Tue, Jun 09, 2015

We have seen several examples of public parks and open spaces ranging from International Children's Park to the green sidewalks and alleys of Chinatown and learned about some of the planning processes behind them.

What did you observe about how these spaces were being used? How did these projects/spaces engage the community in the planning process? What lessons or inspiration would you bring back to SF for open space advocacy/improvements?

Today, we went to visit the international district and its recently formed nonprofit organization as well as other organizations such as WILD, wilderness international leadership program. Walking the streets of Seattle, International District made me realized that sometimes there are people with less advantages than we do, but advocacy is nothing to belittle. Just like your teachers and professors at school and your advisors. The people in charge wouldn't know about your problems or your communities' problem until people address their issue. In the international district, the wild group and scidpda demonstrated this by working with seniors from SROS to protect their parks and public spaces. They gathered seniors to help create successful community meeting as well as holding an alleyway feast.

Although the Hing Hay park and Dragon park of the International district in Seattle are quite small and less attractive compared to the Portsmouth Square and Wille Woo Woo park of the San Francisco Chinatown, groups like Ideal and WILD have been implementing resources to improve their park and community. Urban design and planning helped bettered their community through new park designs, scheduled events, and many opportunities.