ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN DESIGN

Rationale

Design does not occur in isolation. It impacts many different groups of people and so should incorporate their voices. In order to fully comprehend the issues at hand, we need to engage with community members and work together to solve problems. This process empowers participants, forms relationships across different groups and builds ownership of a space.

Main Take Aways

The literature for this theme provided insights on how to successfully engage communities, including developing strategies for communicating; listening to understand the concerns, goals, and resources of the community; and identifying what changes are needed.

Randolph Hester describes the role of landscape architects in community design, writing, “We can point out landscape resources previously untapped. We can show how to use those resources in ways that benefit the community members most in need. We can strike a balance between consumption and conservation so that resources sustain the community over time.” Shaping space is one of many skills that landscape architects possess. We work with communities, educating them on how to care for a space and raising awareness of critical issues such as stormwater management.1

Reflection

To better understand community engagement, we reflected on our readings and discussion by diagramming an idealized model of community engagement and re-examining a place through others’ perspectives. Some of us were studying or working abroad, so the places we examined ranged from Seattle to Copenhagen to Rome.

“From the perspective of the fruit and vegetable vendors, the crowds of tourists that I find overwhelming represent potential customers. The empty crates and trash mean the vendors have had a successful day and earned money to sustain themselves and their families. Without the ability to sell food here everyday, the vendors may not have another option for work. Therefore this place has significant value both economically but also socially in the relationships and community the vendors build with each other.”

Will Shrader

“Appealing: open space, children’s playground, fresh markets, green space, responsible for pocket park.

Unattractive: homeless at night, not safe, exposed to traffic (not good for easily access). Findings: need more space for public or children’s playground around this neighborhood. Viewing the place through others’ eyes: children from playground, they might feel that staying more or coming this playground many times. This is because there are not enough playground for them. However, it is not appropriate walking from their home due to traffic, even the walking distance is not long.”

Relationship To Studio Site

People living in the Licton Springs-Haller Lake Neighborhood come from a diversity of backgrounds and cultures and are vocal in their protest of the lack of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure across much of North Seattle. Groups like Feet First, Aurora-Licton Urban Village (ALUV) and the Licton-Haller Greenways Group advocate for these changes to the built environment. As students and designers, we engage in a dialogue with these different groups to help us understand their neighborhood and incorporate their feedback into our designs.

SECTION 2: ANALYZING, ENGAGING, AND FRAMING THE NEIGHBORHOOD

1. NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS

• LAND USE

• MOBILITY

• OPEN SPACE

• ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM

• DEMOGRAPHICS

• CULTURAL DIVERSITY

• EDUCATION + PLAY

• COMMUNITY

The Licton Springs-Haller Lake Neighborhood is located in North Seattle. Interstate-5, and Aurora Avenue (State Highway 99) , serve as east/west neighborhood edges. The north/south boundaries are the north City Limits at North 145th Street and North 85th Street. The studio explored the neighborhood and undertook thematic analysis. Additionally, throughout the studio, engagement with the community was prioritized in order to hear concerns about the neighborhood and receive design feedback. The combination of analysis with valuable insights from community members revealed several challenges and opportunities within the neighborhood. Moving into conceptual development, the studio proposed a neighborhood-scale framework plan branded Civic Defragmentation to re-envision transportation networks and provide a strong foundation for individual design work.

2. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

3. FRAMEWORK PLAN

Image Sources:

1. http://www.rolludaarchitects.com/?p=1751

2. https://tipspoke.com/northacres-park/t9110

3. http://cosfrontporch.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HallerLake-photo.jpg

4. http://www.tristarteamre.com/Blog/Archive?tag=Haller%20Lake%20Real%20Estate

5. https://www.seattleschools.org/directory/elementary_schools/northgate/

7. http://www.uwmedicine.org/locations/multiple-sclerosis-center

9. http://yourfuturein.it/ctc/northseattle/

12. http://bex.seattleschools.org/bex-iv/cascadia-es-and-robert-eagle-staff-ms/

14. http://frontporch.seattle.gov/2014/08/04/haller-lake-p-patch-12th-annual-opengarden-celebration/

Land Use

Licton Springs – Haller Lake Neighborhood includes portions of three different urban villages: Northgate (Urban Center), Bitter Lake Village (Hub Urban Village) and Aurora-Licton Springs (Residential Urban Village). According to Seattle 2035, the city’s Draft Comprehensive Plan, Urban Centers are characterized by their high percentage of commercial and mixed-use development, which accounts for over half of the land use in each urban center. The main land use types in Hub Urban Villages are commercial / mixed-use, multi-family residential and single family residential. In the Residential Urban Villages, the main land use types are single family residential, multi-family residential and commercial / mixed-use.

