Claiming Open Spaces

“Claiming Open Spaces” is the directorial work of Austin Allen, PhD, ASLA, exploring the cultural relevance and connection of parks to the African American community, completed in 1996. Despite its age, the documentary touches on both locations and themes that are still relevant to both Black communities and communities of color at large, centering open spaces as the narrative thread bringing together their collective struggles. Through his exploration, reflections from community members, and even appearances from a young Walter Hood and Diane Jones Allen, Dr. Austin Allen’s work illuminates a duality of persistence in the African American community: as a positive force of expression and identity, and as a struggle against opposition—both experienced through time and space.

 

Dr. Allen, now an associate professor of practice at the University of Texas Arlington, received his Bachelor of Arts in landscape architecture from the University of California Berkeley in 1982. In 2017, along with his partner Diane Jones Allen, the Design Jones LLC team both received the colleges’ distinguished alumni award, given for an outstanding display of public service during their careers. He has several additional degrees—from The Ohio University, he received his Master of Arts in telecommunications management and his PhD in mass communication; he received his first degree in urban studies from Laney College (an associate’s degree). Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Allen served as associate professor for LSU’s School of Landscape Architecture; associate professor and Chair at the University of Colorado Denver School of Landscape Architecture; and associate professor of film/communication at Cleveland State University. Observing this entanglement of degrees and roles served, Dr. Allen has positioned himself in such a way to focus on conveying ideas of landscape and cultural representation through a medium of media, “Claiming Open Spaces” reflecting a clear demonstration of this pursuit.

The documentary opens with an introduction to Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Allen’s hometown and the site of an annual Christopher Columbus Day—now recognized as Indigenous People’s Day—celebration. Here, the overarching theme for the narratives to follow is expressed: the act of claiming and its resulting consequences (be they positive or negative). Reading deeper into the subtext, to claim is a verb, a word of action positioning a subject to be either on the performing or receiving side of its execution. Highlighting Columbus’s history of claiming the ancestral lands of indigenous Americans who were present prior to his arrival, “Claiming Open Spaces” opening moments set up a reflection on race and ownership that is shown throughout the film but might also very readily permeate into the viewer’s own lived experience. The following parks and cities are presented:

• Franklin Park and Conservatory, Columbus, Ohio
• De Fremery Park, Oakland, California
• Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan
• Congo Square, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Kelley Ingram and Lynn Park, Birmingham, Alabama

 

Within each instance of a space and community, Dr. Allen presents a thematic framework, setting up a stage for the duality of persistence—first the viewer is treated to extensive and diverse visuals and audio pieces (music and/or spoken word) of each respective city. The collective memories of individuals who grew with the space is explored, building a characterization of each presented park through the lived experiences of community members young and old. Then, masterfully woven in and avoiding an abruptness that might typically analogize a protagonist-antagonist relation, Dr. Allen draws out an opposition faced within each community—a force intent on utilizing the park spaces as they see fit. This provides the viewer another layer of characterization, a secondary view of open spaces stemming from a series of relations driven by the objective rather than the subjective. Focusing on the opening moment, so as to encourage others to watch the full film, let’s briefly look at the narrative of Franklin Park.

Franklin Park is located in Columbus, Ohio (Frederick Law Olmsted designed a similarly named park in Boston, MA), where in 1992, it became the center of national attention. Prior to that, however, we learn about the late 60s when hundreds and thousands of African Americans would gather in the space. Pictures in black and white provide a visual representation of the space, giving way to Dr. Allen inquiring about its long-standing popularity. A young Walter Hood appears, briefly unpacking the schism between multicultural expression and the environment—Dr. Allen pens it as “a new place or a new history,” identifying the role of spatial expression within cultures and the all-too-often occurring conflict of erasure (of nature, natural space, environment) vs. preservation (of identity, legacy), with seemingly no middle ground. A montage of community voices follows, bringing the park alive with visuals of the Black body in movement, occupying the space. The park was an anchor to the African American community, but we learn its economic value would come to attract interest, especially with reverse flight bringing populations back to the city. The demand eventually gives way to Ameriflora 1992—Franklin Park is selected to host the first stateside appearance of the international flora exhibit in the United States, with an anticipated spend of $100 million. With no hesitation or delay, the park is closed, and the African American community is cut from its fabric.

 

Why Columbus? Why was the African American community not a part of the decision-making? How did they reclaim the space after everything was said and done? I recommend watching Austin Allen’s “Claiming Open Space” to learn these answers and to explore the other communities he presents!