Reclaiming Public Space for Health Equity

Community care and collective wellbeing is at the heart of its mission at the Flint Farmers’ Market in Flint, Michigan. While speaking with Market Manager Karianne Martus, it was clear that all market staff, vendors, and partners were dedicated to ensuring there were multiple avenues to accessing all that the market offers.

Dating back to 1905, the Flint Farmers’ Market had undergone numerous transformations before officially relocating to the downtown Flint area in 2014. The market’s new home is the former Flint Journal printing facility, which underwent adaptive reuse to provide the market a new space that was roughly double the footprint of its old facility. The move to downtown Flint, a central location in the city, was critical to the market’s wide-reaching success. Flint is 34.7% white and 56.7% Black, and almost 36% of its residents live below the federal poverty level. With the new location, the market began to see far more diversity in its customer base, and residents were having less difficulty accessing food. The market also saw a larger customer base, as it now serves around half a million customers per year.

Food-purchasing assistance and programs are key elements in accessing healthy food, and the Market integrates these initiatives into its programming in unique ways. Twenty-five separate vendor businesses accept Bridge Cards, containing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance benefits (SNAP). In 2011, the Double Up Food Bucks program was introduced to the market, which allows Bridge Card users to double the value of their purchases to obtain local fruits and vegetables. The market also partnered with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, to implement Project FRESH, a federal assistance program providing seniors and low-income parents – particularly breastfeeding mothers – with coupons to buy fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables during the Michigan growing season.

Outside of being a space for healthy food access, the market is a multi-use space for community gatherings, cooking demonstrations, and market space for entrepreneurs. Partnering with the Michigan State University Extension and Hurley Wellness Services, the market hosts Lunch and Learn Cooking Demonstrations that are free to the public. The demonstrations focus on meals that are high in calcium, iron, and vitamin C to help reduce lead absorption. The market has also partnered with Flint Food Works to help food-based businesses establish a product, perfect their recipes, and develop a business model with access to full-service kitchens located in the market. On the second floor of the market is the Hurley Medical Center’s Pediatric Residency and Speciality Clinic. With the center’s goal of focusing on the relationship between prevention and nutrition, this seemingly odd partnership works well. Through the Flint Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program, pediatric and prenatal patients receive a $15 fresh produce prescription at the end of each of their medical visits.

The Flint Farmers’ Market is open all year, three days a week, from 9:00am to 5:00pm. For vendors who are farmers, it’s no secret that time is a precious commodity. When speaking with Karianne, she shared how getting locally grown produce to the market without overworking farmers is often difficult, and how an increase in labor shortage on farms makes it difficult for them to adapt or remain. With the help of the Flint Fresh Food Hub, it is easier for the market to support local farmers and growers. Through partnerships with local and regional farmers and distributors, the Flint Fresh Food Hub and its portable food truck bring fresh and healthy foods directly from farms to its patrons. With this, farmers can continue to work on their land, and consumers still have access to fresh and healthy produce.

Considering that farmers markets have a reputation of drawing from a narrow demographic of customers, the Flint Farmers Market demonstrates how a diverse range of customers can be drawn by ensuring access on all fronts. The Flint Farmers’ Market offers direction to others: by reflecting on accessibility, affordability, and acceptability, a farmers market can establish itself as a vital asset in its given community and be accessible to a diverse range of users.

As a result of widespread discrimination, redlining, and Jim Crow-era segregation, an almost exclusive concentration of 90% of the Black population in Syracuse, New York, lived in the 15th Ward. Towards the mid-20th century, the 15th Ward quickly became a refuge from discrimination: a vibrant, close-knit, working-class community. It was also a frequent stop for Black travelers as a safe haven from ​“white-only” establishments. But with the birth of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Syracuse’s urban renewal programs called for the 15th Ward to be reborn as a government complex, cultural center, and high-rise residential neighborhood. Community members were initially hopeful. They believed the plan would lead to better housing, more city-wide integration, and a chance to improve their lives. It soon became apparent that that wouldn’t be the case: the 15th Ward was completely demolished, an estimated 1,300–2,200 families were permanently displaced, and the newly constructed Interstate 81 now ran through its center.

