FOREWORD

“Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people.” —Enrique Penalosa1

This book represents the cumulative work of eight graduate students who undertook the University of Washington Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) 2015-16 Capstone Studio. This talented, and collaborative group developed their designs through research and an iterative, community based process. I greatly enjoyed working with each of them and supporting the realization of design proposals three students developed and others joined in to bring to life.

The quote above by Enrique Penalosa served as a foundation for this MLA Capstone Studio, “Civic Landscape Systems: Learning + Resilience by Design”. Our Autumn Quarter seminar explored theory and precedents of civic landscape systems, and connected these to the position that if we are to create more resilient cities, we need to start with how children may learn from and experience places that define their daily lives. With four students in Rome for a Study Abroad Program, one in Copenhagen for an internship, and three in Seattle, the applications of ideas from literature to local environments afforded varied perspectives. These are revealed in “Section 1: What is Civic Landscape?”.

The seminar concluded with an introduction to Seattle’s Licton Springs-Haller Lake Neighborhood, and the students applied seminar themes to this neighborhood in the Winter and Spring Quarter studio. Students undertook a community based process to learn about neighborhood challenges and opportunities, to identify places and connections that needed attention, and to gain feedback on their evolving design proposals for areas they selected. Analysis revealed this neighborhood is poised for significant change and yet lacks a coherent civic landscape infrastructure. Three of Seattle’s designated “Urban Villages” and a potential fourth, should the North 130th Street light rail station be built, are found here. Its east/west boundaries—North Aurora Avenue North (State Highway 99) and Interstate 5—serve as stark physical and perceptual edges, offering limited opportunities for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross safely. The planned pedestrian bridge over I-5 at Northgate’s light rail station promises a key connection if extended through a network of greenways. And notably, while there are diverse civic landscapes, they are disconnected and merit improvement. Findings from neighborhood thematic analysis, an overview of the studio’s engagement with community members, and introduction of the studio’s “Civic Defragmentation” framework are presented in “Section 2: Analyzing, Engaging, and Framing the Neighborhood”.

Each student developed design that integrate civic landscapes theme (depicted as icons) across spatial scales and with an eye toward strategic development. Three students’ projects involved building and installing particular elements that engaged others in the studio and beyond; these revealed the power of simple design interventions to create opportunities for discourse and learning. Each student’s contextual findings, design, visions, and detailed proposals are described in “Section 3: Project Designs”.

The richness of all this work grows from the tremendous support and engagement of community members, representatives of agencies and institutions, planning and design professionals and faculty, and organizations who are noted in “Acknowledgments”.

I hope this book highlighting the studio’s endeavors—findings, process, design proposals, and built work—may serve as a resource for Seattle’s Licton Springs-Haller Lake Neighborhood, for these eight students who have now graduated, and for others interested in civic landscape systems as a means of enriching children’s learning and lives and of creating more resilient communities.

Julie M. Johnson, RLA, ASLA Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture University of Washington, Seattle

SECTION 1: WHAT IS CIVIC LANDSCAPE?

SECTION 2: ANALYZING, ENGAGING, AND FRAMING THE

SECTION 3: PROJECT

SECTION 1: WHAT IS CIVIC LANDSCAPE?

WHAT IS CIVIC LANDSCAPE?

CULTURAL SYSTEMS

HEALTHY SYSTEMS OF MOVEMENT

PLAY-URBAN CHILDHOOD

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

SAFETY

HISTORY IN DESIGN

LEARNING IN PLACE

WELL-BEING AND HABITAT

ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

FOOD SYSTEMS

The Civic Landscape Systems seminar addressed themes that frame these systems and supported our goal of engaging communities in the design of civic landscape systems. Most of the icons shown on the left represent the seminar themes; the themes of food systems, history in design, and safety grew from our studio explorations. In the seminar, we studied theory and precedents and reflected on how our findings may be applied. The following pages present a summary of the seminar’s eight themes through a common format. The Rationale introduces why the theme matters. Following this, Main Take Aways summarizes key points from literature we read and discussions we had with each other. The Reflection describes our graphic and written applications of these insights, often through our observations of the three places where we studied during Autumn Quarter—Copenhagen, Rome, and Seattle. And last, Relationship to Studio Site highlights important thematic considerations that our individual projects should address in the Licton Springs-Haller Lake Neighborhood.

Civic Landscapes

• SEEING SYSTEMS AND EXPRESSING VALUES

• PLAY—URBAN CHILDHOOD

• LEARNING IN PLACE AND BY DESIGN

• HEALTHY SYSTEMS OF MOVEMENT

• DESIGN FOR WELL-BEING AND HABITAT

• CULTURAL SYSTEMS IN DESIGN

• ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN DESIGN

• ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN DESIGN