Legend

Bitter

Aurora-Licton

Licton

Source: Seattle 2035, http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/cs/groups/pan/@pan/ documents/web_informational/p2273587.pdf

Types of Urban Villages

Urban Center

Hub Urban Village

Residential Urban Village

Land Use Categories commercial mixed-use single family multi-family industrial

Orthgate

major institution public facilities utilities parks, open space cemeteries reservoirs water bodies vacant unclassified master planned community

Source: Seattle 2035, http://2035.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/aurora-licton-springs-sf-zones.pdf

Existing land use distribution

Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map (FLUM)

Source: Seattle 2035, http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/cs/groups/pan/@pan/documents/web_informational/p2273587.pdf

According to Seattle 2035, commercial and multi-family residential uses would be increased, but parks and open spaces are not except in the Hub Urban Village designation. Another urban village may be created around N. 130th Street and I-5 where a light rail station may be built.

Source: Seattle 2035, http://2035.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/bitter-lake-sf-zones.pdf

Source: Seattle 2035, http://2035.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/NE-130th-St-and-I-5-Residential-and-Potential-New-Urban-Village.pdf

Mobility

The Licton Springs-Haller Lake Neighborhood is bounded by Interstate 5 to the east and by Aurora Avenue N. to the west. These car dominated streets foster unsafe conditions for people on foot and bike, and serve to separate the neighborhood from its surrounding context. The challenge here is to reclaim some of this space for pedestrians and bicyclists in order to create a better connected, safer, and more livable neighborhood.

Commuting North and South

I-5 and Aurora Avenue North are high traffic North-South streets for commuters and so prevent greater East-West connectivity. How can we design safe crossings for pedestrian and cyclists along these busy corridors?

Opportunities to Connect

The pedestrian network is not well connected from north to south, while the bicycle network is not very developed in general except along the Interurban Trail west of Aurora. Within the next 5 years, however, the city has planned to implement more bicycle lanes.

Human Health and Well-Being

A dearth of dedicated bike lanes and safe pedestrian infrastructure discourages biking and walking. As a result, cars take up much of the roadways while physical activity and social capital are diminished.

Transit and Networks

In terms of bike and transit infrastructure, the City has much planned or being constructed. Metro’s bus lines traverse parts of the neighborhood. Metro’s RapidRide along Aurora provides frequent bus service, and a light rail station is under construction at Northgate, with a pedestran bridge planned across I-5 enabling access to and from the neighborhood. Additionally, a light rail station may be built at I-5 and NE 130th Street and another is planned at I-5 and NE 145th Street. From these hubs, a network of safe walking and biking routes are needed to connect with civic and other neighborhood destinations.

Source: Seattle Department of Transportation

Pedestrian Flow

Streets in orange are designated walking routes. These designated routes, however, lack overall connectivity. Some walking areas even appear as isolated patches, as if they are islands surrounded by a sea of automobiles. Yet again, busy streets like Aurora Avenue and highways like I-5 sever the walkability of this area. East-west connections across these busy routes should be increased in order to attenuate the power that cars hold over the area.

Source: Seattle Department of Transportation

Traffic Flow

Over 15,000 cars/day travel on streets marked red. The high frequency and speed of cars on these roads create unsafe conditions for those on foot or bike. Conditions on these streets should be redesigned to balance the space among all modes of transportation in addition to creation of public gathering space. In this way, we can foster an inclusive environment where all travelers can safely move and spend time in these corridors.

BICYCLE NETWORK

The Interurban Trail, running north-south, serves as an extensive bicycle route. However, such facilities don not yet exist within the neighborhood beyond the designated bike lanes along College Way North. A green way is planned for North 100th Street, to connect with the pedestrian bridge across I-5 to the Northgate Light Rail Station. North 130th Street is being planned for improvements, which will be an important resource for a light rail station at NE 130th Street and I-5.

Citywide Network

Existing

Local Connectors

Existing

Recommended Recommended

Off street

Cycle track (protected)

Neighborhood Greenway

2016 Implementation

Off street

Cycle track (protected)

In street, minor separation

Neighborhood Greenway

Shared street

Source: Seattle Department of Transportation

Open Space

Licton Springs-Haller Lake Neighborhood contains different forms of open space, including Licton Springs Park, Mineral Springs Park, Northacres Park, Bartonwood Wetland, cemeteries and Haller Lake. These open spaces provide opportunities for biking, dog walking, playing frisbee golf, wandering, fishing, gardening, and being in nature.

While there is a diversity of open spaces and recreational activities in and around the neighborhood, they are not evenly dispersed, nor are they easily accessible. The “Gaps” map developed by Seattle Parks and Recreation illustrates the lack of open spaces near Aurora Avenue within the two urban villages. As these areas are designated to increase in population, there is an increased need for viable open spaces.

Walking Distance Open Space Distribution Recreation Activities

Source: WAGDA, https://wagda.lib.washington.edu/data/geography/wa_cities/seattle/index.html