Change, Hope, and Tension: Perspectives and Practices on Making Green Spaces BIPOC Inclusive

Advancing BIPOC inclusion in parks isn’t about platitudes, it’s about the systems and practices that determine who is safe taking up space in public space.

As PhD Candidate and Vanier Scholar Nadha Hassen so astutely says, 

“Not everyone experiences a green space in the same way. The presumption that they do undermines the potential for green spaces to improve health in an equitable way, especially for Black, Indigenous and racialized people.”

To recognize Park People’s tenth year in parks, we’re hosting a special, candid conversation entitled:  Change, Hope, and Tension: Perspectives and Practices on Making Green Spaces BIPOC Inclusive. The title of the event comes from a 2017 Park People interview with Jay Pitter, MES, an award-winning placemaker whose practice mitigates growing divides in cities across North America. In the interview, Pitter shares:

“While it’s important to address issues at the systemic level, there’s something powerful about how change, hope, and tension can be felt on the street-level.”

We know that parks must actively advance urban equity issues and affirm racial justice movements. This can only happen if Black, Indigenous, and people of colour have the right to freely exist in public space

On October 21st at 2pm, join Park People and our Founding Sponsor TD Bank Group as we explore what “street-level” inclusion looks and feels like in parks and public spaces. 

Through dialogue with some of Canada’s leading experts, the session will provide practical insights to help community groups cultivate practices that foster full BIPOC participation in parks and public spaces.

Join us for this important conversation, featuring:

• Chúk Odenigbo, Founding Director of Ancestral Services, Future Ancestors Services
• Ambika Tenetti, Ph.D. candidate, University of Toronto
• Carolynne Crawley, Founder of Msit No’kmaq 

The session will be moderated by Park People’s Board Chair and CEO and Founder of Monumental, Zahra Ebrahim and conducted in English with French interpretation. 

Join Park People and TD Bank on October 21st at 2pm to explore how conscious commitment to  “change, hope, and tension” will create new and powerful possibilities for parks and public spaces.