Jennifer Current for Milwaukee

Today is Frederick Law Olmsted's 200th birthday.

As a landscape architect, my career follows in his footsteps.
I strive to bring ideas to reality that consider the natural world and the surrounding social conditions.

The city is a complex system of social, economic, and political layers. Thoughtful design of space has great impacts on the city and to the people.

As a fierce parks advocate, I work to uphold the vision that parks and public space can and will provide opportunities for all citizens, and afford every individual the place to freely be in the restorative effects of landscape.

I will continue to advocate for public space and continue to demand that these big ideas - and big thinkers - are part of civic dialogue and policy making.

*Mariposa Grove

What is public? What is equitable? What are "parks for all"?

As a landscape architect and parks advocate, this topic is part of my every day.

Join me in looking back and looking forward and thinking about how we keep these ideas alive!

Join me Tuesday 4/26 for this conversation.

https://fb.me/e/2bMTIGnGU

I'm am so thankful for all of the support during the campaign. Every person who reached out, donated and voted gives me hope.

I am so proud to be an advocate for the public realm. Understanding cities as systems and thinking big about how design impacts livability, equity, and democracy - and how it should influence policy - this is what I do.

My work continues. I hope you'll follow along and keep supporting!

Fats Triangle

TOMORROW IS THE PRIMARY!!
Join me in helping to move the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors forward!

RIGHT NOW is the time to PROTECT our parks and public spaces for the well-being of our communities and for the health of our planet.

RIGHT NOW is the time to DEFEND our democracy by keeping the commons common and protecting transparency and process.

RIGHT NOW is the time to ACT for the next generation - fair wages, environmental and social justice, public spaces and streets that are free and safe for all.

Climate issues are social justice issues.

A few years ago, I learned about the high amount of sewer backups and localized flooding in the Sherman park neighborhood and an idea to use basements of city-owned homes to store rainwater to prevent flooding.

I organized a group of students to consider what would happen when the houses were demolished. Could we imagine ways to keep the 'idea' of the house to help keep the fabric of the street and neighborhood intact?

These were people's homes and they were part of a collective history.

This is one example of work I do, and will continue to do, for CLIMATE HEALTH and A GREEN, RESILIENT, & ENVIRONMENTALLY JUST MILWAUKEE

"As innovative as the BaseTern was, Current had a hunch that the city would simply cap the BaseTern and plant turfgrass over top, making it indistinguishable from any other vacant lot in the city....
She and her students came up with three concepts....
[and each] design preserves the memory of the house, making visible with hardscape elements the house’s original footprint and limiting rain garden elements to the perimeter. “There’s a history to this,” Current says of the site. “It’s a homestead. People in the neighborhood know the house; they know the people who lived there.” She says it was important not to lose that."

read more here:

FLOOD THIS BASEMENT BY TIMOTHY A. SCHULER From the July 2015 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine. By August, the faded yellow house at 3930 North 35th Street in Milwaukee will be gone. In its place, invisible to …

I will not peddle doom and gloom.

I am here to help spread a message of hope and forward thinking for our parks.

Parks are crucial to supporting the health of the people and the health of the planet. Everyone deserves access to these amazing public spaces.

Please consider a contribution to help me update this narrative!
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/current-mke-1