Proactive Approach to Displacement Included With 11th Street Bridge Park Plans

"The group behind the plan to build a park on the old 11th Street Bridge is seriously committed to making sure the project is a net gain for the communities around it," reports Neil Flanagan.

The plan for the 11th Street Bridge Park includes "19 concrete recommendations for how to bring economic opportunities to the neighborhoods adjacent to the park without also bringing the negatives that neighborhoods often experience when they get wealthier."

Flanagan describes a few of the ideas contained in the proposal. "For example, they want to incubate small retail businesses on the bridge, and making the routes to the park more walkable, so people venture into Anacostia's retail strip." Also considered is the creation of a community land trust and how to place local businesses in any new buildings developed by the District in the area.