The generational setbacks of the highway decision still resonate today, and the social and environmental consequences of its creation are widespread. Residents nearest to I-81 (who are largely Black and brown) face challenges concerning noise and legacy pollution, concentrated poverty, inadequate housing, unprecedented rates of illness, and scarcity in healthy food. It’s been clear for some time that it’s time to tear the viaduct down. The highway’s condition continues to deteriorate and the cost associated with continuing its upkeep is prohibitive. The Syracuse community at large has been advocating for its removal in hopes of reconnecting the city.

In May 2022, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) jointly announced a Record of Decision to remove the 1-81 viaduct through the heart of the City and replace it with the Community Grid alternative. This announcement was the outcome of a thorough Environmental Impact Statement process, which saw years of community feedback. The Community grid, a $2.25 billion project, aims to reconnect downtown neighborhoods. It would create a new Business Loop 81, which would pass through the city distributing traffic along the way, and make other improvements that will improve mobility, enhance safety, create new recreational opportunities, and promote economic growth throughout all of Central New York.

With the help of the RCN and NAE grants and other state and federal funding sources, the project was approved. The official ceremonial groundbreaking took place this July with federal, state, and local officials. Although support for the community grid is strongest for residents, concerns associated with its construction and its future still linger. Local organizations and advocacy groups have also been closely monitoring I-81 and the NYSDOT’s efforts to protect residents against the potential of future displacement. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) New York affiliate (NYCLU) has been in conversation with residents closest to the viaduct since 2020. According to NYCLU, many residents are concerned that Syracuse’s new zoning plan, known as ReZone Syracuse, will fail to provide any protections for low-income communities living near the I-81 viaduct. Many worry that without these protections, new development could increase the cost of rent, price them out of their neighborhood, and rip them away from their community. Residents want investments in their community that bring new, well-paid jobs and cultural opportunities to their neighborhoods, including a community land trust.

The I-81 viaduct project represents a complex history of injustice stemming from urban planning. The divide between residents and the city reflects a deep-seated mistrust, and the path forward will require transparent communication and a commitment to addressing and acting on the concerns of the most affected. The United States’ highway-centric history and its impact on marginalized communities make it essential to ensure that the project genuinely serves the interests and wellbeing of all its residents, especially those negatively impacted by the harmful legacies of past planning decisions.

While Syracuse’s Community Grid illustrates how physical infrastructure can help remediate historic harms, the Los Angeles Metro’s Metro Ambassadors program shows how community networks can be supportive systems for safety in shared public spaces like transit systems, in place of punitive, police-first models.

For transit systems across the country, building public safety and increasing transit ridership are important goals. And historically, transit agencies have sought to create a sense of security and safety through an omnipresence of police. It is evident that this approach comes with shortcomings: When safety is framed in terms of law enforcement intervention, it in turn promotes greater health inequities for Black and brown communities, including trans/gender-nonconforming people, undocumented people, and people with mental illness. For centuries, conventional practices of law enforcement and policing have been used to control the mobility of these communities, and alarming numbers of Black and brown people have died at the hands of policing and enforcement authorities. Current paradigms of public safety are based upon fundamentally flawed assumptions about safety, defined by a select few and resulting in a system that makes some feel safer at the harmful expense of other groups.

To reimagine safety in our transit systems we must explore alternatives, and this is crucial to our planning exchange partner Community Power Collective (CPC). Community Power Collective exists to build power with low-income tenants and workers through transformative organizing to win economic justice, community control of land and housing, and to propagate systems of cooperation in the Los Angeles region. In March 2021, CPC along with other partner organizations worked with the Alliance for Community Transit - Los Angeles (ACT-LA) on their report titled Metro as a Sanctuary - Reimagining Safety on Public Transit. The report focused on Los Angeles’ Metropolitan Transportation Authority, referred to as Metro, which currently employs a multi-agency policing model to create a ​‘safer experience’ for riders. Metro’s flawed assumptions have often led to flawed policing, which results in harmful racial profiling and criminalization. Around 50% of Black riders account for half of Metro citations, although 18% account for less than a fifth of ridership. Metro’s approach has also failed to address any lasting ways that the lack of services and housing inaccessibility affect unhoused people. ACT-LA’s report proposes community-led safety alternatives to reconstitute public safety, which includes deploying transit ambassadors, increasing and improving bus service, enacting fare-free transit, and more. Ultimately, ACT-LA and CPC’s goals are to have Metro divest from millions of dollars of policing contracts and instead invest in community and public health-based safety alternatives.

