{"id":2312401,"date":"2024-06-14T04:47:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T09:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vxartnews.com\/?p=2312401"},"modified":"2024-06-14T07:24:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T12:24:43","slug":"a-chicago-advocate-builds-climate-resilience-one-green-space-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vxartnews.com\/2024\/06\/14\/a-chicago-advocate-builds-climate-resilience-one-green-space-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"A Chicago advocate builds climate resilience, one green space at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Annamaria Leon was initially enchanted by the lush greenery of Douglass Park and the handsome greystone homes of North Lawndale, located on Chicago\u2019s West Side. But it wasn\u2019t until after she moved into the greystone she first rented and would eventually purchase that she realized what lay beneath the surface of the stunning architecture of the neighborhood and its showplace park: the ravages of decades of redlining, disinvestment and racial unrest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI got off the highway and I ended up in North Lawndale. I thought it was the most beautiful place in the world. Douglass Park, you know, and being a feng shui practitioner, you had the curved streets and the old houses with the big doors. I said, \u2018oh my gosh, I want to live here,\u2019\u201d Leon said.<\/p>\n\n\n
She also discovered that her new neighborhood had transformed from a predominantly Jewish enclave to an almost all Black area. This transformation is reflected in the naming of Douglass Park<\/a>, visualized by architect William LeBaron Jenney and reimagined by world-renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The park was originally Douglas Park, with one \u201cs,\u201d named for Stephen A. Douglas, who was instrumental in bringing the Illinois Central Railway to Chicago and famed for his debates with Abraham Lincoln. Due to his pro-slavery stance, the park was renamed in honor of abolitionists Anna and Frederick Douglass in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leon, whose family origins are Filipino, dug in, and committed herself to applying her extensive knowledge in sustainable urban agriculture and permaculture to cultivating much-needed green spaces, enhancing resiliency against the effects of climate change, and improving the overall quality of life in the place she now considers her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDigging in<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n