Fostering Community Connection
San José’s civic commons 2022 in pictures
Kick off your new year with inspiration from a dozen cities transforming civic assets to deliver more engaged, equitable and economically and environmentally resilient communities. Today, we launch a series of photo essays reflecting on the past year of progress, beginning with the civic commons work in San José.
Community engagement that drives implementation
March brought new activation to Guadalupe River Park’s Arena Green with Spring on the Green. The collaboration between the City of San Jose’s Viva Parks placemaking program, San Jose Makers, and Guadalupe River Park Conservancy attracted over 500 attendees to enjoy this central region of the park in a new way. Activities included live music, lawn games, a market space for local artists, creatives, and small businesses, and a beer garden, all of which were selected following community engagement conducted by the Conservancy around the types of activities people would like to enjoy in the park.
Nurturing children and families through outdoor learning
In May, Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, the City of San Jose, County of Santa Clara, and Rotary Club of San Jose broke ground on a $2 million expansion to the inclusive Rotary PlayGarden in the northern region of Guadalupe River Park. The footprint of the beloved play space will grow to include additional nature-inspired features including a labyrinth, willow tunnel, upside-down tree fort, and zip lines by 2023. Since its opening in 2015 as San Jose’s first all-inclusive playground, the PlayGarden has become a central location for hosting environmental programming in the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens. Public programs including animal ambassador meet-and-greets and bilingual storytime activate both the park and young minds, connecting children to the importance of urban green spaces and environmental stewardship at a pivotal time in development. Throughout the year, the Conservancy listened and responded to the community by providing a variety of programming, offering 15 experiences and reaching nearly 300 participants, with intent to restore a regular calendar of programs in the PlayGarden in 2023.
Removing barriers to park access
In the spring and summer months, Guadalupe River Park Conservancy piloted four Trail Tours to create spaces where community members can build relationships with our natural world and each other in an urban park setting, guided by knowledgeable environmental educators. Tours were provided at no cost to nearly 100 participants, allowing the opportunity for park goers to learn about their neighborhood hawks, oak trees, skunks, and snakes without financial barriers. With accessible trails, bilingual educators on staff, and different senses activated to increase understanding, the Conservancy aims to provide environmental education through a variety of methods to increase access to a diversity of people. Given their success, Trail Tours will become a monthly offering in 2023.
Creating memorable experiences through partnerships
The free outdoor movie series Starlight Cinemas, put on by the San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA) in partnership with Viva Parks, was held in downtown’s St. James Park for the 2022 season. From June to August, the community enjoyed four family-friendly animal-themed evenings that included pre-movie activities from community partners and Viva Parks, hot food, a beer garden for adults and films beginning at sunset. Visitors were encouraged to purchase takeout from local businesses and set up blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the films under the stars. Guadalupe River Park Conservancy hosted an animal face mask craft activity at all four films, the Santa Clara Search & Rescue Canine Team brought their trained rescue dogs to the Secret Life of Pets 2 on June 25th, the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley fascinated visitors with their animal bones, furs and other wildlife specimens for Babe on July 16th, Happy Hollow brought their animal ambassadors to show and tell at Zootopia on July 30th, and the Youth Science Institute brought their snake and other creepy crawlies to Sing 2 on August 20th. To measure success, surveys were conducted and crowd counts measured a total of 440 visitors with an average of 110 visitors per event.
Supporting wellness and small business through public markets
SJDA continued their partnership with the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association (PCFMA) to put on the 2022 season of the San Jose Downtown Farmers’ Market. The market supports the health and wellness of the downtown community by creating a welcoming and vibrant urban activation where visitors can shop for local produce, enjoy a hot meal, shop handmade artisan goods, and listen to live music. To improve the market’s accessibility to downtown residents in its second year in the South First Area District (SoFA), it was rescheduled from Fridays at lunchtime to Wednesdays from 3–7 PM. To measure success, a newly implemented survey was conducted throughout the season and crowd counts were gathered for a total of 11,400 visitors with an average of 390 visitors per market. Some of the most popular of the season included the Summer in Downtown San Jose Market, the Culture Night Market Takeover and the Halloween Market.
Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration of The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and local partners.
