When: Tuesday, October 10 from 6-8 p.m. 

Where: Washington Brazilian Seventh-day Adventist Church (formerly Lakeland High School) – 8108 54th Ave, College Park, MD 20740

Who is invited? This event is for anyone who lives in Lakeland, members of the Lakeland diaspora, College Park residents, and anyone else with interest in a just future for Lakeland. 

Who is invited? This event is for anyone who has or currently lives in Lakeland, members of the Lakeland diaspora, College Park residents, the Restorative Justice Commission, city officials, and anyone interested in a just future for Lakeland. 

Who is hosting this event? Graduate students and instructors from the Fall 2023 Community Planning Studio at UMD, in partnership with UMD’s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) 

Background:

For decades, Lakelanders have endured the harmful effects of exclusionary planning and development practices. In their efforts to survive and overcome these harms, many Lakelanders (past and present) have done powerful work for this community, from preserving collective memory to envisioning what Lakeland can become in the future. In 2022, graduate students from UMD’s Community Planning Studio partnered with Lakeland and College Park to create a Scenario Planning Report. 

This fall semester, our class aims to build upon the foundational efforts initiated by the previous Fall 2022 studio and we are partnering with Lakeland and the City of College Park to contribute to the restorative justice process in the community. While our work as a class in Lakeland is only for a semester, we hope to use our collective power as students and future planners to uplift the work that has been done and to push the needle forward. The final report that we will produce at the end of this semester will be published online and shared with the city and Smart Growth advocates.

We hope to foster a space where healing can continue for residents who have endured generational harms as they have strived to build a life and a future in this community. Together, we will collectively dream of what restorative justice, housing, climate change mitigation/adaptation, and community infrastructure can look like in Lakeland’s future. More importantly, Come as you are! Bring your ideas, your emotions, and your appetite. 

Sincerely, 

The Fall 2023 Community Planning Studio