Hartford’s approach to sustainability, through iQuilt is promising, but is not necessarily doing enough in terms of social equity. The approach is largely about art and beautification, with any equity or social benefits being a “side effect.” It appears that many people “work for themselves” and much of the city’s improvements are driven by personal or political incentive, rather than the wellbeing of the community. This goes back to a major issue within cities; certain areas being glorified meanwhile the majority of the city is neglected, and out of mind. The downtown area is being prioritized, and everywhere else is not even mentioned. While iQuilt does emphasize culture, it seems only certain cultures are recognized, and they don’t reflect the city’s population. Hartford has a very “whitewashed” history, and iQuilt is working to change some aspects of that. The biggest hurdle is funding, which is the reason why some projects have halted.
iQuilt has much success in terms of placemaking and urban design. “Placemaking and the Future of Cities” from Project for Public Spaces describes 10 ways to improve cities, many of which are currently being practiced and implemented by iQuilt. The first item on the list is “Improve Streets as Public Spaces.” iQuilt designs what is called “complete streets” that allow vehicles, but emphasize foot traffic paired with the surrounding buildings, parks, spaces and businesses. Streets are more than just things to drive on, they reflect the inner workings of the city and more importantly, the people that live and work there; so they should be designed accordingly. Hartford’s streets are full of destinations, but the streets can also be made into destinations themselves. By extending sidewalks, widening streets, and adding greens, pedestrians are given a safe space to walk and spend time in. The wayfinding signs iQuilt installed were a success, but now they’re “falling apart” due to age. Funding is a major issue, as donors are necessary to fund new signs, as well as many other projects.
A main topic of the interview was iQuilt’s involvement in Winterfest, a yearly community event in Hartford. It’s a “successful but not beneficial” event for the city. It succeeds in drawing crowds, and highlighting local businesses and local culture, but it does not contribute to addressing equity issues. It offers no real “benefit” outside the economic boost to the local economy. Any social benefits to the community are a “side effect”. It seemed that Winterfest was a way for the city to highlight anything positive, without addressing real societal issues. It was successful in the sense it drew attention, and large crowds, but it’s not conducive to larger goals of sustainability, or Quilts goals of walking, culture, and innovation.
Now it should be noted that the culture mentioned here is not necessarily the culture of the city’s residents. The US Census Bureau reports that 37% of Hartford’s population identifies as African American/black alone, and 31% identifies as white alone. Much of this cultural emphasis is based on Hartford’s generally “whitewashed” history as insurance capital, as well as being the birthplace of public parks nationwide. In this sense, the culture and history of the city and parks is very white-based. Every city advertises the great things they’ve accomplished, but it can’t be forgotten that the majority of Hartford is composed of “minority” groups. This can be excused as the cultural identity of the city, that all residents inherently adopt as a part of living there; but that does not excuse the lack of input from and mention of minority groups. Failure to reach the target audience is a main reason why some social outreach programs have minimal impact on the greater community. In this case, the plans would be more effective if the residents were represented and had input in the process. The outreach program for gathering residents’ goals for Hartford is one way of correcting this, and a way to reach justice in terms of “recognition, process procedure and outcome.” For years, residents have not been involved with planning, but iQuilt is slowly working to change that. Right now, iQuilt’s only attempt at equity or inclusion is the inclusion of local minority artists in projects, “that’s about it.” It is clear that not enough is being done to include minority groups in the political processes that overall, have an effect on their lives and wellbeing.
A major issue associated with cities is the fact certain areas are subject to positive attention, innovation and tourism, while other areas become associated with inner city crime. The interview revealed this was the case in Hartford as well. The downtown area is the only area of focus, meanwhile all other parts of the city are out of view. Again it’s the case that positive aspects are highlighted, yet negative aspects are ignored. On that note, the interview revealed a major failure in the Bushnell Gardens project. The project successfully secured the land for the garden, but nothing has been done with the land since. The plan would have helped with “Creating Squares and Parks as Multiuse Destinations”, yet it’s remained a vacant plot. Now the challenge has evolved into securing a plan for what to do with that empty land, at this point iQuilt is open to “anything”.
iQuilt is “Reinventing Community Planning” by including local artists, and by gathering local opinions. Locals have the best knowledge of the community, and can offer some of the best advice on how to improve it. The outreach effort is the most promising way to include the community in future planning. It’s clear that these projects are not about equity as a main goal, it is much more of a side effect. In some projects, it has been made blatantly clear that success is measured by publicity and profit, and not necessarily based on the measurable positive effects on the city and its residents. Since these projects came about with little community input, in some cases it’s not surprising that the plans were not successful. The interview revealed that many projects are about simply making the capital city more attractive, and any social benefits are an unintended bonus. Addressing this has been a topic of discussion within the organization itself, as there is a growing demand to address equity issues.
Related reading: Project for Public Spaces & UN Habitat. 2012. Placemaking and the Future of Cities.