turning the invisible, visible: imagining and creating emerald view park
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Turning the Invisible, Visible: Imagining and Creating Emerald View Park Creating Emerald View Park, Pittsburgh’s newest regional park, is challenging for many reasons, not least of which is helping people to envision a large regional park in this unexpected place a steep, degraded hillside. The panel will examine the process that is creating a new public place on forgotten land. Presenters: Presenter: Ilyssa Manspeizer Mount Washington Community Development Corporation Co-Presenter: Andrew Schwartz Environmental Planning & Design, LLC Co-Presenter: Eva-Maria Simms Duquesne UniversityTRANSCRIPT
Imagining and Creating Emerald View Park
ProWalk ProBike ProPlace
TURNING THE INVISIBLE, VISIBLE
Turning the Invisible, Visible: Imagining and Creating Emerald View Park
Speaker Information
• Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph.D. • Executive Director, Mount Washington Community Development Corporation
• 301 Shiloh Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15211 [email protected]
• 412.481.3220 x203
• Eva Simms, Ph.D. • Professor of Psychology
• Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282 [email protected]
• 412.396.6515
• Andrew JG Schwartz, AICP CUD, RLA, LEED® AP
• Managing Principal, Environmental Planning and Design
• 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh PA, 15219 [email protected]
• 412.261.6000
Turning the Invisible, Visible: Imagining and Creating Emerald View Park
Presentation Outline
• Setting Context: Mount Washington’s Environmental History (Ilyssa Manspeizer)
• Neighborhood Nature Commons and Deterritorialization (Eva Simms)
• Getting Boots on the Ground to Reclaim the Nature Commons (Ilyssa Manspeizer)
• Creating Experiences with Context Appropriate Trails (AJ Schwartz)
Which invisible nature spaces could you bring to light in your neighborhood? How does the specific character and context of this space influence the kinds of trails or other amenities that could go there? How can your challenges become your solutions, and ultimately your strengths?
Mount Washington’s Environmental History
Robert Griffing
By 1874…
By 1911…
By 1915…
By 2005…
Landslides worsened by undermining
Abandoned mine drainage
Contaminated soil
Abandoned roads and foundations
Remnants of 60 years of illegal dumping
Eva-Maria Simms, Ph.D.
Psychology Department,
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
THE NEIGHBORHOOD NATURE COMMONS: HOW NEIGHBORHOOD WOODS ARE LOST AND FOUND
The Invisibility of Nature
• Neglect of urban non-park green spaces
• Invisibility of nature
• Trashed neighborhood woods
Garbage
THE SYMPTOM OF INVISIBILITY
3,500 volunteer hours
140 tons of garbage (280,000 pounds)
Over 6 years
What is the perception of nature by city dwellers so that it is o.k. to trash natural spaces ?
Territorialized Urban
Landscapes
Urban landscapes have political and economic use functions and are “territorialized”, i.e. they form a nexus of psycho-social attitudes, practices, and conceptual realities which make them “real” to a community.
Logging, Mining, Pollution
The "Indian" Steps in 1911. Note the lack of vegetation on what is now a forested slope
Foraging, coal digging, foot travel
To forget that natural places are there……
DE-TERRITORIALIZATION
Deterritorialized Nature Places
Nature becomes • invisible • unused • trashed
THE FERAL LANDSCAPES
Invisible Nature Spaces
•Unused
•Undifferentiated “Green stuff”
•Eco-phobia
•Fear of “nefarious activities”
•Unknown territory
•Falling real estate prices
•Forbidden to children
“Oh, you mean the junky wooded slopes at the end of my street?”
Garbage is a symptom:
THE LOSS OF THE NATURE COMMONS
The Commons
Refers traditionally to the elements of
the environment -- forests,
atmosphere, rivers, grazing land – that are
shared, used, and enjoyed by all.
The Hauberg, Siegerland
The Tragedy Of The Loss Of
The Commons
•Forgetting that natural places are part of our commons
•The bio-ethical failure to understand and manage our commons
Garbage is a symptom
HOW can we integrate natural
places into our commons?
Community conversations
Community involvement
Reclaiming the green spaces as “ours”
PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGE
HOW can we integrate natural places into our commons?
Making Nature Visible
Fostering familiarity Hikes
Clean-ups
Education
Birding and botany
Developing attachment
Developing Topophilia through nature practice
PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGE
HOW can we integrate natural places into our commons?
