Coming Together in Memphis

Lessons learned from three days exploring The Fourth Bluff

In Memphis, the design and staff of River Garden work to bring a variety of people together. Image credit: Erin Mosher.

Before the most recent Civic Commons gathering in Memphis, I posted on Facebook that I was headed there to explore the good work that is happening. The first comment: “Watch your back downtown. It’s ­­­­a dangerous place at times. Situational Awareness X 10 in Memphis.” As much as Memphis is known for its music and barbecue, it’s also perceived by many as an unsafe city.

But the Reimagining the Civic Commons crew is working hard to change this perception. Here are five lessons I took home from walking in Memphis (I had to):

Get Creative to Get Things Done

Oftentimes, there are policies and legislation in place that prevent us from creating the cities we want. Some of these things are little and unenforced: for example, we have an ordinance in Dallas that dates to the 1940s that says it’s illegal for people to gather on a sidewalk. While it’s still in our books, it’s rarely (or never) enforced.

Protestors surround the Confederate monument in Memphis Park in August 2017. Image courtesy of The Fourth Bluff.

In Memphis, they recently had a fight over two public parks containing Confederate monuments. The city could not legally remove the statues because of state law. In December of 2017, Memphians got creative. The city sold the parks to a newly formed nonprofit called Memphis Greenspace Inc. The nonprofit was able to (in the words of Memphis Chief Legal Officer Bruce McMullen) “do what the city of Memphis cannot: Remove the statues from their visible perches in the parks.”

Van Turner of Memphis Greenspace, Victoria Young producer of Dîner en Blanc in Memphis and Penelope Huston of Downtown Memphis Commission share the story of Memphis Park at Civic Commons Studio #5. Image credit: Bronlynn Thurman.

The very evening the City Council voted to sell the park to the nonprofit, the Confederate statues were removed. One of the parks is now called Fourth Bluff Park and has become a space for all community members to gather.

Dîner en Blanc, hosted in Fourth Bluff Park just months after the Confederate statue was removed. Image courtesy of Downtown Memphis Commission.

Play is All About the Swings and Hammocks

While in Memphis, we heard from Omar Blaik of U3 Advisors, who reminded us of this quote: “Parisians build parks for Parisians, and then the tourists show up and love them. We build parks for tourists, and no one shows up.” We’ve all seen this time and again. However, while in Memphis, we had a chance to explore River Garden, which was designed by Groundswell Design Group, and is settled next to the Mississippi River. Throughout the park, there are multiple opportunities for passive play, with swings and hammocks. We were there during a weekday and saw families swinging. We were there during an early evening market and saw loved ones swinging idly, kids swinging happily, and all sorts of ages enjoying the space.

Play for all ages: The swings and hammocks at River Garden produce pure happiness. Image credit: Erin Mosher and Bronlynn Thurman.

Other elements bring people in: the treehouse, which invokes play for all ages, the shipping container snack store, and the giant-size bird’s nest. There was a lot that went into the park, and a great deal of the maintenance and programming bring people to it. But, as one of the designers said, the swings and the hammocks (along with the other elements) create a diverse interpretation of play.

Emphasize the Dos

As already mentioned, there are many beautiful touches that make River Garden special, but one element that stood out was the welcoming nature of its signage. Instead of telling visitors what they couldn’t do, the signage was all about what they could do. For example, the signs encourage visitors to make new friends, play a game, have a picnic, or walk your dog. And only after several dos were there a couple don’ts (for example, don’t drink or sell alcohol without all relevant city permits and prior authorization).

By simply outlining what you can do first, there is an immediate invitation to join the park.

Memphis River Parks’ signage emphasizes all the things you can do in the parks. Image credit: George Abbott.

Design Is

We spent some time discussing what design can mean to a community. Design is about more than just being functional, it also has to inspire and entertain. Over a dinner of barbecue, we discussed what design meant to us in one or two words. The answers ranged from “functional utopia” and “peace” to “harmony” and “an expression.” Most of what we studied displayed how various elements of design can truly bring a variety of people together in open spaces.

“Public things can lift up our entire country.” EJ Dionne shares his reflections on the power of the civic commons. Image credit: Bronlynn Thurman.

Make Public Spaces Great Again

One of the keynotes during our time in Memphis came from Washington Post political commentator EJ Dionne. Dionne discussed how good policy and civic engagement have to be the things that change politics. With the work of the Civic Commons, that’s exactly what the five teams are doing. The focus of the public spaces is something that very few can argue against. But, said Dionne, we have developed this mentality that if “something is not controversial, how can it matter? If something doesn’t divide us, then it’s not important. Public things can lift up our entire country. So how do we make public spaces great again?”

The approach that the various teams are taking through the Civic Commons work seems to be doing just that.

Civic Commons Learning Network members in River Garden. Image credit: Erin Mosher.

Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration between The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and local partners.