Neighbors Create Do-it-yourself Community Park in Solidarity with Occupation Movement

Independent of and in solidarity with the growing worldwide Occupation Movement, neighbors have occupied a lot, vacant for decades, and built a DIY public park and a resource for the community. The neglected lot at the corner of Spruce and Pacific has lain vacant and unused for decades. Where formerly it held only trash and occasionally broken furniture, now there are raised flower beds and fruit trees.

On Saturday, volunteer gardeners gathered at dawn to build raised concrete flower beds, plant shrubs and fruit trees, and build benches. By early afternoon they hung a sign to welcome people to the new community park. "This is an ongoing process of creation," said one of the gardeners, "We'll be planting through the winter. As these new sprouts take root it will be beautiful!"

This is an effort to reclaim the commons, to reverse the trend toward privatization of space and give it back to communities. The new community park is a place to hang out, spend time and meet friends, a place to find one another. For two decades in Santa Cruz , public space has increasingly been fenced off, restricted, and sold to commercial interests. Capitalism strives to restrict the commons, to keep us separate, isolated, and vulnerable.

The public is invited to check out the community park at Spruce and Pacific one block from Laurel. Here in Santa Cruz's newest public space, the message is that DIY is all about taking responsibility for the community around you.