The Underdeck will connect Miamians. Let’s advocate for federal funds to help get it done | Opinion

One can’t help but reflect on some of the terms that became commonplace in the past few years: “Partisan political climate.” “Divisive rhetoric.” “Social distancing.” Clearly, it has been a season of discontent and disconnection.

Opportunities to bring us together are essential, and one such initiative in Miami is taking a significant step toward cultivating a renewed connected culture that makes us stronger as family, friends, neighbors and communities.

A collaborative municipal project is in the works specifically designed to create a unifying public space that reconnects communities and provides an urban greenway to gather, recreate and engage with one another. With this project, our city can demonstrate the power of public engagement and civic collaboration to design and develop a public space that inspires a connected future while acknowledging a disconnected past.

The Underdeck, the working name for the 33-acre public open space under a reconstructed Interstate 395, will be a linear one-mile multipurpose green space connecting Overtown on the west to Biscayne Bay to the east. With ample space for public events, cultural activities and programming options, the community benefits will be as diverse as the neighborhoods that this space connects.

While the I-95/I-395 construction of the 1960s decimated the thriving community of Overtown with indifference to the human consequences, this project is being actively supported by the Underdeck Committee, a committed collective of advocates intent on ensuring the project remains a community-inspired connective space.

With community engagement a priority since the inception of this project, a memorandum of understanding provided by the Miami City Commission empowered this committee to facilitate public advocacy for project funding, while also activating stakeholder engagement and amplifying community voices.

Atlanta has a similar project in progress called The Stitch. Oregon has Pioneer Courthouse Square, a gathering place for people known as “Portland’s Living Room.’ Here in Miami, we have our neighbor to the south, The Underline, an urban trail and public art destination.

The Underdeck, supported by active civic engagement and public input, will provide a uniquely developed public green space directly influenced by the people of Miami.

As the Underdeck Committee has galvanized residents, business owners and other community members to join working groups and make recommendations impacting project governance, management and funding; the local imprint on this project is undeniable. We now have an opportunity for significant federal support.

The Florida Department of Transportation — FDOT — and the city of Miami are in the process of securing additional funding for the Underdeck through the Reconnecting Communities Program, sponsored and funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

As announced by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in June, it is the first federal program dedicated to reconnecting communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure. Sound familiar?

The application for this program is being submitted now. With the budget for the Underdeck consensus plan currently estimated at $53 million, the potential $26.5 million that could be secured by this federal funding warrants a collective commitment for this application by state, county and city leadership. As a unified Miami, we all should be lobbying our federal elected officials and the U.S. Department of Transportation to approve our application for these funds, ensuring that this transformative and connective community green space comes to full fruition.

It’s not often that a municipal project is as intentional with its integration of community engagement as this project has been. It’s also not often that federal funding opportunities fit a project as perfectly as the Reconnecting Communities Program. Considering that this legacy project is well into the planning phase and “shovel-ready,” these additional funds for construction would be a win for Miami.

The commitment of the city of Miami and FDOT to secure these funds should be commended, celebrated and supported by our collective activism.

You, too, have a role to play. Your voice matters, and by visiting the Underdeck website you can find out how to attend a meeting or join a working group. With all of us connected and collaborating in this effort, we can ensure that the Underdeck remains a project of the people, by the people, for the people.

Rebecca Mandelman is the chair of the Underdeck Advisory Committee. To get involved and advocate for the project, visit www.underdeckmiami.com

This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 1:04 PM.