Hope Gardens
Bushwick (Brooklyn), NY
Reimagining Hope Gardens was a daunting task for the landscape architects at WRT. The project of affordable housing in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood consisted of 60 scattered-site multifamily properties with 1,321 units. Bushwick is very densely populated with mostly working-class families. There are a handful of pocket parks throughout Bushwick. The total area of Bushwick is 2.34 square miles with a population of 130,000+ with less than 8% open space. The ratio of open space to population density is very low. WRT sought to not just add more frequently occurring open space, but also higher quality open space.
Many of the existing open spaces have a bit of urban decay with a palette of drab colors and harsh materials. To increase the quality of the spaces, WRT chose bright yellow colors to bring light and calm to these very small, interior-block gathering areas. The scale of these spaces varies but most of them back up to residential buildings. They are at once „owned“ by the families connected to them. With community ownership in mind, WRT selected street furniture that is handsome, durable, and economically friendly.
