This presentation is a call to action via social justice photography. It's true that a picture is worth a thousand words.

1. The KK River Flood Management Project
Ilona Gonzalez Spring 2012

2. The KK River Flood Management Project was originally approved in 2004, but home
purchases did not begin until 2009 when the first 27 of 84 total properties were acquired
by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District (MMSD).
The project involves removing “12,000 linear feet of crumbling concrete lining the KK
River between Sixth and 27th streets and expanding the channel from the current 60 feet
to as much as 200 feet wide” according to the Kinnickinnic River Watercourse
Management Plan as cited in the Bay View Compass, October, 2009. In order to do so,
many homes will need to be acquired and demolished.
KK River project manager, Dave Fowler, said to Compass reporter, Michael Timm, “there
was no timetable for acquiring the properties. He said the process could take three to 10
years…”
http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/2233
OVERVIEW

4. Welcome to 9th
and Harrison
These homes stand empty, waiting to be
demolished and are being vandalized in
the mean time.

10. As homes are left vacant, the homeless are repurposing their foundations. Behind these boards, is someone’s bed.

13. Although the KK River Flood
Management Project was launched to
beautify the neighborhood and raise
property values, the streets continue to
deteriorate as the city neglects its
responsibilities to the people who call this
place home.

15. This photo was taken on a Sunday. Milwaukee Waste Management claimed
the last trash pickup in the area was the previous Wednesday or Thursday…

16. Several blocks from 2631, trash cans stand overflowing. The city’s neglect was not an isolated incident.

17. These kids should be playing at a local park. Instead, they are looking for aluminum.

18. In the midst of all the hopelessness, stands a boy on this filthy bridge caressing a girl’s face
as though it’s the most beautiful place in the neighborhood…

19. It should be.
TODAY.