Imagining alternative futures for the Jones Falls River
Architects, engineers, urban designers, planners and a brewer attended the first of two workshops in late February. The second workshop in early March was peopled by watershed advocates, area residents and an economist.
It was clever and kinda wild how facilitators Lee Davis and Steffanie Espat got some 25 or so attendees at either workshop thinking beyond-the-box towards a more natural, vibrant and enticing lower Jones Falls by 2076.
From a pocket boombox, Bad Bunny and other performers set an underlying rhythm for imagining during the workshops. Pencils, colored markers, sticky notes, heavy-duty pipe cleaners and other supplies became tools for dreaming on large sheets of paper.
The organizers will showcase some of the work at Old Goucher art venue AREA 405 on May 9th. A museum exhibition of commissioned works envisioning the lower Jones Falls is planned for The Peale in the fall. To follow their visioning work, visit the Jones Falls 2076 website.
-The Editors
Editors’ note: Lee Davis is the Co-Executive Director of the Center for Creative Impact at MICA. Steffanie Espat is the Center’s Co-Design Lead.
Friends of The Jones Falls 