Reclaim Your City... One Parking Space at a Time

by Marley Bice, MCRP '12

Park(ing) Day is Friday September 16th year. What started with a 2-hour demonstration in San Francisco in 2005 has grown into an International movement with 850 parks in 30 countries in 2010. The idea is to take over a metered parking space for a day and turn it into a public park showing how much change can come out of a small area of land and also demonstrate that our streets and parking spaces can be redesigned to be more efficient, safe and green.

Although this doesn't immediately scream "green stormwater management" since we are not proposing to rip out the concrete and asphalt, we are making a statement about the way people interact in public spaces and streets and how green elements can make those interactions and spaces safer and more enjoyable. In my opinion, stormwater management starts with creating a connection to public open space and realizing that decreaseing impervious area creates more opportunities for communities to use excess space for beneficial uses. What is the point of putting a stormwater street tree trench or a rain garden where no one is going to see it?

Some cities are starting to recognize the community development and environmental benefits of parklets, often citing the stormwater benefits with the power of the community force behind this movement for safer streets and more public open space. Collaborating with local artists and architects also makes these parklets icons of public art and can help revitalize a neighborhood. Check out these examples:

Philadelphia's First Parklet: http://planphilly.com/philly-first-university-city-gets-parklet
San Francisoco's Pavement to Parks Program: http://sfpavementtoparks.sfplanning.org/index.htm

This year, Bloustein students led by RAPPS and Walk Bloustein/Bike Bloustein are creating a parklet in New Brunswick. To get involved in this world-wide urban revitalization movement, come to an interest meeting in the Bloustein Student Lounge Wednesday September 7th at 4 pm.

Thinking About New Brunswick as a Planner

by Marley Bice, MCRP '12

In case you didn't get a chance to read it, the very last page of the Fall 2010 RAPPS newsletter was actually an urban planner matching game. The article asked you to (a) identify the locations of the photos on the map of New Brunswick and (b) think about whether these were examples of good or bad planning.

Did you successfully identify all of the locations? Did you get a chance to think about whether these are things that add or detract from New Brunswick's character? Here is your chance to add your voice.

The locations were:

(A) The parking garage at the intersection of Plum and Somerset Streets

(B) New landscaping on a mid-century brick apartment complex on Hamilton Street

(C) The new modern-looking Rutgers School of Nursing building on Paterson Street

(D) The ubiquitous Gateway Center on Easton Avenue

(E) The Johnson & Johnson Complex at George and Albany Streets

(F) Deiner Park hidden behind the "River Dorms" on the College Avenue Campus

(G) Boyd Park bordering Route 18

(H) George Street and specifically the redevelopment and face lift the street landscape got this past year

(I) The southern intersection of Route 18 and Raritan Avenue - those of you who live in Highland Park probably know this intersection well

(J) Hope Manor affordable housing complex on George Street

So what do you guys think? Do these places add to the aesthetics of the area? Are they a good use of the land? Are you able to identify bike/ped or accessibility issues? Does the landscaping create attractive spaces for residents?

To be completely honest, the whole reason I started this exercise was because I hated how I passed the Frank M. Deiner Park (item (F) above) multiple times a week and never ever saw anyone using the facilities. It made me wonder why... the park is ideally located behind densely populated undergraduate dorms with amazing Raritan River views... but maybe it is too hidden. Does the park have a bad reputation or safety issues that deter students? Is there not enough to do there?

Just today I stumbled upon a five-year old Daily Targum article about the park. Even the reporter had a negative impression of the park and its prospects when saying "Deiner Park now features a cracked basketball court, a faded sign with no real entrance to the park and no greenery to attract visitors, despite several studies conducted over the past 10 years aimed to revitalize the park." The 30-year old park cost over $20 million to build so I think we need to be thinking about and doing something to make this a better and safer place for the students and community members that could benefit from it.

Something to Look Forward to in Philly

by Marley Bice, MCRP '12

If you have ever seen the current Dilworth Plaza on the west side of Philadelphia’s City Hall, you will probably also rejoice to hear that a major redevelopment of this plaza is set to begin this year. As Wayne Engebretson puts it, “The current surrounding space was not built for community interaction, and much of the visual charm of the area is obscured by stairs, walls, barriers, and other poorly-placed features that were installed as part of the ’60s-era granite-paved design of the plaza.” Being entirely made of concrete, the plaza is not eco-friendly either, contrasting with the city’s overall progressive and green accomplishments such as their impressive number of green roof installations and ambitious ‘all-green’ stormwater management plan. Thankfully, the new plans call for a 38% reduction in the impervious area and planting of 76 new trees while still being able to accommodate 8,000 people in this outdoor space. All things considered, the project is projected to reduce the ambient temperature by 2 degrees Fahrenheit by increasing the tree canopy and decreasing the impervious area.

Today: the majority of the plaza is sunken below street grade and non-handicapped accessible. The sunken parts of the plaza are less welcoming to the general public and create a disconnect between the plaza and the adjacent historic City Hall building.

(http://www.planetware.com/picture/philadelphia-us-pa301.htm)

After: the plans include bringing the entire plaza up to street level to more seemlessly integrate the street, plaza, and City Hall. The entrances to a lower level which connects pedestrians to multiple kinds of transit are also more clean-looking and welcoming. (http://thephilanews.com/dilworth-plaza-plans-discussed-14283.htm)

Personally, I think it is important to create green urban spaces where the public can interact, with nature and with each other. A great way to begin to break down the barrier between the natural environment and built environment in highly urbanized areas is to incorporate creative stormwater infrastructure into new urban spaces. This project will be a particularly important example of our ability to retrofit existing urban spaces to be more welcoming and green, not to mention the fact that this project will create 1,060 jobs.