TA K E B A C K PLACE
1937 - NATIVE DESERT
1953 - AGRICULTURE
2000 - DEVELOPEMENT
The base of South Mountain was significantly wider on all sides decades ago. when descending the mountain, as the natural topography sloped back into the regular elevation, one would find native desert wildlife and ecology for acres ahead before running into agricultural land.
As the valley began to expand the agricultural fields spread across the canal paths and snaked around either edge of South Mountain utilizing water sources to create a mosaic of land covering vast parcels with groves of native ecology.
As the trend of urban developement began to rise, the amount of agricultural acrage rapidly began to shrink. Urban housing developements began to encroach on the native desert area at the base of South Mountain until they had reached the base.
RESTING DIVIDED
PEOPLE TO NATURE
NATURE TO PEOPLE
CONSTANT STRUGGLE
JUST A STEP AWAY
BRIDGING THE GAP
South Mountain village may border directly with south mountain, but the village and mountain feel distinctly seperate. As a result the amount of wildlife that one might see has drastically reduced. It feels as though South Mountain village and South Mountain are in an ever constant struggle with one another. Every day the boundary of the mountain is pushed a little further while natures processes push back in the form of monsoons, extreme heat, and dust storms.
With South Mountain being so close to the border of developements and patches of homes, there is an absolutely tremendous opportunity to further the accessibility and connectivity between South Mountain villages inhabitants and the mountainous terrain itself. It is an iconic landmark of the site, it defines the peoples homes and creates a universal symbol for the parcel of South Phoenix.
If instead of being at arms with one another, the community instead embraced nature and the processes that comes with it to their advantage then the village could once again thrive as a vibrant ecological hub of nature much like it once did when most of the industry was held in agriculture.
MAST E R P LAN A R EA S OF I M PR OV EM EN T
P HA S E T WO
P HA S E ONE
BU FFER ZONE
CO N N E CTAB L E T RAI L H E AD S
N E W CO N N E CT I O N T RAI L
S O U T H M O U N TAI N L I G H T S
E X I ST I N G T RAI L S & T RAI L H E AD S
1 mi BUFF ER ZONE, PHASE ONE, & PHASE TWO
SOUTH MOUNTAIN LIGHTS, EXISTING TRAILS, & TRAILHEADS
CONNECTABLE TRAILHEADS, NEW CONNECTION TRAIL, & AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
With the mountains own land being threatened it is important to create an enviornment for the area to thrive, instead of being constricted while others suck the life right out of it. The buffer zone will serve as a barrier where the mountain will no longer be subject to developers and can over time regain some of the life that was taken.
One of the, if not the most iconic parts of South Mountain are the towers atop one of its higher peaks. People have coined the term, South Mountain lights, a beacon that guides them home. Such a strong piece of the sites character is the perfect opportunity to build on the connection people have with the mountain and its ecology.
While there may not yet be a trail that runs parallel with the base of the mountain, a series of trailheads exists that offer the opportunity to create such a connection. The trailheads are established and well known by community members who already actively trek the mountain. These hubs for recreation are great spaces for future community gatherings.
Phase one is the first step towards allowing the beautiful nature off of South Mountain and bringing it into the lives of those who are willing. Within the marked area is where residents and business owners can take steps to bring the desert ecosystem into there own slice of South Mountain village, incentives will be put into place retroactively to allow for a strong period of growth in the initiative.
South Mountain boasts an impressive 51 miles of primary trails and 16 trailheads, 11 of which fall within the boundary of South Mountain village. The network is quite vast and spans just about every accessible nook and cranny one could think of along the entire mountain. However, there are some pitfalls to the system. The northern edge of the mountain lacks a trail that would in turn give residents access to the rest of the trails outside of specific trailheads.
The new connection trail will serve as the spine that connects South Mountain and South Mountain village. Running along the buffer zone and connecting existing trails to each section of the towns southern edge the trail will grant much more access to South Mountain and serve as the catalyst for breaking down the barriers between people and nature. Allowing residents to experience native ecology and wildlife within the landscape.
