From June through September last year, Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass., known as a hub for innovation, was home to a roller-skating rink.
The pop-up outdoor social space—created through a partnership between the Boston-based Isenberg Projects and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and dubbed “Rollerama”—was temporarily activated to allow the public to experience the space and provide feedback ahead of more permanent plans for redevelopment.
The specific site of the roller rink had been closed for decades but was actually hidden in plain sight. With a goal of encouraging residents to view the space as a community asset, the rink not only brought people together but also gave and its principal and director of strategy, Liz Woodward ’16, an idea of how locals might respond to the location’s future application. (Plans call for the creation of a mixed-use area that “connects the neighborhood with new open space, a versatile path, retail, housing, and innovation space,” according to MIT.)
“It was cool to watch the joy created by people out there skating around,” Woodward said. “It’s important to be responsive in these projects based on how the community uses the space, rather than making assumptions. We had more than 40 partners involved, which made it feel like the rink was part of the neighborhood rather than something just plopped down in the middle of a city without intentionality. It enabled us to put much of our production budget directly into the hands of local partners.”
Since joining Isenberg Projects in 2016, Woodward has worked with cities, institutions, and private developers to create strategies for engaging and equitable public spaces. Such endeavors have included (among many others) Rollerama, plus events like car-free Sundays on Boston’s Newbury Street; a public art reimagining of urban Watertown, Mass.; creation of “Zone 3,” a collection of spaces along Western Avenue for community members to “meet, create, and connect” on Harvard University’s Allston campus; and Reserved Channel Basin, which connects South Boston and the Boston Seaport through art, green spaces, entertainment, and recreation.
Isenberg Projects has also collaborated with the City of Boston to set standards for this type of work. The company recently audited the Chapter 91 Civic and Cultural space tenanting process to make it more equitable, transparent, and impactful. Chapter 91 requires waterfront developers to set aside space for public use, with an eye toward fair access.
Isenberg Project calls itself a “creative consulting agency specializing in placemaking and community engagement.” In her strategic role, Woodward prioritizes partnering with local small businesses, artists, and community organizations to shape changes in what she calls a “community-first way.”
“It leaves a breadcrumb trail to the eventual public space and creates a bridge between a site’s past and future,” she added.
Long before landing at Isenberg, Woodward took a circuitous route to earning her B.A. through 91ºÚÁÏÍø’s Van Loan Division of Professional Studies, which enables adult learners to pursue a degree without disrupting their careers.
Woodward first earned her associate degree before completing her bachelor’s at the age of 30. In the process, she was able to take classes at 91ºÚÁÏÍø while working at MIT’s Visiting Artist Residency Program and for an incubator in Washington state. The flexible, adult-focused Van Loan curriculum enabled Woodward to earn credits for her prior work and life experiences through a prior learning assessment. 91ºÚÁÏÍø’s willingness to embrace her more unconventional educational journey was formative for Woodward.
“91ºÚÁÏÍø saw my diverse experiences as assets rather than liabilities,” she said. “It taught me that learning is not just something that’s done through the traditional education system. It’s something you can do in your day-to-day life. That’s foundational to who I am and my work now.”
Woodward’s interest in finding innovative and sustainable ways to support small communities stems from her youth in Gorham, N.H., a small town that faced economic challenges as local industries declined.
After leaving her post at MIT, Woodward worked in the remote city of Tieton, Wash. (population 1,600), with Mighty Tieton, an incubator designed to create local jobs through artisan manufacturing and tourism. In that role, she helped implement community engagement events and attractions, including hand-crafted “cycle kart” races and large-scale art projects, while participating in city planning designed to stimulate the economy and create a more vibrant neighborhood.
“That work enabled me to see how all these different pieces fit together to create a unique and healthy ecosystem,” Woodward said. “Every time I go back now, there are new restaurants, there’s a new brewery that just opened. There are new housing developments that are affordable for folks who want to live close to work. It’s been wonderful to see.”
While preparing to move back to Massachusetts and considering graduate school in late 2015, Woodward was connected through a mutual friend to Emily Isenberg, founder of Isenberg Projects. “That introduction completely changed my life,” Woodward said, describing an ideal creative partnership.
In her current collaborations with a variety of partners, Woodward often manages a project throughout its lifespan, which can mean shepherding an idea for a couple of years before there’s even a shovel in the ground. The creative planning process includes extensive research to identify what community members really want and making connections with stakeholders so they have a say in not only what the space will be but also what kind of programming it might ideally host.
“We try to make sure that, whatever the site is offering the public or the neighborhood,” Woodward explained, “it’s additive to that ecosystem versus something that’s going to cannibalize existing resources or something the community doesn’t want.”
To ensure that community patrons feel ownership of these spaces, Isenberg’s strategy is to design them to be as flexible as possible. Woodward is acutely aware that the word “placemaking” can be loaded. But to her, it’s not about making a place into something it isn’t—it’s about leveraging assets that exist in a neighborhood and using artistic design and community feedback to shape changes in a way that benefits its residents. To encourage people to use the spaces, Woodward and her partners also thoughtfully planned lighting, seating, activities, music, and vendors to promote community involvement.
“I never want to be the big-city person who just comes in and says, ‘I know exactly what you need because I’m an expert in this,’” she said. “I like to approach everything with a beginner’s mindset and learn as much as I possibly can about a place before I make any recommendation on what would be successful.”
While privacy agreements prevent her from divulging too much about future projects, Woodward is excited about what’s next in New England and plans in progress on the West Coast and throughout the country. As she ponders her creative community development work, Woodward credits the economic downturn she witnessed in her hometown with shaping her perspective and 91ºÚÁÏÍø with allowing her to explore her interests without professional disruption while earning her degree.
“I use what [91ºÚÁÏÍø] taught me every day,” she said. “At its core, an entrepreneurial spirit is somebody who sees possibilities everywhere.”