Farish Street gets breath of fresh air with new green space

More than a year after breaking ground, Jackson residents and city officials gathered Monday morning to celebrate the opening of Farish Street Green and Urban Forest, a project that has transformed a once-vacant lot in one of the city’s historic neighborhoods into a cooling green space intended to combat extreme heat.

Along North Farish Street, young sycamores, maples and sumacs are beginning to spread their branches over grass, walking trails and lounge areas, replacing a landscape that offered little refuge from the summer heat.

The project grew out of research begun by the nonprofit 2C Mississippi in late 2020 to examine extreme heat in Jackson. Data gathered by volunteers from Jackson State University and the University of Mississippi Medical Center found that parts of downtown could be more than 10 degrees hotter during the summer than areas on the city’s outskirts. The findings helped spur plans to add trees and green space along Farish Street.

It was made in partnership with Tree Urban Design, Jackson Community Design Center and the Jackson Redevelopment Authority — costing around $500,000, according to Tree Urban Design Architect Travis Crabtree. 

“If you’re sitting there thinking, I hope this wraps up before it gets too hot. That’s the whole point,” Ward 7 Councilmember Kevin Parkison said to the crowd. 

The project is a part of an effort to eliminate urban heat islands — which suffer from higher temperatures because of asphalt and concrete. The addition of trees and other greenery aims to create shaded areas and reduce ambient temperatures.

2C Mississippi founder Dominika Parry said the alarmingly high heat in the area, alongside the historical significance of the area, made it easy to choose where to place the green space.

The project will continue to monitor temperature and humidity in the area over the next two years using stationary and handheld sensors. The findings will be used to help develop future projects to reduce Jackson’s urban heat islands, if data shows the tree canopies lower the area’s temperature, Parry said.

“The idea for 2C Mississippi is to provide as many projects as there is a demand,” Parry said in an interview Friday.

This is not the final project the 2C Mississippi and Tree Urban Design are working with the city to tackle.

2C Mississippi is using its resources to green areas for flood control near the Jackson Zoo. Tree Urban Green has been working alongside the city of Jackson and the Jackson River District Partnership to revitalize a 30-acre landfill near Old Brandon Road into a riverfront park.

Tree Urban Design has also announced plans in conjunction with developer Gabriel Padro to revitalize the abandoned YMCA building in the greater Belhaven area into a mixed residential recreational space. The City Council approved rezoning the area in August. 

The 9-acre space will cost $60 million to redevelop.

“We’re planning some new exciting improvements that should be hopefully starting early this fall or early this spring,” Crabtree said.

Farish Street Green’s opening marks a new chapter for the historic district in downtown Jackson that was once the hub of Black-owned businesses  — with hopes that the revitalization will help the city’s efforts to breathe new life into the area. 

“Projects like this can help create momentum and encourage additional investment and contribute to continued monopolization to Farish Street and downtown Jackson,” city spokesperson Nic Lott said at the green space’s ribbon cutting.