Back in D.C., Kratz began to think about the really complicated ways the 11th Street Bridge Park might impact surrounding communities. The project, which is getting half of its construction money from D.C. and will launch a major capital campaign this year, spans two areas with very different economic realities: the tonier Ward 6 neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and the Navy Yard neighborhoods to the northwest and the Ward 8 neighborhoods of Anacostia and Fairlawn to the southeast. 

“It’s really critical that we’re thinking presciently about how to ensure that the thousands of people who have helped shape this project can be the ones that benefit from it, while at the same time mitigating any potential displacement,” says Kratz. To that end, the organization has created an equitable development task force to guide programs and policies that might give residents to the southeast of the park the economic stability to stay in their neighborhood in the face of real estate pressures.