Phase two is exactly the same as phase one, but is a further radius from the buffer zone within these phases, people will create their own unique ecosystems of ecology. This will in turn only help the adjacent enviornment of the areas around them, but also create the opportunity for wildlife to make its way back down into the valley. Destroying the harsh line between people and nature, and in turn replacing it with a gradient effect as one transitions to the other.
While the new trail will help solve many of South Mountains issues, there are three “dead spots� where the trail could not reasonably reach. These spaces, while vacant, offer the excellent opportunity to create more trailheads for smaller residential areas and connecting existing green spaces with the new trail.
CO NNE CT I VITY TR AILHE AD
RET ENT ION BA S IN
TR A I L H EA D
CO N N E CT I O N T RAI L
100 ft
LOO KO UT INSTALLATION/T RA ILHEA D
CON N ECTI ON TR A I L
LOOKOUT INSTALLATION To further the levels of connectivity and ideology to the South Mountain Lights landmark, lookout installations were designed. The premise is to incentivize people to set a goal to reach the top of a certain trail. At any given trailhead one can see the peaks in the distance, signage decals were created that would copy the horizon line from a certain vantage point. Certain landmarks will also be incorperated at applicable trailheads
CO MME R C IAL INSTALLATIO N
R ESI D EN TI A L I N STA L L AT I O N
CURB CUT
OU T F LOW
R E T E NT I O N BASIN
B IO S WALE P O RO U S S O I L 20 ft
RAI N WAT E R CATCH M E N T
L I D L AW N
CI ST E RN
20 ft
COMMERCIAL INSTALLATION
BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM
RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION
With the large presence of vacant lots within South Mountain village, there is a large amount of opportunities for the businesses to take advantage of that open property to both better their business and benefit the community and or the enviornment that the business resides. In the example shown above a vacant property directly behind a bar was transformed into a form of secondary outdoor gathering space with a retention basin system to help the new vegetation flourish while also utilizing some of the low impact developement tools to take advantage of the natural processes that the space will undoubtedly see, such as the seasonal monsoons.
South Mountain village may border directly with South Mountain, but the village and mountain feel distinctly seperate. As a result the amount of wildlife that one might see has drastically reduced. With the amount of green infrastructure or lack there of, it is simple to see that changes are in order.
Many of the residential homes outside of newly built developements tend to look like vacant lots themselves. Too often one might happen upon someones yard that is barren dirt with a house on a foundation on one side with a struggling lawn on the other. With some ecologically based changes these small landscapes can be transformed into a desert eosystem much like the mountain that lies past their backyards. Above and below are examples of how the rain water catchment techniques along with porous paving or soil can lead to a flourishing enviornment. Much unlike the lawn from the original space. The techniques are often simple, one could even use their own roof.
R E T E N T IO N BASIN
The native enviornment of South Mountain village has the potential to create beautiful and functional landscapes that connect people with the nature of the region, specifically the ecology of South Mountain. Their own little slice of South Mountain in a metaphorical sense. Plantings will be deemed successful if following a specific set of guidelines. Plant a variety: texture, size, color, flowers, etc. All of these aspects will attract different forms of wildlife and create different systems. It all stems from the idea of a food chain. Plants attract insects, insects attract specific types of animals and those animals can attract people if given the ideal setting. Different plants co-mingling, the natural processes effecting them differently, the site specifics that these projects are implementing in, all of these factors lead to a vast array of results that ultimately leads to bringing nature back into the valley, one landscape at a time.
B I OSWA L E
OU TFLOW
CURB CUT
O U T F LOW
I N FLOW
LDE 461: Fall 2017 Landscape Architecture II
CI ST E RN
L I D L AW N
RAI N WAT E R CATCH M E N T
P O RO U S S O I L
Student: Ian Klane Instructor: Allyce Hargrove