The 11th Street Bridge Park is a long-planned project that will reuse the original pillars of a bridge across the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, DC. Building Bridges Across the River published the following guide to share principles and successes of putting the existing community first in this transformative infrastructure project.
“A key goal of the Bridge Park is to serve as an anchor for equitable and inclusive economic growth. The Bridge Park’s design strategies will increase connectivity between those living on both sides of the Anacostia River, but more must be done to ensure that residents and small businesses nearby will continually benefit from the success of this signature new civic space. To achieve this goal, the Bridge Park staff worked with community stakeholders to create an Equitable Development Plan in 2015, that was updated 2018… The goal of the Bridge Park’s Equitable Development Plan is to ensure that the park is a driver of inclusive development—development that provides opportunities for all residents regardless of income and demography. By following a community-driven-vetted process, it is our hope that other cities can look to the Bridge Park as a prime example of how the public and private sectors can invest in and create world-class public space in an equitable manner.”
(Photo: Building Bridges Across the River)