Re-Designing Neighborhood Parks and Town Squares (03-DG-11244225-422)

This project designed prototypes and guidelines for small urban parks in order to benefit the local ecology and meet cultural needs and expectations.

Based upon an extensive literature review, design prototypes and guidelines will be created for small urban parks that provide valuable open space and recreation areas but minimally contribute to the ecological health of the surrounding neighborhoods. The project team will create design options for each of two to three prototypical settings, showing a variety of ecological strategies that optimize the potential for parks between one and five acres to benefit the local ecology, and to meet cultural needs and expectations. Design strategies and principles will be illustrated in easily legible and accessible graphics geared toward citizenry and decision makers.

This project will develop prototype design elements, scenarios, and guidelines for neighborhood parks and townsquares, to optimize their contribution to urban ecosystems as well as satisfy other social benefits. Based on asystematic review of the literature, the final product will be a user-friendly manual that translates research findings on ecological issues and the cultural use of space into guidelines, scenarios, and design options.

It will meet these objectives through 5 steps plus a dissemination program:

A.Systematic literature review.

B.Selection of two to three prototypical sites.

C.Development of scenarios, information handouts, and guidelines appropriate for use at community meetings and planning processes.

D.Test materials with audiences.

E. Refine the materials. Based upon the feedback gained from use with groups, the materials will be refined and made ready for dissemination in a variety of formats.

Attachments

Click here to download this final grant report as a PDF.

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