Root Network
Ecological corridors woven into urban neighborhoods, living infrastructure designed by the people who live there.
Project Philosophy
Living infrastructure woven block by block into the fabric of urban neighborhoods.
Media
Sculpture garden with organic forms in green setting
Art gallery corridor with curated environmental works
Geometric architecture integrated with urban green space
The Experience
What It Feels Like
Walking a Root Network corridor feels different from walking an ordinary sidewalk. The ground is permeable. Rainwater soaks in rather than running off. Native plantings line both sides, buzzing with pollinators that have returned since the corridor was installed. Murals and sculptural markers designed by neighborhood residents tell the story of each block. Children use the corridors as safe walking routes to school. Elders tend small garden plots embedded in the pathway. The corridor is infrastructure, art, ecology, and community space woven into a single continuous thread through the neighborhood, proof that urban nature and urban life can share the same ground.
This project is currently in Design Development stage. The experience above reflects the artist's vision for the completed work.
Origin
The Story Behind It
Fatima Al-Hassan grew up in a neighborhood in East Oakland where the nearest park was a 20-minute bus ride away, but vacant lots were on every block. She became a landscape architect specifically to answer the question: why do some neighborhoods have nature and others don't? After a decade of community organizing and design work, Fatima realized that isolated parks weren't enough. Neighborhoods needed continuous ecological infrastructure woven into their daily paths. Root Network is the synthesis of her life's work: a design framework that embeds ecological corridors into the fabric of underserved neighborhoods, one block at a time, designed by the people who live there.
Ambition
What We're Working Toward
- Install ecological corridors across 6 urban blocks in a pilot neighborhood
- Increase permeable surface area by 30% in the pilot zone
- Engage 300+ residents in participatory design and installation
- Create a replicable toolkit for community-led ecological corridor design
- Document measurable improvements in biodiversity, stormwater capture, and urban heat
Progress
Where It Stands
Field Notes
Latest from the Studio
The People Behind It
Fatima Al-Hassan
Lead Creator
DNA
Domains
Pathways
Stage
Design DevelopmentReach Out
Get in Touch
Want to support, host, or collaborate on this project? We'd love to hear from you.
Contact the Team