В Норволке планируют создать общественный парк Manresa Wilds для обеспечения равного доступа к природе

For the past six years, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about access and equity in Norwalk. I founded Latinos Unidos Norwalk during the pandemic, when I saw how many Spanish-speaking families in our community were struggling to access basic information about schools, vaccinations, food distribution, and other essential services. What began as a word-of-mouth resource before becoming a Facebook group has grown into a community of more than 8,300 members. Along the way, it has also given me the opportunity to partner with the City, Norwalk Public Schools, the Health Department, and local organizations to help make sure our Latino community has a voice and can access the information and resources our families need. That same question of access is one of the reasons I care so deeply about Manresa Wilds. The project is a chance to transform 125 acres of waterfront that had been closed to the public for decades into a free public park. That opportunity is particularly significant in Connecticut, where approximately 80% of the shoreline is privately owned. Far too many families in Norwalk have few opportunities to experience this extraordinary stretch of shoreline. That is an equity issue. Access to nature and recreation is not equal. Not every family can go on vacation for a weekend or pay for private recreational facilities. And those disparities matter beyond recreation. Research increasingly demonstrates that access to parks and green space can improve both physical and mental health and strengthen social connection, tangible benefits that should be available to people of all income levels. Our city has limited public recreational resources, and South Norwalk in particular needs more places where families and young people can spend time outdoors close to home and reap the many benefits that parks provide. 125 acres of free and accessible park space would open access to something that too often depends on where you live and what you can afford. This summer brought painful reminders that Norwalk needs more safe places and meaningful opportunities for our kids and teenagers. We have taken important steps, including reopening Norwalk Community Recreation Center, but one facility with limited capacity cannot meet the needs of an entire city. We should be thinking ambitiously about how we give young people more ways to connect with their community and more opportunities to learn and grow. Manresa Wilds can — and should — be part of that answer. From the beginning, one of my priorities has been making sure our Latino community is part of this vision. Access is not simply about opening the gates. It means making sure Spanish-speaking families know the park is for them, that information is available in Spanish, and that they have opportunities to experience the site and help shape its future. I intend to stay involved as Manresa Wilds takes shape and advocate for programming that reflects the cultures and communities that make Norwalk what it is. If this is truly going to be a park for all of Norwalk, then all of Norwalk needs to see itself in it. Of course, creating something of this scale comes with legitimate questions, but as we consider these questions, we also need to consider what we stand to gain — and who stands to gain it. For generations, Calf Pasture Beach has shown what public waterfront access can mean to Norwalk, and that there is real demand for waterfront access. Someone once had to make the decision that this shoreline should be available to everyone, and generations of families have benefited from that choice. Today, we have another opportunity to make that kind of decision. More than an amenity, this is an investment in a more inclusive Norwalk. We should absolutely keep asking how to make this park work as well as possible for its neighbors and for the city as a whole. But we should ask another question with equal urgency: How many people will gain opportunities, or simply joy, through Manresa Wilds that they do not have today? For me, that is what this moment comes down to. We have an opportunity to take a piece of Norwalk that has been closed off for generations and make it accessible to families from every part of our city to experience and benefit from. That idea represents the kind of Norwalk I have spent years working toward, and Manresa Wilds gives us a chance to create more of it. liana Zuniga is a 15-year Norwalk resident and an elected member of the Democratic Town Committee representing District D. She previously served on the Norwalk Historic Commission and was a founding commissioner of the city’s Commission on Gender Equity. Editor’s note: This piece is an opinion article. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of the publication or its staff.