In 2018, Arts New Orleans in partnership with the Downtown Development District (DDD) secured a Project for Public Spaces (PPS) Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community grant to reinvigorate Duncan Plaza. Long known as a site where civic activity and social issues play out in New Orleans, Duncan Plaza was the site of Occupy demonstrations as well as temporary housing after Hurricane Katrina. But despite being nestled between the New Orleans City Hall and a public library, Duncan Plaza has been habitually under-used, and its neighbors and users are ready to bring new activity to the space.
The Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community grant program was developed to support and activate public spaces in the heart of cities served by Southwest Airlines. The program leveraged the power of placemaking to spark social, economic, and environmental benefits in communities across the United States and abroad.
Arts New Orleans and the DDD started with short-term experiments that could pave the way for future longer-term transformations to the park. After a comprehensive community outreach process, it was clear that users of the space wanted wellness programming, green space for recreation, and food trucks to become a part of the plaza. With this in mind, the updates began to set the stage for an entirely new Duncan Plaza.
Among the first changes to the space was a wider array of seating options, the most distinctive of which were designed and painted bright purple by local artist Danielle Hein with One to One Architects. Additional moveable seating and tables were added as park amenities. A temporary dog park also took over a small corner of the plaza, and since opening its gates, has demonstrated just how much local pet owners could benefit from more open space in the area. Arts New Orleans also implemented Marketplace, a pop-up arts market through the term of grant support.
A permanent light installation by Cordula Roser Gray and Marcela del Signore also remains in the park. Vectorflow consists of five canopies which revive the value of the park as a public amenity, addressing lack of visibility and public safety. The red canopies—which on their own attract visitors with their bright colors and unique design—provide motion-sensor lighting at night and shade during the day.
Duncan Plaza continues to be revitalized and renewed with various civic services and uses which benefit from the investment and infrastructure provided by the Southwest Heart of the Community grant.
