Reimagining unkept, unbuilt lots as black insurgent space: a university-assisted garden park design initiative

In the post–World War II era, the emergence of the metropolitan knowledge city triggered a wave of creative destruction that scarred Black neighborhoods by generating thousands of neglected, unbuilt lots—spaces created by the demolition of housing, buildings, and other structures. Under racial capitalism, these sites came to symbolize White supremacy, Black powerlessness, and systemic underdevelopment. In the early 2000s, the University at Buffalo Center for Urban Studies launched a collaborative project with Futures Academy, a K–8th-grade public school, to reimagine and transform a series of neglected lots and an adjacent abandoned corner store into a Black insurgent space. The UB Center viewed these neglected, unbuilt spaces not only as an affront to the community but also as a symbolic barrier to the children’s education. Working with school staff, students, and neighborhood residents, they launched a design and commons project that sought to transform these neglected, unbuilt lots into a Black insurgent space – a community garden park and neighborhood commons.