Making Nature Visible
Neighborhood Organization
Trails for hiking/biking
Maintenance/Care
Signage
Next to parks we find Increases in
Real Estate Prices
Economic Activity
Safety
COMMUNITY PARK DESIGNATION
HOW can we integrate natural places into our commons?
Re- Territoria
lize
Make Nature Visible In Urban Neighborhoods !
CLAIM THE WOODS AT THE END OF YOUR
STREETS !
Attachment and Identification with Nature
Attachment to nature as a
particular place
Conversations and actions within the
local commons
Inclusion of natural habitat in the neighborhood
commons
Political changes: protect and
conserve natural habitats and diversity one
neighborhood at the time.
Topophilia
Reterritorialization
Bioethical affirmation
Local knowledge/Familiarity
ATTACHMENT TOPOPHILIA BIOPHILIA
Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph.D.
Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA
GETTING BOOTS ON THE GROUND TO RECLAIM THE NATURE COMMONS - EMERALD VIEW PARK
Challenges
Create a Park on land that is:
Degraded
Fragile
Invisible
Challenges Solution
Create a Park on land that is:
Degraded
Fragile
Invisible
Master Implementation Plan (2005)
Master Trail Plan (2010)
Restoration Plan (ongoing)
PLANS
Challenges Solution Results
Create a Park on land that is:
Degraded
Fragile
Invisible
• 6,000 trees planted
• 280,000 pounds of garbage removed
• 10 miles of trails
• 15,000 volunteer hours
• Over 30,450 hours of employment
• 5 Park entrances
• $4.5 million invested
• Local and national awards received
• Committed park users and supporters
Andrew JG Schwartz AICP CUD, RLA, LEED ® AP
Managing Principal Environmental Planning & Design Pittsburgh, PA
TRAIL PLANNING AND DESIGN IS ABOUT USER EXPERIENCE, CONNECTIVITY, FUNCTIONALITY AND LONGEVITY
Opportunities and Challenges
to Trail Building on
Mt. Washington
• Steep slopes and poor urban soils
• Illegal dumping and former landfill areas
• Open mines and mine subsidence areas
• Isolation and limited visibility
• Existing network of unplanned and poorly constructed trails
• Illicit use of ATV, dirt bikes, etc…
Steep Slopes
Poor Soils and Landslide Prone Areas
Illegal Dumping and Former Landfills
Planning and Design
Principles/Objectives
• Provide a trail connection/trailhead within a ¼ mile walking distance to nearly 30,000 persons
• Conserve and embrace the “wild character” of the hillside
• Use existing or natural materials; minimize mechanical construction
• Accommodate universal accessibility as much as practical
• Solicit/involve residents to build awareness and ownership
• Make connections to Downtown and the GAP
Connecting to Regional Commuter Trails and Downtown Pittsburgh
Leverage Proximity to the Great Allegheny Passage
The Typical Mt. Washington Pedestrian/Bike Experience
Common Trail Building
Considerations and Inputs
• Soil Composition and Gradient of Terrain • Types of Trail Users • Desired Width of the Trail Tread • Longitudinal Slope of the Trail • Existing Drainage Patterns and
Groundwater Sources • Surrounding Street and Block Patterns • Availability of Building Materials – Soils,
Rock, Timber, Stable/Moveable Debris • Vistas, Plant Communities and
Geological/Cultural Assets • Level of Access for Construction and
Maintenance • Transit Connections
Typical Trail Typologies
Unpaved Multi-Purpose Hiking/Mountain Biking Paved Multi-Purpose (Walking/General Biking) (Walking/Blading/General Biking)
PLANS, CONSTRUCTION, TRAINING, ENGAGEMENT AND ENJOYMENT
Trail Master Plan
Trails by Type
Trailheads and Signage
Trail Phasing
Traditional Construction Techniques
Early Trail Sections – Variations in Invisible Spaces, Experiences and Levels of Difficulty
Early Trail Sections – Variations in Invisible Spaces, Experiences and Levels of Difficulty
SUCCESSES AND ON-GOING OPPORTUNITIES
Awards and Recognitions
• 2012 City Parks Alliance
Frontline Park
• 2013 PA-DEL Chapter of ASLA Honor Award for Planning
• 2014 National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program
By-Products of the Trail Building Effort
gototrails.com: Connecting the Emerald View Trails to the World
iOS App
OUR WOODS
OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
OUR NATURE COMMONS
Which invisible nature spaces could you bring to light in your neighborhood? How does the specific character and context of this space influence the kinds of trails or other amenities that could go there? How can your challenges become your solutions, and ultimately your strengths?