Water Infrastructure and Community Building: The Case of Marvin Gaye Park

Abstract

The contemporary redefinition of infrastructure as landscape proposes to address functional issues together with ecological, aesthetic and social concerns. Despite its claim to provide an integrative model, this discourse emphasizes ecological over social benefit. It is argued here that the underlying principles of this model—decentralization, site-specificity and multifunctionality—also have significant socio-cultural implications that relate to building community and enhancing place attachment. This paper will assess the social impact of the landscape infrastructure model by examining the relationship of water infrastructure to the social and cultural dynamics of urban communities through the case of Marvin Gaye Park, a stream valley park in Washington, DC.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Figure 12 The park was transformed from a haven for drugs and illegal dumping to a vital public space (Photo: Washington Parks and People).

Notes

^1. The passage of Congressional legislation, the Capper-Cramton Act of 1930, provided major funding to park authorities in Virginia and Maryland for the purchase and establishment of stream valley parks, financing projects such as the George Washington Memorial Parkway on both sides of the Potomac, the expansion of Rock Creek Park as well as the Anacostia park system. This legislation funded a significant network of stream valley parks in the Metropolitan region between 1930 and 1960, forming the basis of a regional watershed management plan (Baig and Blood 1979). See also United States Department of the Interior (1990).