By Jordan Cosby and Laura Muñoz
Public Works Partners is dedicated to healing communities with innovative solutions. In Part 1 and Part 2 of our series on reconnecting New York City communities with their waterfronts, we address how people were separated in the first place and propose solutions to build toward a more equitable future. To close out our exploration, we introduce our approach and dedication to uniting New Yorkers with their harbors.
How to Restore New York City's Waterfront Access Using the Public Works Partners Community Justice Index
To create truly equitable and resilient waterfronts, planning efforts must address the historical injustices that have shaped access to New York City’s shorelines. To advance equity and repair historical harms in urban planning, Public Works Partners developed the Community Justice Index. This first-of-its-kind framework embeds principles of repair, reconciliation, and trauma-informed practice into every phase of community-based urban planning.
The Community Justice Index begins with co-creating a shared vision of justice with community members, grounded in both identifying past harms and uplifting community strengths. These visions are then transformed into specific and actionable restorative justice planning strategies, which leverage equitable and trauma-informed approaches to meet community needs. Clear and actionable justice metrics are co-developed with community members and practitioners to ensure that the restorative justice planning strategies are thoughtfully and sustainably implemented.
In the context of waterfront revitalization, the Community Justice Index provides a critical safeguard against repeating the extractive engagement practices and displacement that have too often accompanied development in historically underserved neighborhoods. It offers a clear, actionable model for embedding justice into waterfront revitalization strategies. Efforts such as improving physical access or building equitable resilience infrastructure must also actively repair harm, restore trust, and promote community healing. By grounding waterfront projects in the principles of the Community Justice Index, planners can transform inequitable and long-neglected shoreline sites into places of belonging, stewardship, and lasting benefit for the communities that call them home.
In Conclusion
Urban Planners working in cities tied to waterways must address structural inequities that cut off marginalized communities. As climate change intensifies and environmental injustices continue, the urgency to restore equitable access to the harbor has never been greater. Reconnecting neighborhoods to the water delivers long-term social, environmental, and economic benefits, thus strengthening community well-being and resilience. Achieving this vision requires a holistic, justice-centered approach to waterfront policy that puts communities first.
