendations, the FTA granted an additional $500,000
to the South Park Avenue Improvement Project. This grant was matched
by $100,000 from the City of Tucson. By the time the project was completed
in September 1999, the improvements included:
- Constructing
sidewalk and curb access ramps.
- Installing six
artistic bus shelters and one standard shelter.
- Designing pedestrian-friendly
walls that double as a public art canvas.
- Installing new
traffic signals at three intersections.
- Landscaping.
Symbols
of community spirit, colorful figures hold up the roofs of new
bus shelters.
|
Totems
designed and created by the South Park Community are an integral
part of the new streetscape.
|
Effective
Environmental Justice Practices
The South Park
Avenue Improvement Project enhanced the livability of a low-income,
minority neighborhood and helped breathe new life into a distressed
commercial district. The project illustrates several key practices useful
for integrating environmental justice principles into transportation
project planning, design, and construction.
-
Creative
Partnerships. Clearly, no individual group or agency would have
been capable of advancing this project. While TDOT played a central
role, it relied upon others to supply crucial technical and financial
resources integral to vision plans, design, finance, and other implementation
activities. The origins of this project lie in the partnership established
between the Tucson Urban League and the University of Arizona, which
identified -- in a comprehensive, grassroots manner -- the needs
and concerns of the South Park community. Local government agencies
may not be in a position to conduct such thorough, exhaustive analysis
for every neighborhood. In most cases, however, they are well suited
to identify funding opportunities for specific transportation recommendations
that come from the communities themselves. In this case, TDOT listened
to the recommendations from South Park Area representatives and
successfully used those recommendations to leverage significant
city and Federal funding.
-
Enhancement
Activities. The South Park area of Tucson is a neighborhood
rich in historical significance, especially for African Americans.
Project
planners recognized this history as an asset capable of inspiring
others. Design processes sought to draw attention to key historic
themes and capitalize upon this historical context. Efforts of this
nature can help reinforce a community's sense of pride and identity,
serving as powerful elements of a rebuilding strategy.
-
Public Involvement
Techniques. Although citizens' preferences are increasingly
taken into account in transportation projects, only rarely is public
involvement elevated to the hands-on status it achieved during the
design and construction of the South Park Avenue Improvement Project.
By giving citizens a "vote" on the project's design and
the opportunity to contribute their own artwork, TDOT actively engaged
the public in a way that few transportation projects have.
|
Public
Art Components of the South Park Avenue Improvement Project
- Bus shelters,
totems and totem caps, benches, bicycle racks, and trash cylinder
mosaic covers
- Bridge
mosaic insets with mosaic paneling
- Sidewalk
epoxy with random stenciled designs on both old and new sidewalks
- Historic
plaques with site-specific or historic information and graphic
|
Challenges
Ahead
The South Park
Avenue Improvement Project represents a noteworthy example of incorporating
the letter and spirit of Title VI and environmental justice into the
transportation decision-making process. The improvements have given
a significant boost to the South Park neighborhood, yet the area faces
a number of key challenges. The community's long-term prospects depend
on a sustainable program of investments and partnerships. Some of the
challenges confronting the partners in this project include:
-
Community members
must continue to discuss, debate, and refine the vision for the
neighborhood. Organizations such as the Tucson Urban League and
the South Park Neighborhood Business Association will need to provide
leadership in articulating both the vision and the plans and mobilizing
the additional resources necessary for continued advancement.
-
Local public
officials will need to maintain a dialogue with the neighborhood
so that they better understand the community's needs and preferences.
Dialogue will need to be accompanied by resources in the form of
staff support and funding, in particular. While such efforts may
prove costly in the short term, the payoff will come in the form
of sound projects embraced by the community.
-
The City of
Tucson and TDOT in particular learned key lessons about how to apply
the principles of environmental justice to improve transportation
planning. The project demonstrates several ways that these principles
can be effectively incorporated into a specific project. The challenge
now is to institutionalize these lessons so that future projects
can benefit from the South Park Avenue experiences.
Public
art elements included historic plaques intended to instill community
pride.
|
Benefits
of Environmental Justice in Decision Making
For the
Neighborhood:
- Neighborhood residents
and businesses benefited from a series of pedestrian improvements that
enhanced the commercial district along South Park Avenue.
- Community
members gained experience working with government agencies and
other institutions that can be used on future projects benefiting
the neighborhood.
- Community
members were provided with opportunities to celebrate and draw
attention to the South Park area's history and culture.
