Urban Oasis:

Escaping the Sprawl

© 2010 Project for Public Spaces, Inc.

 As students of landscape architecture, we
believe that a successful design should be green,
helpful to our surroundings, and friendly to the
environment.

In today’s cities, it is becoming more difficult to

find areas to escape. With ever growing
populations, denser cities, and decreasing green
space, what can be done?

Copyright © 2006 Kikuchi & Associates. All rights reserved.

Cities have always been the central hub for entertainment,
dining, and living. As cities have grown, populations have
increased, structures have gotten larger, and man’s
inpact on the environment has reached an unwanted high.

As a city’s emmitions increase, it is important for

city governments to step in and help create what is known
as a “green City.” There are eleven areas that a city can
work on to become green. The areas include: “Air Quality, © 2010 Project for Public Spaces, Inc.
electrical Useage and Production, Environmental Figure 1
Perspective, Environmental Policy, Green Design, Green
Space, Public Health, Recycling, Socioeconomic Factors,
Transportaion, and Water Quality. (National Geographic
Society 2009).
As urban sprawl claims more natural green space, it is
important for cities to mandate that certain percentages
be created as green spaces.
Pocket parks are a simple means of
bringing greenery into an urban
environment. Pocket parks can fit
well along street corridors and
between buildings. (Figure 1 & 2).

(Photo by Tricia Travis) Figure 2

 Pocket Parks, by definition, are urban open spaces at a small scale. Usually only
a few house lots in size or smaller, they can be tucked into the urban fabric where
they are serve the immediate population (Blake 2008).

Along with the capability to fit into most spaces, pocket parks offer many benefits to
neighborhoods as well as the city, itself. Pocket parks are a way to install greenery
within a city without creating large park systems. Cities such as Copenhagen, Denmark
have set goals that 90% of their population can walk to a park in less than 15 minutes.
(Danish Architecture Centre). If cities instill regulations into developments that a
certain percentage be green space, microclimates can be created. Microclimates are
climates of a small area that differ from the surrounding area (Mazza 2009). Trees
and shrubs are areas to create shade and wind shelter (Figure 2). When cities install
designs that utilize more greenspaces, Heat Island Effect and city temperatures can be
greatly decreased (Figure 1).

San Miguel Ranch Figure 1 f stocksy.co.uk

figure 2
Cities today are becoming more and more green to meet the need for a cleaner
environment. As cities grow, older structures are usually deemed unwanted and are torn
down to create new space. In most cases, new buildings are usually constucted to take
their place, but pocket parks are being utilized more often to enhance the look of the city
as well as enhance the environment.
Pocket parks are usually designed and constructed through a group
effort. Individuals often see abandoned spaces as eyesores in their
neighborhood. A community group can either take matters into their own
hands or they can talk to their city government (KIB Inc. 2009). (Figure 1
and 2). Cities such as Toronto, OT have come up with a unique way to help
their lower income neighborhoods. Toronto’s City Government decided to
hold an open design competition. This design competition focused on
small-scale, abandoned spaces that could be filled with pocket parks.
Many designers accepted the challenge, and before long, Toronto had Figure 1
multiple options for enhancing its residential green spacces (Chodikoff Figure 2

2006). Many other cities have “Gone Green” by installing pocket parks
within their neighborhoods. New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and
Manhattan have all begun mass efforts to create well-designed pocket
park green spaces in their high density areas (Blake 2008).
Urban sprawl can simply be stated as a communities spreading out
over the land. Rather than building vertically, sprawl is caused mainly
by residential areas, single family homes, and other one to three lev-
el establishments. Urban sprawl consumes farm land, forests, grass
lands, and animal habitats that many would consider vital to maintain.
One benefit of a pocket park is that they create small scale, natural
habitats (Nordh 2009). Along with easing the pressures on animals,
pocket parks can ease other areas of the city. City parks are often
the only experience with green space that city-living idividuals get on a
daily basis. Pocket parks create more interactive spaces as well as
taking the pressure off of city parks. In the future, many cities will
attempt to copy Coppenhagen in its ways. In an ideal world, individuals
would be able to walk a green network all the way to where they need
to be (Danish Architecture Centre).

© 2003 - 2010. Tom Kirkendall

Dcoetzee
As time passes the green spaces created years ago will begin to age. It is important to
replenish the older greenery with newer, better plantings. As trees in our natural
parks age and die, newer trees must be planted to maintain the greenery. Cultivar trees
are beneficial to use in todays environment. Cultivar trees are known to be resistant to
disease and contaminents that effect older species of trees. Pocket parks are ways to
install stronger species of trees within gray networks to create microclimates and city-
wide cooling. (figure 1,2, and 3).

With pocket parks and green networks becoming more well known, society is taking
steps in the right direction towards a cleaner environment. With new standards,
lower emmitions, and ever growing city green spaces, it may not be
to late to save the planet.

©2009-2010 ~Storm-Blue

Copyright 2008, AFrugalGardener.Com

Copyright © 2006 Home Service Publications, Inc.
Blake, Alison. (1998). Urban parks: Pocket parks. Images:
Ron Collins. 2007.
http://depts.washington.edu/open2100/pdf/2_OpenSpa
City of Bartlesville, OK
ceTypes/Open_Space_Types/pocket_parks.pdf
San Miguel Ranch

© 2010 Project for Public Spaces, Inc.

Chodikoff, Ian. (2006). Orphaned spaces: A recent initiative
(Photo by Tricia Travis)
to kick start the revitalization of several of Toronto’s
neighborhoods. Canadian Architect. ©2009-2010 ~Storm-Blue
v. 51. p 45-48.
Copyright 2008, AFrugalGardener.Com

Copyright © 2006 Home Service Publications, Inc.

Nordh, H. (2009). Components of Small Urban Parks that
Copyright © 2006 Kikuchi & Associates. All
predict the possibility for full restoration. Urban forestry rights reserved.
and Urban Greening.
© 2010 Project for Public Spaces, Inc.
v. 8. issue 4. p 225-235.
© 2010 Project for Public Spaces, Inc.

Pocket parks and green space: Get involved.

http://www.kibi.org/pockte_parks_get_involved

Miracle place miracle.
http://www.kibi.org/miracle_place_success_story