With regard to the recent article: “Shelter’s demolition spurs building boom” (The Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 25) about the development and progress in the Depot District, I feel that it’s important to offer a different view of this “building boom.”
The dictionary defines progress as “a forward or onward movement” or “a gradual betterment.” As I read about the plans for “progress” in the Depot District of Salt Lake City, I had to wonder about this definition of progress. Is it really all about new buildings, with no consideration for the value of green space and neighborhood services?
Great cities around the world have long understood that to fully benefit from development and progress, the preservation of open space in urban environments is critical to a city’s livability, and Salt Lake City is no exception.
Wasatch Community Gardens has operated the Green Phoenix Farm in the heart of the Depot District on a vacant lot that is owned by Salt Lake City’s Redevelopment Agency since 2016. This thriving and productive green space serves as a job-training farm for women experiencing homelessness and single moms living in poverty. For the past five seasons, more than 100 women have had the chance to learn how to grow and eat healthy, organic, local food while at the same time learning valuable life and work skills.
The farm has grown seedlings for thousands of Salt Lake City’s residents to start their own gardens, provided fresh food for primarily low-income households and social service agency partners and has hosted hundreds of volunteers and community members who never fail to remark on their first visit that they “had no idea this amazing space even existed!”
This small parcel of urban green space has changed lives and changed the neighborhood. In collaboration with our partners at Salt Lake City and Advantage Services, we put down our roots at a time when no one wanted to invest in the people or the neighborhood. The food grown on this parcel of land feeds individuals and families from primarily low-income households and feeds the souls of everyone who visits this extraordinary space. The research is clear: Spending time outside in nature is good for people, and most of us need more of it.
A great city needs many things, including a mix of safe and welcoming housing for all of its residents. But a truly great city also needs arts, culture, delicious food, nightlife and accessible public spaces, both indoors such as libraries and outdoors such as parks.
We all know that Utah is blessed with amazing outdoor assets, including the Wasatch Mountains that tower over our city to the east. However, as the population of our area has increased over the past two decades, we need more investment in those green spaces that serve our urban residents on a daily basis, rather than relying on the Wasatch Mountains.
According to the Trust for Public Land’s Parkscore, the Depot District already has a “Very High Park Need,” even before the hundreds of new residents who will soon be moving into these new buildings. The closest public green space to all of these new residences is Pioneer Park, and beyond that, it’s the Gallivan Center. We’re losing the opportunity to enjoy nature in the city while we build the densest neighborhood in the state. In our rush toward progress, we’re ignoring a basic tenet of a livable city, which is abundant public open space.
Once we pave over our green spaces, it’s pretty hard to get them back. While I fully understand our need for more housing, we also need to invest in outdoor public spaces before we completely pave paradise to put in a parking lot. The ability to have not only green space but also an actual working farm effectively in the heart of downtown of one of the West’s most prestigious cities is a unique feature that adds value to all its residents. Wasatch Community Gardens understands progress and hopes to keep feeding this city for generations to come.
Ashley Patterson
Ashley Patterson is executive director of Wasatch Community Gardens.