Redesigning an Underutilized Pocket Park into a Positive Expression of Community
Learn how a community-based effort to reimagine Imagination Alley embodied the community’s dreams for Peace, Unity, Justice, and Freedom in the neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
The reimagination of Imagination Alley involved the transformation of a small pocket park into an outdoor oasis in the heart of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine’s (OTR) Business District.
After being selected by the City for the project, 3CDC focused on facilitating community engagement sessions to gauge what the local community envisioned in a reimagined Imagination Alley. The organization engaged The Storefronts Team of the Miami University Center for Community Engagement, based in OTR, to conduct several community workshops and engagement sessions, followed by a survey of nearby residents, employees, and small business owners.
With goals derived from a robust and creative community outreach process, the MKSK design team was given clear key objectives and metrics to help create a successful transformation of the derelict park, including providing better lighting, additional community based art, flexible seating options, lush green spaces, and integrating flexible event spaces.
As part of the engagement process 5-key goals and values were identified to drive the design of the project forward.
The finished pocket park has become the jewel of the neighborhood with residents and visitors from adjacent businesses utilizing the park daily during lunches and afternoons as well as community members holding impromptu barbecues and movie nights in the alley. Neighbors and community members alike are celebrating this new addition with its public art installations, pop up markets, and enjoying the natural beauty of cultivated landscapes and green walls within this newly established urban oasis. The mosaics for which the park is known—including the arched entryway—have been preserved, as have all existing trees. Renovations include new plantings, public art, additional lighting, and expanded seating. The changes will allow the park to accommodate more community events like movie nights and block parties.
