The Kenosha Automotive National Historical Park: An Ethnographic Assessment for Park Design

Abstract

The Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood is a multimillion-dollar development located on a site with significant historical background. What once housed a hub of the automotive industry is now intended to be a neighborhood geared toward tech startups, technology institutes and multifamily housing. While this will benefit the economy of Kenosha, the history of the site is at risk of being lost to time. Focusing on the people that once occupied the site, one can see how important these automotive plants were to not only the employees that worked there but the city of Kenosha itself. Through ethnographic assessments and historical research, the site now aims to represent the long-standing history by incorporating historically appropriate materials, themed areas within the park, informative signs and a cultural trail that will connect the new neighborhood to the existing surrounding ones.