Helping a major park achieve its potential

FUNDER: Health Foundation of South Florida, County Commissioner Eileen Higgins
PROJECT AREA: City of Miami, Little Havana neighborhood
STATUS: In progress
TIMELINE: January 2019 - August 2021

CHALLENGE

This one block section of Southwest 5th Street at Jose Martí Park has enormous potential. Today, the street slices the well-used park into two, disconnected pieces. Excessive fencing, limited lighting and speeding cars mean few people consider using this area at all.

Yet, a beautiful, active 5th Street has enormous potential, in helping to revitalize an overlooked piece of Jose Marti Park, which could be a signature park for the city.

Solution

Our team spoke constantly with residents, frequent park users, community partners and local leaders. They shared what they’d like to see happen on Southwest 5th Street and throughout Jose Martí Park. Our team shared what we think is possible. Together, we went from imagination and inspiration to implementable activities and initiatives — including a Dia de los Muertos street festival, a Cardboard Challenge for kids and weekly Zumba classes — all aimed at transforming 5th Street into an active, safe, and beautiful public space.

Urban Impact Lab also worked with residents and an architect to create renderings for how the street could evolve, should city leaders decide to permanently close it to cars. The renderings are being presented for feedback at a community forum.

Our role

Urban Impact Lab has designed, developed, and implemented every aspect of this activation project, working alongside partners so they could lead these events into the future.

results

The City of Miami now has a community-driven plan for revitalizing this part of Jose Martí Park;
Residents now have a clear vision of what’s possible for 5th Street and have an increased capacity for civic engagement and working with city and county commissioners.

insights

Yurmeira Benal, Community Liaison, Healthy Little Havana: The activations on the street have had a large positive impact for the residents because they can commune with one another and be a part of different activities, and new experiences. I hope that Southwest 5th St is always active, with activities for kids, physical activity, health fairs, food distributions, and holiday celebrations.

Sofia Cuenca, Senior Program Manager, Healthy Little Havana: As an organization that focuses on the social determinants of health, Transform 5th Street has been an opportunity to activate an underutilized public space in Little Havana, promote physical activity and build social cohesion. Unfortunately, safe and accessible play places are often lacking in under-resourced communities such as Little Havana and the activations of Southwest 5th Street have proven the versatility and public health benefits of activating the space. From small scale fitness classes, to large cultural events, to food distributions and health fairs, Southwest 5th Street has been able to meet the needs of the community, improve access to social services and build a sense of connectedness among residents.

“Through this project, we have empowered the community to co-design activities and imagine the possibilities for this space , and we must now support community members to make their vision a reality by increasing accessibility of the space and dedicating financial resources towards the street’s transformation.”

— Sofia Cuenca, Healthy Little Havana