There is a lot of buzz around sustainability these days and rightly so. While our population continues to grow, placing ever greater demands on resources and the environment, it is increasingly important that we employ prudent development practices. Many of these practices have focused on building design due to the popularity and wide spread acceptance of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. As of yet, an equivalent system for evaluating sustainable park sites does not exist. Until it does, how can we design and manage our parks to be more sustainable?

The Planning and Design Process

We begin with the understanding that the term “sustainability” extends beyond environmental applications. As our society becomes increasingly urban, open spaces are in shorter supply. At the same time, funding sources are decreasing, and park departments face increased pressure to provide cost effective, long-term benefits to park users on a tighter budget. So, while the discussion of sustainability often begins with the environment (and environmental issues are a central part of the conversation), we also need to include cultural and economic considerations. Sustainable design promotes responsible environmental practices, but it also enhances social benefits and strives to reduce the cost of ownership and management.
Sustainable design starts with the big picture. Any park project, no matter how large or how small, must be considered within its surrounding context. Designers should treat landscapes as interdependent and interconnected spaces that share systems of soil, water, vegetation, and topography. By understanding these larger patterns and employing a holistic approach, we can design in a way that helps repair and restore ecosystems rather than detract from them. Therefore, we should strive for connectivity. For example, green corridors make for a much stronger ecosystem than disconnected patches of green space by allowing a continuous flow between spaces.

Preserving natural landscapes and protecting sensitive wildlife habitats goes a long way toward providing an ecologically sound and cost-effective project. Trees take a long time to grow, and mature specimens or stands provide incredible value for park users and wildlife. Additionally, when we preserve natural landscapes, we increase biodiversity and help conserve important natural resources such as water. Working with the natural configuration of the land, getting cues from its topography and vegetation, we avoid ecological damage and mitigate the costs of construction while at the same time creating a park that has its own sense of place and uniqueness. There is a growing desire these days to create parks that have a “signature element” that makes them distinctive. At the same time, we are realizing the importance of providing access to nature for both children and adults. Preservation of the natural landscape, even if it means giving up a few of the more traditional programmed elements, is one way to achieve these goals, especially on a limited budget.

Designing a park to take advantage of and reveal natural processes is another way to achieve sustainability. It is possible to create beautiful and functional places. In fact, they should be one and the same. Utilities such as storm water drainage can be treated as an asset instead of a liability. Likewise, cultural elements that remain on the site should be incorporated into the design to provide a historical perspective. Not only does this serve as an educational component but it also promotes stewardship—an important factor for any successful open space. Providing social spaces for people to interact and build social capital is equally important. Suburban development, along with many small towns and even some cities, lack a town square or central meeting place. Increasingly, parks provide the places where people can network and build community.

Once the larger context has been explored and a design concept is under way, it is time to focus on the details. A number of implementation strategies can be employed to make a park more sustainable. The following palette of options can be viewed as a project’s sustainability toolkit, used to address best management practices (BMPs) in the realm of resource conservation, storm water management, maintenance, social capital and waste reduction:

Resource Conservation

• Take advantage of land that is
  already disturbed
• Site any buildings to take advantage of the natural day light, ventilation, and solar gain
• Plant deciduous trees on the south west corner of buildings to reduce energy needs in the summer
• Plant evergreen trees on the north east corner of buildings for protection from winter winds
• Harvest rain water with cisterns to help reduce the use of potable water
• Design and implement efficient irrigation systems
• Specify drought tolerant plants
• Use local building and plant materials to reduce transportation costs
• Use recycled materials and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood
• Minimize night light pollution
• Balance cut and fill on site
• Provide carpooling parking spaces and bicycle parking

Storm Water Management

• Celebrate and detain storm water on site to reduce the amount sent to the storm sewer
• Restore and create wetlands where appropriate for increased flood control and to enhance water quality
• Reduce pollution by treating storm water through the use of bioswales, storm water planters, rain gardens, and ecoroofs
• Reduce impervious surfaces with porous concrete, porous asphalt, permeable pavers

Maintenance

• Use native plants
• Avoid invasive species
• Reduce pruning needs by allowing plants to realize their natural forms and providing enough room for growth
• Consider lawn substitutes to reduce the amount of mowing needed
• Use organic mulch to retain water and suppress weeds
• Use organic fertilizers and compost
• Discontinue the use of pesticides or herbicides where possible and employ integrated pest management practices instead

Social Capital

• Provide ADA access wherever
  possible
• Design social gathering spaces
• Incorporate interpretive signage that speaks of site history and sustainable design principles
• Provide bicycle and pedestrian linkages
• Plan for the inclusion of public art

Waste Reduction

• Provide recycling bins for park users
• Make room for on site composting
• Use quality products and materials that are durable and can be recycled

If you are working within a limited budget or feeling overwhelmed by the possibilities, pick BMPs that you feel most comfortable implementing, or perhaps just one that you feel will make the biggest impact. The most common BPMs involve water and ways to either manage it or reduce its use, such as with efficient irrigation.

In an ideal world, park agencies would be able to invest in creating the tools and processes to facilitate the implementation of sustainable design features. This might include updating basic design standards, specifications, details and contracting language. A successful example is Seattle Parks and Recreation, which has created a number of tools to help build and evaluate sustainable features within their park projects. For more information, visit: www.seattle.gov/parks/sustainable/default.htm.

Alternatively, as a more immediate solution, allocating budget for a design consultant to compose a maintenance handbook that specifically addresses sustainable design features can go a long way toward the success of the park.

Challenges and Opportunities

The main challenge facing the design and implementation of sustainable strategies is funding. Maintenance budgets continually face cuts, and we often are forced to do more with less. In the long run, sustainable design will help reduce operating costs. But often there is an initial increased expense for implementation and maintenance, especially if the strategies are unfamiliar. Therefore, many parks agencies are pursuing public/private partnerships to generate viable funding sources as well as building a volunteer base to help care for the parks they propose.

Changing perceptions is another challenge that must be addressed at the onset of a project, starting with park agencies, designers, and maintenance staff sharing an approach to sustainability goals. Many of the design strategies mentioned above require different maintenance techniques, and the overall aesthetic is much different than the traditional manicured park. Without knowledge of the benefits of this more natural aesthetic and the value it provides in terms of habitat, lower operation costs and our much needed connection to nature, some might only perceive it as an unruly landscape and be unsupportive.

Therefore, it is imperative that everyone—from maintenance staff to the general public, from those who use the park to those who care for it—is involved in the initial planning stages and throughout the project. Creating a sense of public ownership will help increase safety and reduce vandalism by keeping more eyes on the park. Fostering stewardship is similarly important. Stewardship programs usually involve an educational component that offers people a way to become actively involved in the care of their park.

In summary, when designing parks with sustainability in mind, we must first look at the big picture, think in visionary terms, and consider all the possibilities. Then, with key stakeholders at the table—including the public and the maintenance staff—we must work within our means to find strategies and design features that we can successfully implement. The only way innovation happens is to dream big, but if it’s not realistic for the budget, or for the people who are maintaining the project, it will not be sustainable. However, if we design parks with a comprehensive view of sustainability that incorporates environmental, fiscal and social concerns, we can turn our dreams into real places.

Tara Byler is a project manager and landscape designer at MIG, Inc. in Portland, Oregon. A core value of her work includes finding balance between the natural and built worlds while creating places in which humans and the environment can co-exist harmoniously.