After three years of struggling for environmental justice in their community, the residents of Floral Farms hope that a new park will help them reclaim their neighborhood.
Mariachi music reverberated through the southeastern neighborhood of Dallas last week as residents waited for the unveiling of a park design developed by HKS Inc., a Dallas-based architectural firm.
Keren Carrion
Cecilia Del Toro Garcia stands in her back yard, with the Schindelberg in the background. Her back yard, which once housed Garcia’s garden, is now deserted because of the toxic waste dump.
“¡Bien feliz! Mira la alegria de todos “, Very happy! Look at the joy on everyone’s faces, ”said resident Cecilia Del Toro Garcia about the crowd of 50 people who attended the ceremony.
Garcia said she had waited a long time for this day. She lives next to Shingle Mountain and blames the black dust from the dangerous piles of rubbish for her nosebleeds and persistent cough.
The city removed the rubble and acquired part of the land after months of health complaints from local residents, environmental activists from Downwinders at Risk and organizations like Neighbors United / Vecinos Unidos, the Urban Research Initiative of Paul Quinn College and the Inclusive Communities Project.
Now, HKS designers say they are “correcting this injustice for the city” and have created a rendering for a park that includes playgrounds, community garden, soccer field, water splash area, skateboard arena and space for food trucks.
“It is very clear that they have a strong voice and a strong need for healing,” said Erin Peavey, architect and design researcher at HKS.
Shirley Che Studios
Architects from HKS Inc. gave a bilingual presentation to the residents of the Floral Farms community. You said this new park design was the start of a new chapter for the neighborhood.
After mariachi music and folk dancers, HKS architects presented the design to the community.
Peavey said it was important for designers to hear from residents throughout the park’s design process. For months, the architecture group met regularly with local residents and held meetings in English and Spanish, both virtually and in person. These meetings confirmed that flower farm residents needed “green spaces to relax and (to) interact with their neighbors”.
“Many communities can have a say in what happens in their backyard. Why isn’t Floral Farms getting this? ”Peavey asked. “What do we say with our politics about the value and about who has a voice at the table?”
With the slogan “Together we can move mountains”, HKS wants to greet park visitors at the entrance and on many of the trails in the park. The plans also include a 14-foot hill to commemorate Shingle Mountain.
HKS Inc.
HKS architects said it was important to keep Floral Farms’ identity in the design of the park. They want the community to feel at home.
Santander Bank presented the park with a check for $ 100,000. Floral Farms and its partner organizations also fundraise and accept donations at dallasstars.com/parkforfloralfarms.
The organizers said the next step would be for the city of Dallas to go along with the idea. Councilor Tennell Atkins, who represents the region, said he would look at the plans.
Until then, the resident Cecilia Del Toro Garcia is looking forward to daily walks and roller skating with her three granddaughters in the park.
“Las Granjas Florales was a community that knew how to fight,” said Garcia. “Floral Farms is a community that knows how to fight.”
Do you have a tip? Alejandra Martinez is a member of the Report For America Corps for KERA News. Email Alejandra at amartinez@kera.org. You can follow Alejandra on Twitter @alereports.
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