The Potency of Hope
And a Future Green Plaza
Hope is a powerful phenomenon, a state of mind where you believe the future will be better, a confidence that solutions can be found, and an assurance that you can meaningfully participate in those solutions. Hope is a way of thinking and has an emotional component. It is more than wishful thinking or unquestioning optimism because it involves taking action towards attaining goals.
To be sustained, hope requires that we appreciate complexity and understand that progress is not linear. To maintain hope, we need to make room for imperfect solutions and steps in the right direction. Leonard Cohen beautifully describes the practice of hope: "Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in."
We are healthier with hope. Many studies have shown a range of physical and emotional benefits to feeling hopeful—including a stronger immune system, a better prognosis in chronic illness, protection against anxiety and depression, greater resiliency and a heightened capacity to recover from adversity, and higher pain tolerance. One reason for these benefits is that when we are hopeful, we feel more agency, even in the face of discomfort and uncertainty. When we encounter setbacks, we are more likely to persevere when we have hope.
Hope, just like pessimism, is contagious. But hope, when it leads to meaningful action, is inspiring. While hope alone will not solve problems, especially the complex ones we face such as climate change, it does lead to an openness to stay engaged. We must channel the energy generated from the state of hope into practical action. Vibrant communities find ways for people to plug into ongoing meaningful action, creating an environment of hope.
The future will be challenging and we know it; hope doesn't require ease. But if we create and sustain a collective state of hope and welcome everyone under its umbrella, we can purposefully move forward together. Focusing on the values or goals we agree on and committing to being in it together, there is room for passionate differences on how to get where we need to go.
Tangible success stories help us maintain hope. I previously wrote about Depave, an organization that breaks up asphalt and concrete in disenfranchised areas and creates more green surfaces. An essential component of their projects includes re-envisioning these spaces for the community, especially in neighborhoods with less access to parks and green spaces. In the earlier essay, I highlighted the need for regional governments to get on board and facilitate more communal green spaces. Today, I share a hopeful illustration of what that looks like in Portland, Oregon.
The central east side of Portland, Oregon is a bustling area expected to have substantial population growth within the next decade. In a city known for its green spaces, there is no walkable park available to residents in this neighborhood or one that can be reached without crossing dangerous intersections.
One intersection, Southeast 7th Avenue, as it turns into Sandy Boulevard and Washington Street, is known by bikers to be treacherous. Sandy Boulevard runs on a diagonal along an old Native American trade route. It has always challenged city planners because it is not laid out on a grid. This sliver of land is dangerous and problematic for traffic or parking use. Yet, from a walking standpoint, it has tremendous potential. Over the past three years, it has been the site of a pop-up community gathering space.
Depave has collaborated with other organizations and local governments for the past three years to create a Future Green Plaza at 7th and Sandy Boulevard. During this time, they got a permit for a yearly block party there, closing off traffic and inviting neighbors to skate, sit in the shade, and enjoy the space and each other. The block party was a way to demonstrate to the city how useful this neglected piece of land could be to the community.
This summer, they were granted a special three-month permit to use the land as a public shared space for neighbors, artists, and organizers. Not only was there the yearly block party, but through September, it is a space for ongoing creative events such as a film festival, concerts, and puppet show. Community programs included a skating fundraiser for a recovery program and a clean-up event where 52 bags of garbage were collected.
Depave has been working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) for nearly three years to create a permanent design for a communal green space at this corner that everyone can agree upon. An essential component of Depave projects, beyond removing non-porous surfaces, is making detailed plans for communally repurposing the land. The organization also works to secure the necessary funding.
There have been delays in moving this project forward, but the great news is that shovels will break ground on the permanent green space starting in 2026! This corner will now be safer for bikers and pedestrians. Beyond that, this project is a hopeful illustration of how, through persistence and relationship building, creative solutions are found, which take into account diverse stakeholders and are community-centric.