Representatives from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Grayscale Collaborative and the Olmsted Now Committee of Neighborhoods pose with the Jury Special Recognition for Outstanding Social Impact commendation from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects. Image courtesy of Emerald Necklace Conservancy.

For Olmsted’s bicentennial in 2022, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site co-organized the region-wide initiative Olmsted Now to honor Olmsted’s life and return his progressive values—shared use, shared health and shared power in public space—to the forefront for a new century. 

Two years later, those co-organizers, alongside Grayscale Collaborative and the numerous project partners behind Greater Boston’s Olmsted bicentennial, were honored with the Jury Special Recognition for Outstanding Social Impact at the Boston Society of Landscape Architects’ 2024 Design Awards. Specifically, the award highlighted the groundbreaking work of the Committee of Neighborhoods, a group of trusted Boston neighborhood leaders who convened to address systemic inequality in decision-making for public parks in Boston. 

Nipmuc steward Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr. leads “Communal Waters: Highways of Intertribal Exchange,” a traditional mishoon burn conducted with support from the Olmsted Now Committee of Neighborhoods’ Parks Equity and Spatial Justice Grant. Image by Jen Mergel, courtesy of Emerald Necklace Conservancy.

The Olmsted Now effort focused on not only celebrating the father of American landscape architecture but also expanding and carrying forward his progressive ideas into the present, to explore why they are still relevant two centuries after his birth. Olmsted had big hopes for the Boston region—he once referred to the Emerald Necklace park system as his firm’s “most important work.” Coupled with addressing the overlapping crises of racial justice and public health that unfolded during the bicentennial planning phase of 2020-21, Olmsted Now was a multi-pronged campaign to establish public spaces as essential infrastructure for democratic exchange and community health. 

In addition to a year of public dialogues, community events and new partnerships, a cornerstone project of Olmsted Now was the Parks Equity and Spatial Justice grant-making campaign of the Committee of Neighborhoods. Prior to 2022, Grayscale Collaborative identified a structural imbalance that shut out the communities who would most benefit from parks decisions—youth and elderly who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). To rectify this, Grayscale recommended the establishment of the Committee of Neighborhoods, which would have direct relationships and insights on their communities. In addition, the Committee of Neighborhoods could solicit, select and allocate funds raised by the Conservancy for programming that they determined could be most positive for their neighbors. 

From April to October 2022, with support from the “Come Together” Fund of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy Board, the Committee successfully funded 16 programs across 14 neighborhoods in Greater Boston. This process transformed how the region’s public spaces could be activated and perceived by under-represented communities. Community members held art installations, performances, movement sessions, cultural ceremonies and more in diverse neighborhoods from Hyde Park and Dorchester to East Boston and Charlestown.

Finale performance of “Taiko and the Parks,” a series of events led by an intergenerational team to center Boston elders and acknowledge our lands, supported by the Olmsted Now Committee of Neighborhoods’ Parks Equity and Spatial Justice Grant. Image by Lee Daniel Tran, courtesy of Emerald Necklace Conservancy.

In the words of the BSLA jury, “this project [showcased] a unique and powerful activation campaign that contextualizes Olmsted parks for today’s communities. The methodologies elevate community voices to raise awareness and reveal new opportunities for contemporary users.” The impacts continue on, with dozens of new partnerships, an actionable model of shared decision-making, and a renewed understanding of parks equity and spatial justice for Greater Boston. Read the full Olmsted Now Impact Report here to learn more about these efforts, the individual equity projects supported by the Committee of Neighborhoods, the measured impacts and lessons learned to guide the Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s future work. 

Committee of Neighborhoods: 

Andrew Sharpe, Authentic Caribbean Foundation 
Anita Morson-Matra, Baldwin in the Park 
Ambar Johnson, Livable Streets Alliance 
Barrington Edwards, Artist 
Biplaw Rai, Comfort Kitchen 
Jay Lee, Franklin Park Coalition/ City of Boston 
John Linehan, Franklin Park Zoo/ Greater Grove Hall Main Streets 
Karenlyn Bunch, Greater Grove Hall Main Streets 
Karen Young, Artist 
Nakia Hill, 826 Boston 
Paul Willis, 826 Boston 
Pat Spence, Urban Farming Institute 
Shavel’le Olivier, Mattapan Food & Fitness 
Kay Savage, Mattapan Food & Fitness 

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Declan Battles serves as the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Emerald Necklace Conservancy.