beyond green

•

beyond green

beyond green is a project resulting from a year-long collaboration with the Catalyst Program, an initiative from Partnership for Parks (NYC) that helps create self-determined park communities through long-term engagement. During their engagement with communities, people are connected to park spaces, get access to skill-building programs, are connected with community groups and organizations, and are provided other key resources. We call Catalyst’s work civic activation, a process in which public spaces are used to leverage the power of the communities in which these spaces exist.

We have grown to use the bonsai as a metaphor for self-determined communities, since they are both special and contained entities; with the right care each can grow in strength, uniqueness, and lifetime. We believe that community initiatives, in order to be really visible, accessible, and inclusive, need to be community-led and exist in the public space.

The tangible outcome of our partnership with Catalyst is the Community Builder Kit (CBK). It is a customizable booklet that invites people to reflect on and identify community groups as well as public spaces in their neighborhood and the relationship between both. The CBK is an open tool, available for download through the beyond green website. Each community is encouraged to use it as they see fit.

team Emily Jarvis, Isabella Brandalise and Nelesi Rodriguez
partner Catalyst Program / Partnerships for Parks
school The New School
course University Transdisciplinary Graduate Lab / Civic Innovation: Strategies and Tools for Transformative Change
instructors Eduardo Staszowski, Michele Kahane and Nidhi Srinivas
place New York City, USA
year Spring 2015 / Fall 2015