Fresh on the heels of its recent accreditation, UNM's Landscape Architecture Program is looking to improve the aesthetic value of campus-area communities.
The program recently received an $18,000 grant from the UNM Center for Regional Studies to develop an urban landscape network for Albuquerque's historical Martineztown neighborhood.
Martineztown is defined as Martin Luther King Boulevard to Lomas Avenue and Broadway Boulevard to the Regional Medical Center.
Frank Martinez, a research scholar in the School of Architecture and Planning, said that in the 1960s Martineztown was considered "blighted, a slum area" that was slated for total relocation.
Martinez said with the architecture program's help the neighborhood will become a strong example of urban renewal.
"The neighborhood is looking to imprint its history, culture and tradition on the landscape," Martinez said.
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Alf Simon, director of the Landscape Architecture Program, said the goal of his program's collaboration with Martineztown officials is not to produce merely a reflection of what the neighborhood was, but to pay tribute to the people and events of the area that helped shape it.
"We want it to show how the neighborhood is evolving and what's important to its residents," Simon said in a University news release.
Simon said a team from UNM began working with neighborhood officials this summer to learn the history of the area's revitalization efforts and to identify cultural themes that neighborhood residents want them to translate into the landscape when they begin work later this year.
Martinez said one of the themes Martineztown residents want the UNM program to build into their work is the more than 100 years of service St. Joseph's Hospital has provided to the neighborhood.
"By understanding the history we will be able to punctuate the landscape, establish the neighborhood as an entrance, a gateway to downtown," Simon said.
Martinez applauds the neighborhood's residents who withstood modern development and fought to keep the area the way they wanted it.
"Martineztown is one of Albuquerque's most historic areas and has gone through years of problems with regard to land use," Martinez said.
Martinez says he has evidence that the neighborhood's existence dates back as far as 1832.
Simon said the UNM program is ready to help the Martineztown residents realize their dreams of how they want their neighborhood to look.
"We generate ideas," Simon said. "We help clients understand what they want and help them through the stages. This way, when they meet with a consultant they can articulate better what they want."
