Growing up in Norfolk’s Coronado community, Zuri Askew said she didn’t see a lot of public places where residents could safely and conveniently spend time outdoors.
Considering potential career paths, she became interested in landscape architecture, which “really is the foundation for many communities,” Askew said.
The profession blends environmental science, architecture and urban design to help build neighborhoods centered around nature.
Askew, who graduated from Norview High School, quickly made the connection to use landscape architecture to revitalize neighborhoods, including in Coronado.
“That really inspired me to create these spaces in underserved communities,” she said. “It’s so important to have green spaces for children, for adults, for everyone.”
Askew is a rising sophomore at North Carolina A&T State University, majoring in landscape architecture and recently won a $2,500 scholarship from the Raleigh-based Whitley Law Firm.
Named after Sandi Fuqua, a former member of Whitley who died in 2020, the award recognizes a student “who exemplifies deep commitment to their community while pursuing their educational and professional goals,” according to the law firm.
“Influenced by how the lack of green spaces impacted her community, she seeks to create spaces of resilience and joy, with a passion for inclusive and restorative design,” the law firm stated in a news release.
Askew isn’t waiting until she returns to school to get started. Home in Norfolk for the summer, Askew began brainstorming a design to reinvigorate a largely abandoned community site, the Coronado School.
The school was built in 1960 for Black elementary students, as the Norfolk school system resisted racial integration.
Just a decade before, the neighborhood had been home to only white residents. Black families started buying homes in Coronado in 1954, sparking violence and intimidation tactics from white neighbors, including fire bombings of Black homes, according to research by the University of Virginia’s Environmental Justice Policy Clinic. White families started leaving in favor of newer suburban communities in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, part of a larger mid-20th century phenomenon known as “white flight.”
In the 1980s, the Coronado School was used to support pregnant teenagers and young mothers, before closing in 2008 because of declining enrollment and funding.
The building now sits empty, next to a large expanse of lawn and an old basketball court. Earlier this year, the city asked real estate firms to submit ideas for redeveloping the site.
Askew sees the spot as an opportunity, partially inspired by a Chicago-based initiative called PopCourts, which turns vacant lots or courts into vibrant plots mixing functional space with community artwork.
Her initial sketch, called “Reclaiming Coronado,” envisions a community garden, playground, bike rack, trees and a renovated basketball court. The design also includes nods to the area’s history, such as an informational plaque.
“It is in the center of a Black neighborhood,” she said. “And I do believe, with the rich history of this land and of this school, I believe we should embrace that history.”
Askew’s proposal is currently theoretical, not associated with any official city planning.
But Zuri’s father, Mark Askew Sr., said he’d love to see her ideas become reality.
He also grew up in Coronado and recalls the basketball court being “packed all of the time,” along with people riding bicycles and playing football.
With the city considering what to do with the land, “I think she's right on time with the opportunity to maybe take this forward,” he said.
