Ubuntu gathering place opens in Cleveland
Once an auto dealership turned vacant lot, the former eyesore has been transformed into a beautiful public space.
The Ubuntu Gathering Place officially opened in June in Cleveland’s long-neglected Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood, and Mayor Justin M. Bibb, community leaders and representatives of the accredited Western Reserve Land Conservancy and East End Neighborhood House were on hand to celebrate the new public park.
Once an auto dealership turned vacant lot, the former eyesore has been transformed into a beautiful public space that includes walkways, newly planted trees, bioretention cells to mitigate stormwater runoff, an outdoor education space, locally commissioned art walls and a plaza with a depiction of the African continent.
Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning “humanity,” sometimes best translated as “I am because we are,” symbolizing the powerful connection among people. The new park joins the Woodhill Community Garden that Western Reserve Land Conservancy and partners opened recently nearby, where locals will grow and harvest healthy produce for the community.
The community served by the Ubuntu Gathering Place has faced tremendous challenges with high poverty rates, unemployment, poor health outcomes, crime and racism. More than 95% of the neighborhood is African American, and more than 58% of residents live below the poverty line.
“Historic disinvestment is apparent in the lack of high-quality green space and parks in Buckeye-Woodhill,” said Isaac Robb, vice president of planning, research and urban projects at Western Reserve Land Conservancy. “By creating the Ubuntu Gathering Place, pathways of opportunity will be created in a Cleveland neighborhood that has been overlooked for too long.”