For the
Agencies:
- The South Park
Avenue Improvement Project incorporated themes and recommendations identified
in plans produced by community members, increasing the likelihood that
the project would address issues and concerns important to the community.
- By actively
involving neighborhood residents and businesses in the project's
design and construction, TDOT overcame initial public skepticism
to win strong community support.
- The City
of Tucson gained important insights into community revitalization
and the potential for transportation improvements to serve a
broader purpose.
|
Lessons
Learned
Some of the most
important lessons of the South Park Avenue Improvement Project include:
-
Partnerships
bring knowledge, expertise, financing, and other resources to the
table. Low-income, minority communities in particular may need to
draw on a variety of sources to assemble the resources necessary
to advance costly transportation projects.
-
Partnerships
that bring together stakeholders from public agencies, community
organizations, and the private sector have tremendous potential
for discovering and implementing creative solutions to complex problems.
They offer a workable
-
foundation
for targeting and addressing the more harmful factors leading to
neighborhood decline and persistent poverty. Transportation officials
should recognize the exceptional contribution of pedestrian-friendly
streetscape design and enhancement-type investments in reversing
perceptions, instilling community pride and volunteerism, as well
as establishing the conditions for reinvestment. Properly targeted,
these investments can create ripple effects such as safer neighborhoods,
more cohesive communities, and more attractive environments.
-
Transportation
improvements can serve a broader purpose by playing a role in revitalizing
distressed communities. Transportation officials who manage projects
in such areas should be on the lookout for opportunities to integrate
transportation enhancement investments into community redevelopment,
economic development, and other local land-use initiatives.
-
Integrating
cultural symbols into transportation enhancement projects can be
an effective way of engaging community members and reinforcing cultural
awareness, pride, and identity.
-
A well-planned
and adequately funded public involvement process for the design
and implementation phases of a project creates community buy-in.
In the case of South Park Avenue, the feedback format for town hall
meetings kept residents invested, while the opportunity to create
highly visible mosaic art tiles delivered a true sense of community
ownership.
-
Residents of
low-income and minority neighborhoods may justifiably feel that
their issues and concerns have not been adequately addressed in
the planning and implementation of public works projects. The accessibility
and commitment of TDOT representatives to carry out neighborhood
outreach efforts were essential to engaging an initially skeptical
community.
This
project would not have been the
success that it was without the public art component. The artist's daily
interaction
with the community was invaluable.
Keith Walzak
Project Manager, Tucson DOT
References
Greater South
Park Plan, Planning Department, City of Tucson; Resolution No. 12699,
May 29, 1984.
Harry H. Lawson,
The History of African-Americans in Tucson: An Afrocentric Perspective
/ Harry Lawson; Tucson, AZ: Lawson's Psychological Services, (Includes
bibliographical references (p. 195-199) and index. v. 1. 1860 to 1960),
c 1996.
Major Streets
& Routes Plan, Planning Department City of Tucson, Resolution
No. 15988, Ordinance No. 7816, May 11, 1992.
South Park Area
Community Development Plan, prepared for the Tucson Urban League
by the University of Arizona College of Architecture (Drachman Institute
and Architecture Laboratory) & College of Agriculture (Cooperative
Extension - CLRD), January 1991.
South Park Avenue
Improvement Project: This is your neighborhood! These are your improvements!
So get involved!, City of Tucson Department of Transportation public
information packet, 1997.
South Park Improvement
Project Capital Assistance Grant Application for FY 1994-1995: #AZ-03-0025,
City of Tucson proposal to the Federal Transit Administration, March
1995.
South Park Neighborhood
Exhibit, series of interviews conducted by the Arizona Historical
Society, Tucson Chapter; 1995-1996.
Visit From FTA
Director Marks Completion of South Park Improvements, City of Tucson
Department of Transportation press release, September 10, 1999.
Contacts
Ray Clark
President
Urban League of Tucson
2305 South Park Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85713
(520) 791-9522
Too-Ree-Nee Keiser
Lead Public Artist, South Park Avenue
Improvement Project
Tucson-Pima Arts Council
240 N. Stone Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 624-0595
Andrew McGovern
Manager, South Park Project
City of Tucson, Department of Transportation Field
Engineering
201 North Stone Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 791-5100
Photo Credits
All photos courtesy of
Tucson Pima Arts Council/ T-Pac, except photo of children, which is courtesy
of Ursula Gurau.
FHWA
Home | FTA Home | Case
Studies | EJ Contact
United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway
Administration - Federal Transit Administration
|
