Foundation Park (3700 W. McKinley Ave) in the East Martin Drive neighborhood, is one park being revitalized in the city's MKE Plays initiative.
Small urban parks, sometimes the size of one or two housing lots, often serve diverse community needs, including as play spaces. These “pocket parks” or “vest-pocket parks” as they are colloquially termed are typically used only by people living or working within a several-block radius.
In 2015, Alderman Michael J. Murphy initiated “MKE Plays” to accelerate and expand the city’s updating of its 62 parks, most of which are small. Fifty-two of these parks have play amenities—structures for children that generally need replacement within about 15 years of their deployment. Demographics can also change significantly during that period of time. That’s why community engagement now informs each park restoration, rather than top-down, cookie-cutter decision making.
“Empowering local residents is a core tenet of this program,” said Murphy. Joe Kaltenberg, MKE Plays’ program coordinator, facilitates two or three formal community meetings for each project. “We also get a ton of input as we walk around a neighborhood handing out meeting flyers,” he said. Kaltenberg, a former physical education teacher, originally worked in Murphy’s office and now is on staff in the Department of Public Works. MKE Plays has raised more than $1.69 million from private sources and leveraged an additional $1.31 million in public funding, totaling $3 million of investment in Milwaukee parks, according to Murphy.
Rebuilding from the Ground Up
Foundation Park (3700 W. McKinley Ave.) in the East Martin Drive neighborhood, is one park being revitalized. Every inch of its 8,000-square-foot space ultimately will be refurbished. A new concrete sidewalk encircles the playground and winds through a passageway to 37th Place. New steel-framed play equipment has been installed. Shade trees and lawn will be planted. Benches and a picnic table—and possibly kid-friendly tree stumps—will afford respite and socializing.
One unique feature will be multi-colored rubber surfacing incorporating a traditional Hmong textile pattern, symbolizing “house” and representing unity. Kaltenberg told the Shepherd Express during a site visit that some neighbors had suggested including those cultural elements to help make the growing number of Hmong neighbors feel welcome. He said that Hmong residents are often left out of civic processes because of cultural barriers that make participation difficult. “They are simultaneously visible to their neighbors and invisible to the institutions that effect change locally.”
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The City of Milwaukee was recently awarded a $30,000 play-space grant for this project from the Walt Disney Corporation in support of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and Disney’s combined goal of providing greater access to recreation. A national community health goal is for all city residents to live within a half-mile of a public park or playground.
Ideas for restoring Foundation Park were originally explored by students in UW-Milwaukee’s BLC (Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures) Field School, which is part of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Arijit Sen, associate professor of architecture and urban studies, said that when the field school began studying aspects of the Washington Park neighborhood in 2014, Foundation Park looked bleak. A wooden playground structure had burned down, leaving only some bedraggled swings. Among the buildings students researched were two distressed houses with backyards facing the park.
The field school delves into all aspects of a neighborhood’s history and current conditions. Students collect narrative and empirical data, measure buildings and chart their evolution over time. They also conduct oral histories and creatively engage people, often at events that include playful activities and food. Sen said, “If you do boring community engagement, nobody comes.”
Design students then imagine what could be renovated or built to enhance a neighborhood. Data, stories and student projects are then posted on BLC’s website. Projects have included exhibitions, presentations and short documentary films. The field school also collaborates on diverse forms of cultural expression with neighbors and others. UWM’s Peck School of the Arts has produced dance performances and a full-scale play titled This is Washington Park. This is Milwaukee., based on field school research.
Seeing the Possibilities
There had been talk of razing the two derelict homes next to the park, but residents expressed concern about that approach, since several nearby buildings already had been demolished. Sen said that he and BLC students thought the neighborhood might benefit more if new owners or community uses could be found, since the homes’ interiors were fairly intact. Also, residents often monitor activities within a neighborhood—what urbanist Jane Jacobs termed “eyes on the street.” The park’s main entrance on 37th Street, essentially a two-block-long alley, is faced only by backyards. A fenced parking lot for a Harley-Davidson plant accessed from another street faces the park’s south side.
BLC student Tommy Yang and others interviewed and conducted ethnographic research on Hmong residents of Washington Park for more than a year. Student Dominique Xiong proposed a design for Foundation Park incorporating Hmong embroidery patterns and other narrative elements. Kaltenberg, who was aware of BLC’s work, said that when he began engaging the community it made sense to “piggyback on BLC’s efforts. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.”
He also reached out to the Hmong American Friendship Center, located nearby on West Vliet Street. Students there created potential designs for the playground, which became the basis for the final layout. Kaltenberg said that adding the colorful design within the poured-in-place rubber ground will increase its cost only slightly, but will dramatically enhance the park culturally and visually.
Jonas Diaz, whose sister and brother-in-law, Nery and Thyren Stephen, recently bought and renovated one of the formerly distressed homes next to the park, is excited about the park’s progress. He told a reporter that his family will host a big party as soon as the construction fences come down. Diaz also proudly pointed to a building down the street on Vliet that he purchased to open a bakery.
Kaltenberg said fine-tuning the park will continue after it reopens, since neighbors often see even more potential once they experience a revamped space. For example, lawn areas could accommodate tables for board games or other activities. MKE Plays is considering buying a portable movie screen that could be used for movie nights. Kaltenberg is also working with renowned artist Muneer Bahauddeen to create “Peace Poles” incorporating small ceramic tiles individually made by neighbors. Bahauddeen, whose home and studio is located nearby on Lisbon Avenue, said that people like seeing their personal expressions integrated within public art.
Despite having “by far the smallest amount of park space within the city”—certainly much less than Milwaukee County Parks and Milwaukee Recreation (a division of Milwaukee Public Schools)—MKE Plays can be nimble, said Kaltenberg. These playground restorations cost, on average, about $250,000, with some larger park renovations totaling more than $600,000. That makes it easier to see a project to completion. He believes it’s an achievable goal to increase total program funding to “sustainably implement playground updates within 15-year cycles,” completing about four parks a year. Even modest park investments can yield big returns. Besides promoting community health and neighborliness, revitalized public spaces often spur positive economic impacts.