In response to the report and community advocacy, Metro introduced the Metro Ambassadors program in September 2022. The program employs up to 300 green-shirted transit ambassadors, who offer in-person support to riders on trains and stations, connect riders to resources, and report maintenance and safety concerns. Ambassadors also receive training in trauma-informed response, disability awareness, mental health awareness, customer experience, station cleanliness/evaluation, conflict de-escalation, and homeless engagement.

LA Metro recently conducted an extensive rider survey that found significant support for the ambassadors. About 63% of metro riders said the presence of ambassadors have made their experience on public transport feel safer, with a higher rate reported by low-income communities, women, and people of color. Outside of their designated roles, ambassadors have also helped report sexual harassment, criminal activity, and have summoned emergency medical assistance for riders in distress. Since April 2023, ambassadors have administered Narcan (a treatment for narcotic overdoses) 52 times and saved 20 lives using CPR and suicide prevention.

In October of 2023, the Metro board unanimously approved making Metro’s ambassador program permanent. Although Metro Ambassadors are not intended to replace existing Metro security staff or law enforcement, advocates and community members believe it is a step in the right direction.

Social inequities in our policies, programs, and institutions have only recently become apparent for many, crystallizing the reality that ​‘safety’ has a different meaning for different people. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority is offering a promising way forward for transit agencies across the country to fulfill their role as responsible transportation providers and ensure that transit spaces remain equitably safe and inclusive for all.

We often find that the best public spaces are those that reflect and respond to the character and culture of the community. Through New York City’s Plaza Program, the Department of Transportation (DOT) works with communities to provide quality open space that helps strengthen and protect that character and culture.

The NYC DOT Plaza Program was introduced in 2007, when former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a commitment that all New Yorkers would live within a 10-minute walk of an open space. As a partnership-based public realm initiative, eligible organizations can propose new plaza sites for their neighborhoods through a competitive application process. NYC DOT gives priority to plaza locations that are in neighborhoods with few open spaces, and partners with community groups that commit to operate, maintain, and manage these spaces to maintain them as vibrant pedestrian plazas. As of 2022, there are around 90 public plazas throughout New York City.

Through a competitive application process, eligible organizations propose new plaza sites, with a focus on neighborhoods lacking adequate open space. This prioritization ensures that even the most underserved communities have access to quality public amenities, a cornerstone of health equity. Selected community groups take on the responsibility of operating, maintaining, and managing these spaces, infusing them with life and vitality. It’s not just about creating a physical space; it’s about nurturing a sense of belonging and well-being among residents.

However, challenges abound, especially in areas where resources are scarce. Recognizing this disparity, the OneNYC Plaza Equity Program (OPEP) was established by NYCDOT to provide crucial support to plaza partner organizations in under-resourced neighborhoods. This support extends beyond beautification efforts to include health-focused initiatives aimed at improving community well-being. With an initial capacity of supporting 30 high-need public spaces, the program has now expanded to provide resources to over 100 spaces. Additionally, the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership, an alliance between NYCDOT and The Horticultural Society of New York, provides additional services and capacity building to low-capacity organizations.

The Plaza Program’s success lies in its grassroots approach, empowering local nonprofit organizations to shape the design and programming of these public spaces. This ensures that each plaza reflects the unique character and culture of its neighborhood, fostering a sense of pride and ownership among residents. But beyond aesthetics, these plazas serve as vital hubs for community health. They provide safe spaces for physical activity, encourage social connections, and even offer programming focused on wellness initiatives. In a city where access to green spaces is often limited, these plazas become lifelines for residents seeking respite from the concrete jungle.

As the sun sets over the city skyline, these plazas come alive with laughter, music, and the vibrant energy of community. They are more than just public spaces; they are symbols of equity, resilience, and what can happen if we prioritize our public spaces and streets for people in New York City. And through initiatives like the NYC Plaza Program, cities can realize its vision of health equity for all its residents.