Jacob Campbell's presentation followed by a Q&A.

Biocultural Artistry: Equitable Green Space Design on Chicago's South Lakefront
In 2016, teams of artists and community-based organizations from Bronzeville, Pilsen and Chinatown transformed Chicago’s largest Park District Natural Area by installing 5 public art Gathering Spaces along lakefront woodchip trails.

Their designs were inspired by cultural traditions from these neighborhoods that honor the environment and ancestral connections to the land. Since then the artists and partners have brought these spaces to life with multilingual programming through the Roots & Routes initiative including dance and musical performances, cultural festivals, and poetry workshops. The Gathering Spaces have become vital sites for community engagement, cross-cultural exchange and wellness in the outdoors.

This presentation will explore how park design benefits from a focus on the intersection of culture, art and nature, and will describe the Field Museum’s role in this Chicago case example.

Jacob Campbell is an Environmental Anthropologist with the Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum, where he leads the social science team for the Chicago region program. His recent applied research, pedagogy, and collaborative programming has focused on cultural connections to the natural world in urban areas. He works with partners across Chicago to create more equitable city institutions and green spaces that help communities thrive. He specializes in participatory research that informs decision-making about biodiversity conservation, land management, and public space design.

Jacob also is adjunct professor of environmental science at DePaul University. Previously, he worked with artists, organizers and educators on Chicago’s West Side as program manager with the Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College Chicago. Jacob’s approach to community-based research and applied anthropology has emerged through two decades of work with groups that include the Zuni Tribe, U.S. Gulf Coast fisherman, and Trinidadian oilfield workers. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Arizona.