Ox Creek runs through the heart of the City of Benton Harbor from the Benton Charter Township commercial district eventually flowing into the Paw Paw and St. Joseph rivers before emptying into Lake Michigan. It is one of the most urbanized portions of the St. Joseph River Watershed that drains 15 Michigan and Indiana counties. Over the past several decades, Ox Creek and its surroundings have been damaged by pollution from industrial sites, illegal dumping, historical disinvestment in local infrastructure, and increased flooding, sedimentation, and nutrient loading due to changing land uses and weather patterns.
The City of Benton Harbor, Michigan, is identified as an underserved community, where people of color have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent racism, poverty, and inequality. Currently containing around 9,000 residents, the City has lost more than half of its peak population in the 1960s and is one of the poorest communities in the United States with a per capita income of $18,393 and a poverty rate of 44.2% (US Census Bureau, 2022). This is in stark contrast with its neighboring “twin” city St. Joseph, which has a per capita income of $55,047 and a poverty rate of 5.8% (US Census Bureau, 2022). The twin cities, with Benton Harbor 85% African American and St. Joseph 86% White, also exhibit a pattern of racial segregation present in many pairs of American cities.
Ox Creek is a key environmental and social element in the City's urban fabric, linking the downtown with neighborhoods and commercial corridors and its history, social life, and natural environment. In 2021, the City Commission declared the creek’s revival a priority by unanimous resolution envisioning a vibrant recreational and economic Ox Creek corridor with a recreational trail, outdoor classrooms, parks, and new commercial and housing opportunities.
The City enlisted support from the state of Michigan to form the Ox Creek Collaborative Partnership, a new model of city leaders, local, state, federal, and academic partners to assist with community engagement, coalition building, developing a revitalization strategy, and obtaining funding to restore and revitalize the Ox Creek corridor.
The Partnership serves as a replicable model to develop capacity building programs to support collaborative partnership development, community planning, and capacity building to restore, increase resiliency and stewardship of Great Lakes ecosystems, support transformational change that improves community wellbeing, creates vibrant communities and economic opportunities, and address environmental justice, equity, and inclusion.