By NICOLE LOPEZ, FORT WORTH REPORT
Nov. 16, 2024

Allison Docker believes Fort Worth is home to special open spaces, particularly those that showcase native ecology “unlike anything else.”

It is a priority for Fort Worth to preserve and highlight the city’s open space in a way that is “authentic and sustainable and will be here for generations of the future to enjoy,” she said.

In her new role as the city’s green space champion, Docker is ready to push open space and land conservation goals forward.

“I’m just really excited to continue to build on these efforts,” said Docker.

The 2023 inception of Mayor Mattie Parker’s green space initiative, Good Natured, encouraged Docker to contribute to the city’s open space program.

“It got me really excited about the potential opportunities for Fort Worth,” said Docker. “We’ve got fantastic parks, we’ve got great open spaces. We have room to grow.”

Docker was first introduced by Deputy City Manager Mark McDaniel as the city’s newest green space champion in an Oct. 8 City Council meeting. The position is special to McDaniel — he was the city’s first green space champion in 2023 before being named to his current title early this year.

“We have found the right person for the job. I’m excited about how she really has taken the ball and run with it on a number of fronts,” said McDaniel.

Bringing urban design to green space conservation

While her work spans projects all over the country, 15 years of Docker’s career — largely in commercial landscape design — have been spent in North Texas, with eight of them in Fort Worth. 

Docker’s portfolio of projects predominantly includes those focused on adaptive reuse, pedestrian infrastructure, and urban parks and infrastructure. Her experience goes beyond urban architecture, as she has also spearheaded projects surrounding restoration and preservation of native wildlife and habitats. 

In 2018, she was named director of urban design and placemaking for Near Southside Inc. Through the nonprofit, focused on revitalizing the Fort Worth neighborhood south of downtown, she was tasked with shepherding private developments through the city’s development process and working on public projects, particularly city parks. Those projects include bringing the Crawford Park, Fire Station Skate Plaza and Calhound Dog Park to fruition. 

Docker’s expertise expanded Near Southside Inc.’s skillset, said the nonprofit’s president, Mike Brennan. 

“Allison has a fantastic technical background in landscape architecture. She brought that experience, which was very valuable because not only was she managing projects in partnership with city departments … but she became essentially a member of the design team for those projects,” said Brennan. 

The new green space champion also played a vital role in other Near Southside Inc. initiatives, such as its small places program overseeing smaller parks such as the Magnolia Micro-Park.

Every project under Docker, big or small, was “a huge accomplishment” for the southside of Fort Worth, said Brennan. 

Following her 2022 departure from Near Southside Inc., Docker moved on to revisit commercial design but still closely worked with the nonprofit to enhance streetscape elements such as pedestrian infrastructure. 

Near Southside Inc.’s efforts are reflective of partnerships — such as Good Natured and the city’s open space conservation program — that are “key to delivering amazing public spaces” and strengthening the community, said Docker. Through her background in landscape architecture, Docker aims to bring Near Southside Inc.’s mission and her experience with the nonprofit to Fort Worth’s green space initiative. 

What does the green space champion aim to achieve?

Several plans are underway in regard to the city’s open space program, according to McDaniel. Because of this, the city searched for a candidate who can help move plans along, and most importantly, achieve the goals of Good Natured. 

The green space initiative is designed to preserve 10,000 acres of land, including parkland, by 2028. With Docker’s appreciation for natural space, passion for public service and community involvement, McDaniel is confident she can help the city reach that goal. 

“She has a passion for making a bigger difference here in Fort Worth in this new role,” said McDaniel. 

The position has been vacant since McDaniel took on the deputy city manager position in January. He will still be heavily involved in overseeing green space projects, including closely working with Docker. 

“We’ve got some pretty exciting projects that we’re working on and I think that the next year should be full of activity, with regard to all the things that (Docker’s) got on her plate,” said McDaniel. 

Under her leadership, Docker wants to provide the city the bandwidth to more clearly define green space’s role and contribution to communities. 

“Green space doesn’t stop at our city limits. It affects all the communities. Everything I’ve ever been taught is that we’re all connected,” said Docker. 

That “connection” to green space is also defined by other elements of landscaping such as flooding infrastructure, streetscape design and urban tree canopy, according to Docker. 

She has also considered how to create more accessible channels to Fort Worth’s open and green spaces through the city’s existing infrastructure and development. Docker recalled a conversation with Community Design Fort Worth board member and landscape architect Laurie Olin. Olin referred to streets as “every city’s largest public space.”

“What if we position streets as ways to connect people to nature and green space and bike and pedestrian-friendly conditions and streets that really accommodate trees to grow for 50-plus years?” said Docker. “That’s really what I’m hoping to kind of bring to the table, is thinking, throughout the context of the whole city, the role that green space can play as a system.”

Because of this, she foresees several city departments working closely together. 

“I’m hoping to push green space and Good Natured efforts to the city in a very collaborative way that involves all the departments,” said Docker. 

She has already been fully tapped into her role, as she is currently focused on open space acquisitions, finalizing the finishing touches on Good Natured’s framework and fostering partnerships to meet open space goals. 

“We’re hitting our goals for the acreage acquisitions,” said Docker. “I, personally, just really believe that everyone should have access to nature, and the city should be designed for everyone: old, young, disabled, able-bodied, pedestrians, cyclists.”

With several projects still in the works for Good Natured, Docker applauds the program’s successes so far and looks forward to its future. 

“My hope is to bring my technical experience on the landscape architecture side to help enhance the work that’s already being done through Good Natured,” said Docker. 

This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.