JACKSON, Miss.—When Dorothy Davis moved to Jackson, Mississippi, as a little girl in the 1960s, Farish Street seemed like the center of the universe. The downtown district had become a hub for Black businesses and culture during legal segregation in the state, and Davis vividly recalls shopping at the stores along its main thoroughfare and eating Frosted Flakes at the corner restaurant.
“It’s my heart,” Davis said of Farish Street, which was designated as a historic district in 1980 but fell on hard times in later decades. She’s lived in the neighborhood since she was eight years old, she explained, and she’s watched shuttered storefronts and empty sidewalks steadily replace its once-bustling crowds.
Davis is now part of an effort to revitalize Farish Street through green infrastructure. Working with the environmental nonprofit 2C Mississippi, she and other community members are creating a green space in the neighborhood that will serve as a gathering spot for residents and a natural buffer against extreme heat.
The Farish Street Commons project was among the initiatives discussed at the 2025 Parks & Trails Forum in Jackson, where local groups and public officials highlighted plans to revive or establish new green spaces around the capital city. The Oct. 30, 2025, forum was hosted by the Great City Mississippi Foundation, an organization working to boost mobility and quality of life for residents by connecting parks, museums and other public spaces…