Donde Corre El Agua, or Where the Water Runs, is a community initiated proposal to improve parkland in the Williamson Creek Greenbelt. The project began when three long-time residents, Blanca Ortíz, Elena Rodríguez and Enedina Sánchez, adopted a section of Williamson Creek in the Dove Springs neighborhood. The site is a forested area along the creek where homes stood until a major flooding event in the 90’s. Elders in the Dove Springs neighborhood hold memories of the flood, but also of strolls in the park, candying pecans and maintaining the forested area with their families. In 2020, seeing that the park was in need of improvement, the Creek Adopters initiated a project to transform the natural area. Community members reached out to Go Austin, Vamos Austin (GAVA), Urban Roots, and the Community and Regional Planning program at the University of Texas at Austin. Together they initiated an imaginative and collaborative project. Throughout the process, community members of Dove Springs mapped the area, documented residents’ perspectives on the park, engaged in multi-generational dialogue, and designed prototypes for murals and interpretive signs. Read more about the community proposed project below or visit the plan webpage.
