February 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 44

Input from community members
was essential in the
creation of La Villita
Park - residents were
quick to respond
and became deeply
engaged with the
project.

A Community's Effort
La Villita Park represents the desires
of community members, and that's
a big reason why it's regarded as so
special. LVEJO staff members conducted charrette activities at schools,
community events and churches with
youth, families and other Little Village residents. These were done to
determine their needs and preferences for park amenities. The charrette
activities revealed that the community wanted similar services as other
parks in Chicago. For example, the
neighborhood members wanted a
playground, soccer fields, basketball
courts, a skate park, picnic pavilion,
fitness stations and restrooms. Residents also determined the name of
the park through a survey sent to
more than 700 households. In recent
interviews, LVEJO staff members
stressed the importance of involving
community residents in the planning
of neighborhood services, something
that is often a challenge in many
communities across the nation. The
new park serves as a groundbreaking
example in Chicago of a just transition from an extremely contaminat42 Parks & Recreation

ed site to a healthy community asset
that will serve the neighborhood for
generations. Because of the extraordinary organizing efforts of everyday
community members and the commitment of LVEJO, more than 5,000
children in the surrounding area will
now have a clean park for recreation.
In an effort to address crime-related challenges in the community, the
mayor's office, in partnership with the
Chicago Park District, LVEJO and
other Little Village community residents and organizations, were able
to proactively launch the " Keep La
Villita Park Safe and Beautiful Pilot
Program " during summer 2015. The
pilot program was set up in order to
maintain positive relations between
various institutions (e.g., Chicago Police Department, Chicago Park District, Chicago School District) and
Little Village residents. It also aimed
to increase park programming during
times when crime is most likely to occur. The program was also meant to
establish a working relationship with
the Chicago Police Department with
the end goal of reducing the number
of arrests and community/police

| F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 6 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

conflict at the park. The pilot program had several successes during its
first year of implementation, including having no homicides, shootings
or major acts of violence in the park.
The Mi Parque volunteer program
was also created, which was responsible for helping to oversee the park
and creating a collaboartive relationship with park users.
Like the rich Mexican culture and
bustling economic activity on 26th
Street, the fight for environmental justice continues to thrive in Little Village.
Committed to holistically addressing
the improvement of health and environmental conditions in the area,
community leaders and LVEJO are
currently working on a local climate
adaptation plan for Little Village from
a social justice perspective. Specifically,
LVEJO and the La Villita Park Advisory Council are examining how community leaders and organizations can
proactively plan for the unintended impacts of park development and other
revitalization initiatives, which include
gentrification. The organization is also
advocating for a new field house in La
Villita Park to ensure usage during the
winter months. Consequently, the case
of Little Village supports claims that
people of color do in fact care about
the environment and should be regarded in community planning efforts.
Detailed references for this article
are available at www.parksandrecreation.org/2016/February/Latino-Residents-Champion-for-Green-Justice-in-Little-Village.
Mariela Fernandez, Ph.D., is an Assistant
Professor in the Parks, Recreation and
Tourism Management and College of Health,
Education and Human Development
Departments at Clemson University
(marielf@clemson.edu). Antonio Lopez is
the Executive Director for the Little Village
Environmental Justice Organization (alopez@
lvejo.org).

February 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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