Portland, Oregon: Tanner Springs Park

Posted on November 7, 2018 by jehollow

City: Portland
Country / US State / US Territory: Portland
Type of Solution: N/A
Climate Impact: Extreme Precipitation and Flooding, Air Quality
Social Value Created: Public Spaces; recreation, arts and culture; active living; transportation diversity

Tanner Springs Park is a park located in Portland, Oregon. The park mimics a wetland that captures and filters stormwater, reducing flooding during extreme precipitation events and improving water quality. Additionally, the wetland helps to improve air quality. The wetland design helps to promote biodiversity, as well.

The project also provides the community with accessible public space and has a number of social benefits for the community. Tanner Springs Park features a boardwalk and art installation on the east side of the park, and there is a recreational path running through the central area of the park. The art installation contributes to the community’s arts and culture. Recreational trails contribute to active lifestyles, as well as improve walkability and bikeability that contributes to diversity of transportation.

Community members were also engaged in the design process through surveys and planning charrettes in order to provide socially valuable features for that particular community.

Fig: The environmental services offered by Tanner Springs Park. Image credit Dreiseitl. (Photo retrieved from https://land8.com/tanner-springs-park-an-oasis-in-the-middle-of-the-city/)

Fig: Residents using the park for recreation. Photo credit: Lavalle Linn. Photo retrieved from (https://land8.com/tanner-springs-park-an-oasis-in-the-middle-of-the-city/)

Fig: Blue Heron using the wetland area in the park. Image credit Dreiseitl. (photo retrieved from https://land8.com/tanner-springs-park-an-oasis-in-the-middle-of-the-city/)

Sources

Landscape Architects Network. (May 5, 2015). Tanner Springs Park, an oasis in the middle of the city. Retrieved from https://land8.com/tanner-springs-park-an-oasis-in-the-middle-of-the-city/.

Chicago, Illinois: Adsorptive Playgrounds

Posted on November 6, 2018 by jehollow

City: Chicago
Country / US State / US Territory: Illinois
Type of Solution: Streets
Climate Impact: Extreme Temperatures and Urban Heat Island Effect; Air Quality; Extreme Precipitation and Flooding
Social Value Created: Social Justice and Equity for Vulnerable Communities; Social Cohesion; Public Health and Safety; Active Living; Food Security
and Nutrition; Public Spaces and Playspaces

The Space to Grow program was started in 2013 to redevelop asphalt school lots into green infrastructure playgrounds for stormwater management. The playgrounds are designed to manage a 100-year storm lasting 24 hours. Additionally, green infrastructure filers air, improving air quality, and contributes to urban cooling, counteracting extreme temperatures and the urban heat island effect. As of 2016, six playgrounds have been completed and 28 more are planned for completion by 2019.

The playgrounds are also designed to create other social benefits. 90% of students serviced by the playgrounds are from low-income families, improving social resilience of vulnerable communities. Further, the playgrounds are intended to be educational and provide space for community gatherings, increasing social cohesion.

Grissom Elementary School is one school that participated in the Space to Grow program. The school redesigned a schoolyard to include outdoor classroom areas, community vegetable gardens, a jogging track, and green infrastructure for stormwater management. Community vegetable gardens improve access to nutritional food and increase social cohesion, and athletic facilities promote physical activity. Both increase access nutrition and engagement in physical activity helping to counteract childhood obesity, a growing crisis in the United States.

James Wadsworth Elementary School is a STEM school that also participated in the Space to Grow program. An unsafe, deterioration playground and basketball court were redesigned with the help of the students. The new design features a playground, basketball court, turf field, jogging track, two half-court basketball courts, and outdoor classroom areas. There are rain gardens that help manage stormwater runoff, and a decorative water feature that uses stormwater runoff captured from the roof.

Fig: Grissom Elementary School project (Photo retrieved from http://www.spacetogrowchicago.org/about/school-profiles/grissom-elementary/)

Fig: James Wadsworth Elementary School playground (Photo retrieved from http://www.spacetogrowchicago.org/about/school-profiles/james-wadsworth-elementary-school/)

Sources:
C40 Cities. (November 15, 2016). Cities100: Chicago – adsorptive playgrounds foster social cohesion. Retrieved from https://www.c40.org/case_studies/cities100-chicago-adsorptive-playgrounds-foster-social-cohesion.

Space to Grow. (n.d.). School profiles. Retrieved from http://www.spacetogrowchicago.org/about/school-profiles/.