Dedicated to the memory of an LGBTQ+ leader of color, self-identified drag queen, and forebear of the transgender rights movement, Marsha P Johnson State Park is a bold experiment in inclusive design on the Brooklyn waterfront. Starr Whitehouse led a comprehensive engagement process that brought together communities with vastly different backgrounds and needs. This... Continue Reading
Dedicated to the memory of an LGBTQ+ leader of color, self-identified drag queen, and forebear of the transgender rights movement, Marsha P Johnson State Park is a bold experiment in inclusive design on the Brooklyn waterfront. Starr Whitehouse led a comprehensive engagement process that brought together communities with vastly different backgrounds and needs. This included neighborhood groups, Marsha’s family, State Parks staff, everyday users, local vendors, and transgender leaders of color. After a collective forty-eight hours of workshops, mobile engagement, and town halls, the team identified horticulture as the common ground between the park’s two largest constituencies: LGBTQ+ leaders advocating on behalf of Marsha’s legacy, and local residents organizing for a green, unstructured waterfront. Recalling the fresh flowers Marsha wore in her hair, the horticultural strategy acts as an organizing principle for flexible and verdant spaces that encourage a variety of activity. A floral gateway welcomes people of all backgrounds to Marsha’s Park, opening onto a Kentucky Coffee Tree allée that leads to richly-colored perennials and rain gardens framing flexible lawns. Panels display a narrative written by a team of transgender leaders of color, sharing information about Marsha and transgender identity. The journey concludes with a mosaic overlook that reflects on Marsha’s life and the struggle of transgender people for safety and recognition.
Photo credit: © Sahar Coston-Hardy/Esto.
