Designing Small Parks: A Manual for Addressing Social and Ecological Concerns

Social and ecological guidelines for designing and maintaining small parks Designing Small Parks: A Manual for Addressing Social and Ecological Concerns draws on a wide range of knowledge to provide a one–stop reference to building better parks. Integrating design criteria with current social and natural science research, Designing Small Parks presents landscape architects, park designers, park departments, planners, scientists, and civic groups with a broad palette of design options. Beginning with an overview of key issues and terms, this accessible manual is arranged around twelve topics that represent key questions, contradictions, and tensions in the design of small parks. Designing Small Parks features: Concise guidelines providing immediate access to critical information Fundamental material on size, edges, appearance, and naturalness Ecological and human environment coverage of water, plants, wildlife, and air and climate Succinct summaries of issues surrounding clients and other involved parties Over 100 drawings and photographs illustrating design details Up–to–date scientific research Five conceptual design examples that offer hands–on applications of covered material

Acknowledgments. An Introduction to Small Parks. Overview of Park Planning and Design Concerns. 1: Size, Shape, and Number. 2: Connections and Edges. 3: Appearance and Other Sensory Issues. 4: Naturalness. 5: Water. 6: Plants. 7: Wildlife. 8: Climate and Air. 9: Activities and Groups. 10: Safety. 11: Management. 12: Public Involvement. Summary: Lessons About Small Parks. Design Examples. Example 1: Taking Advantage of Stormwater Management in a New Suburban Area. Example 2: Rehabilitating a Park for Community Revitalization. Example 3: Renovating a Suburban Park for Water Quality and Active Recreation. Example 4: Redefining the New Urban Town Square. Example 5: Reusing a Vacant Lot in the Center City. Design Development Guidelines. Design Development Issues in Brief. Key Words. References. Index.

ANN FORSYTH, PhD, MPIA, is Dayton Hudson Chair of Urban Design and Director of the Metropolitan Design Center at the University of Minnesota. Her publications include Constructing Suburbs: Competing Voices in a Debate Over Urban Growth and Reforming Suburbia: The Planned Communities of Irvine, Columbia, and The Woodlands. LAURA R. MUSACCHIO, PhD, ASLA, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and is on the research faculty in the Metropolitan Design Center at the University of Minnesota. She is also a research scientist in urban ecology with the Central Arizona–Phoenix Long–Term Ecological Research project.