Route 9 Revitalization in the CDC

• Tessa Graham, Landscape Architecture, University of Delaware

• Zachery Hammaker, Plants & Soil Sciences, University of Delaware

The project, headed by landscape architecture firm Coastal Resilience Design Studio, is working with the Route 9 Community Development Corporation (CDC) with the aim to revitalize the community by preserving its cultural heritage, promoting smart growth, and addressing future environmental challenges. The CDC has been transformed by land use decisions that have resulted in an influx of industrial and commercial development in the area over the last 50 years, prioritizing transportation access and economic development over community and environmental well-being. As a result, the communities face health and safety issues from the high pollution and traffic levels. Work in the project began in the winter and was later resumed in early June with community surveys covering the locals’ concerns and goals for the areas and data compilation of existing conditions, including bus stops, flood zones, etc. Research was split into three focus groups: transportation, greening, and stormwater, which were the main aspects that required intervention to improve the ecological and cultural quality of the area. After analyzing the CDC as a whole and taking the communities’ wants and needs into account, three main project areas were identified as having the greatest potential to have a positive impact. These zones all had high amounts of green space in comparison to surrounding conditions and were primarily underutilized community assets. With these sites identified, efforts turned to imagining the best ways to connect the spaces and engage the community while being environmentally sound. This project will continue to evolve through the design process, aiming to support the CDC by proposing meaningful infrastructure improvements while also helping the community understand the root causes of its challenges as well as the range of solutions that exist.