West Philadelphia Landscape Project

The aspect of the WPLP that is most interesting to me is its role in cultivating a sense of ownership in one’s place, and especially among youth. In light of this, one quote in particular stood out to me: “The Sulzberger students showed me that there is an even greater injustice than inequitable exposure to harsh conditions: the internalization of shame in one’s neighbourhood.”

Attachment and pride of place is fascinating to me, largely because there’s a transformative potential – both individually and communally – that comes with a shift in perspective of how we understand space around us. Taking ownership of the environment around them – understanding that there are systemic forces at play, but also that they possess agency – is fundamental to a community’s sense of self-determination, and this sense of pride of place serves as an undercurrent of action to better a community. A broader understanding of the different forces at work in space – sociopolitical, natural, or otherwise is helpful toward this end, and especially so in a community like Mill Creek, which was under-represented through traditional avenues of power.

The notion of cultivating landscape literacy amongst community members, political actors, and other professionals engaging in the space of planning should take a higher role within the professional ethos of planning, not just amongst vulnerable populations, but to those in positions of relative power as well – and maybe especially so. This project has me thinking about the role of education in planning, and the relatively low rung on Arnstein’s ladder that it possesses.

However, I think this is powerful when it comes to children or youth, and especially so in light of the conversations that have been happening within the department in the last few weeks. To a middle school-aged student, what does it mean for a place to be “theirs”?  How does that change how they see their role in that place? And what is a planner’s role in engaging – and encouraging – youth in the conversations that are typically the realm of adults (and even then, only a relatively select few)?