Public Street Right of Way

Public Street Right of Way

I have been in love with our salty edges and brackish banks since my folks first dangled my toes in Narragansett Bay.

Since 2016-ish I have been part of organizing efforts led by neighbors advocating for environmental justice around our port. My enthusiasm for public access to our coastline has most recently been expressed through my efforts to celebrate and protect South Providence’s Public Street Right of Way. From 2024-2025, these efforts were supported by my participation in the Providence Commemoration Lab’s staging of temporary projects on public property to further understanding of commemoration as a communal process of historical redress and spatial reclamation.

My project included thatched shade structure, air quality warning windsocks, an illustrated map of safe(r) public access spots for fishing and swimming, and other amplifications of the threats and pleasures of this previously neglected public right of way to the bay. Stewarding community engagement process involving 100+ neighbors of Public St. and collaborating with groups including The People’s Port Authority, Breathe Providence, and The Davey Lopes Community Center.

Read the ecoRI article about this project here