Responsible Parties: Participatory Bio-remediation at Newtown Creek

Responsible Parties: Participatory Bio-remediation at Newtown Creek

In 2010, the US Environmental Protection Agency designated Newtown Creek a Superfund site, promising a thorough environmental cleanup of a neglected waterway that was once one of the busiest hubs of industrial activity in New York City. The EPA identified six “Potentially Responsible Parties” that contributed most significantly to the creek’s contamination, making them liable for its cleanup. These parties include Phelps Dodge, BP, ExxonMobil, Texaco, National Grid, and the City of New York. Despite evidence of pollution, it is often difficult to discern exactly where these transgressions emerged. Perhaps we should take a more holistic look at responsibility and consider cleanup alternatives that establish a culture of ongoing care. I am proposing a variety of ways in which industrial sites can be reclaimed, revalued, and terraformed by the earth’s systems into ecologically robust settings for community engagement. Each proposition employs techniques of bioremediation and participatory design. The spaces generated by these processes serve as living monuments, evolving through user adaptation and natural repair. These strategies not only promote environmental stewardship and ecological function, but they also offer a space for remembrance and healing from a complicated history that is no longer tenable.