Belonging Begins with Us is a partnership between the Ad Council and a coalition of partner organizations from across the country. Together, our mission is to create a more welcoming nation where everyone can belong. More than ever, finding points of connection and shared experiences is key to creating strong, supportive communities. We can all play a part in making sure everyone feels like they belong.

I led Trust for Public Land’s membership in the coalition for more than two years, during which time I incubated public space research and supported six field office design projects that built a sense of belonging and welcoming across a variety of American communities.

Anne Frank Elementary School in Dallas has a diverse student body, but some surrounding residents misunderstand and feel threatened by the school’s diverse student population. Placemaking funds from the campaign highlighted student stories and culture using participatory engagement methods, designed to encourage stronger bonds with neighbors.

Sarah Smith Elementary School in Atlanta is located in an affluent, predominantly white neighborhood, with a highly diverse student population bussed from the periphery of the city, resulting in one of Atlanta’s highest ESL rates. A participatory design program created spaces for students to learn about each other’s cultural history and identity. And local neighbors worked with students at the school to install multicultural and inclusive artwork.

East Lake Park in Chattanooga remains culturally isolated from other parts of the city, so TPL launched its first-ever portrait-arts engagement at the park titled East Lake Family Picture Day. TPL plans to launch three more series in three new neighborhood parks based.

Delta Park in Greeley, CO, is an under-programmed, largely empty green space. The campaign supported TPL to pilot two community events at Delta Park that leverage arts, culture, food, and soccer to bridge the divide between Latino and East African refugee residents who live nearby.

Central Village Park in St. Paul, MN, is in a neighborhood where Somali refugees have settled into dense housing complexes, and they have not had a park in which they feel safe, invited, or proud. The campaign supported a 12-month arts intervention in the park that used performance, music, and figurative park interventions to build relationships between an historic Black community and East African immigrants.

Cascade View Park in Tukwila, WA, sits in the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in Washington State and is a haven for refugees from East Africa practicing Islam. The campaign supported placemaking for Muslim-American community leaders to open dialogue about food and drink and documented two engagement activities as potential scalable bridge-building strategies for other local park systems near Tukwila.