Residents of Overtown, where The Underdeck will begin near Gibson Park, want to reclaim the space where their neighborhood was once divided and destroyed by the original construction of the I-95 highway in the 1960s. But others are hesitant to attribute The Underdeck solely to Overtown when it will ultimately extend across the Florida East Coast Railway tracks toward Biscayne Bay, reaching key cultural institutions like the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
The Underdeck committee, tasked with engaging and advocating on behalf of residents and stakeholders while creating its own plan for the park, has been hosting community meetings to discuss the branding process. During the first half of March, it held four virtual discussions to introduce the names it has come up with.
The names are divided into three groups. Group one focuses on “paying homage to Overtown and looking toward a connected future for Miami,” including names like “Towners Mile” and “Heritage Trail.” Group two vows to “[celebrate] the melding of people, neighborhoods and cultures that make up the rich fabric of Miami,” including names such as “Soul Mile” and “Legends Place.” Group three “[calls] for reconnection and coming together in the face of what the overpass has separated,” displaying names which emphasize the word “unity.”
