The GreenWay Project
“We want a ground to which people may easily go when the day’s work is done, and where they may stroll for an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the bustle and jar of the streets where they shall, in effect, find the city put far away from them…”
Frederick Law Olmsted, 1870
Our String of Pearls
As the first project under SBGC, we’re working alongside government, nonprofit, and private partners to connect ecologically rich green spaces with unique sites of historic and cultural importance on the west side of South Bend — like a string of pearls.
As the project runs through a neighborhood that was once redlined and has seen decades of disinvestment, the string of pearls metaphor references both Frederick Law Olmsted’s notion of a string of parks as an “Emerald Necklace,” and the process of resilience a living creature makes, given the right conditions, to transform trauma and irritation into beauty.
GreenWay Sites
In the map above, you can see a rendering of our “string of pearls” connecting existing parks, locations that will be developed into new green spaces, and historical and culturally prominent sites along our greenway.
Below are images of just few of the many sites that will be included in the first greenway to grow in South Bend. We hope to make it the first of many in the greater Michiana area.
South Bend City Cemetery
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Pearl Park
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ND Center for Civic Innovation
IUSB Civil Rights Heritage Center
Mrs. Nino’s Garden
South Bend Center for History
The Kroc Community Center
Here we grow!
We’re so excited to hit the ground running with this project but we can’t do it alone. There are many ways you can contribute to the GreenWay project and to SBGC. Contact us to find out how you can get involved or visit our donation page if you’d like to contribute financially.