Visioning with the community: Highbridge Rec Center

Three Mailman School of Public Health students met with youth attending the Highbridge Recreation Center afterschool program. The 15 students, ranging from 1st to 5th grade, joined in for a brief lesson on ecology at the Recreation Center, discussing both biological ecosystems and the ecosystem of the neighborhood, Washington Heights.

Next they traveled a few short blocks through the Highbridge Park to the part of the park nicknamed “Mad Hot Park.” Here the students participated in a three stage process of envisioning how they wish to direct investment in the space. The stages included:
1. Identifying individual reasons why they do not visit this part of the park. (barriors)
2. Documenting a part of the park space that they found particularly interesting through one photograph. (strengths)
3. Illustrating how they would design the space on a map of the park’s footprint. (vision)

The students’ input will be combined with the input of other community members to formulate preliminary ideas for future investment in the currently underutilized section of the Highbridge Park.