Design Concepts Landscape Architecture: Blog

Get Out and Play - Healthy Play for Alexandria, Virginia

2012-02-24T16:47:00.001-07:00

We have created a video for Alexandria, Virginia to promote healthy play for kids. It's called Get Out and Play.

Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDuXZwZlDQM

A couple of announcements

2011-02-02T09:01:00.001-07:00

If you're not following us on Facebook or Twitter, you probably missed these two speaking announcements at ProGreen.

First, Trish will be speaking on "The Landscape of Play" on 2/10 at 8:30am Rm 501.

Second, Rob will be speaking with Teresa (from GreenPlay) on "Landscapes and Community Health" on 2/10 at 1:30pm Rm 501.

Now go click on the links at the top to follow us so you're not left in the dark any longer.

We're out there, give us a shout!

2011-01-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

We're online with a Facebook Page and Twitter account. It's all still rather new, so check back often as we will be continually adding content. This blog and our website will remain active as well, but these new pages will be our platform for a little more candid of a conversation. Friend us, tweet at us, share links, be social!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Rifle's New Park Celebrates History and Looks Towards the Future

2010-09-16T16:02:00.000-06:00

With the grand opening coming up on Saturday, September 25th, we here at Design Concepts are getting excited about the completion of Rifle, Colorado's new Centennial Park. We have been working on this project for several years now, starting with a master plan and proceeding to help Rifle win a sizeable grant for the park, then on through construction documents and completion of the first phase of the park.

The park is designed to celebrate the city's first 100 years of settlement. But it also points the way into the next 100 years through things like the use of LED lighting and off-the-grid solar technology to illuminate the park's walkways. For more details on this, see the CLEER organization's September 15th edition of its newsletter, which explains how the energy-saving lights were made possible through technical and financial assistance at the state and local levels.

Grants, partnerships, sustainable design, and cutting-edge technology are all crucial parts of building parks today. They also keep our job interesting and challenging. Next time you are passing through Rifle, pull off the highway and spend some time there. This progressive community has many interesting things to see, including a beautiful new park!

Swingsets and Apple Pie - Two Great American Icons

2010-09-02T17:47:00.000-06:00

Following up on something I ran across today, I searched the internet for stories about the removal of swings from school playgrounds in a county in West Virginia. Sure enough, there is plenty of buzz about it. One good source of information was today's West Virgina Record, an online legal journal.

Turns out the county schools safety manager has decided the cost of maintaining the required safety surfacing under all of the swingsets in the school system is too expensive, as is the cost of the lawsuits filed against Cabell County Schools (two in the past year) for injuries sustained on swingsets. So he's having swings removed from all of the county's elementary schools.

As someone who has designed plenty of playgrounds, I can understand his problem. Swings require a very large area of safety surfacing compared to other elements on a playground, which takes time and money to install and maintain properly.

This situation brings up a lot of questions. Like, what is the value of play, relative to other things the school has to pay for? Are swings more valuable than other play elements, enough so to justify the extra expense of providing them? And is depriving kids of the opportunity to swing on the school playground just plain "un-American"? Some people seem to think so.

I have my own thoughts on these questions, but the fact is, it's hard to point to reliable sources for definitive answers. Yet these are turning out to be important questions. Important enough that a state senator has gotten involved. Senator Evan Jenkins, D-Cabell has asked the Cabell County Schools Superintendent to suspend the removal of swings from playgrounds until the matter can be looked at more fully. Jenkins is asking interesting questions, like what the history of injuries from swingsets really is in Cabell and statewide; and how much removing swingsets from school playgrounds will save the county on its insurance premiums.

If nothing else, this story points out that child's play is a lot more complicated than people think, and a lot more important, too, in today's complicated world. That makes what we do here at Design Concepts just a little more worthwhile, I think.
Rob Layton

Golf Cars - The Follow-Up

2010-08-26T15:16:00.000-06:00

For those interested in the follow-up to my last blog on the Town of Erie's consideration to allow golf carts on some city streets, you can get the full story here.

Basically, the decision was made to allow golf carts as a mode of transportation, with certain restrictions. To me, this represents a big step in changing the way people think about how they get around and will ultimately make Erie's neighborhoods quieter, safer, and friendlier. It may also lead to some changes in the way streets and neighborhoods are designed. More compact and better connected developments may be one outcome of this decision.

And while golf carts may not be as pollution-free as walking or riding your bike, it is likely that they are an improvement over the 200-horsepower automobiles that people are currently using for local trips around Erie. Happy motoring, Erie!
Rob Layton

Small Towns Setting New Trends?

2010-08-24T16:15:00.000-06:00

Erie, Colorado continues to be a small town with big ideas. Design Concepts was pleased to be the designer for their new Erie Community Park, which is turning out to be a real winner in terms of building a sense of community and bringing new visitors to town. But the big story today can be found in the Boulder Daily Camera's article on theTown's consideration of allowing golf carts on some of its streets. Kudos to Erie for its willingness to think outside the box and weigh the options for alternative forms of transportation.

I'm sure that the discussion will be an interesting one at the Town Board tonight, as there are plenty of pro's and cons to consider. Breaking out of our automobile-centric mold in this country is not an easy task. But at least they are having the discussion. Best wishes to the folks in Erie, whatever you decide to do.

Oh, and a tip of the hat to Lyons, the other Boulder County town that has lead the way on this issue!
Rob Layton

Playgrounds of London

2010-07-16T17:59:00.000-06:00

My recent trip to London was great fun, with the added bonus of incredible weather: long days of sunshine and warm temperatures. Perfect for enjoying the many fine parks found there. Fortunately, my two young traveling companions, aged seven and eleven, shared my own personal interest in parks and especially playgrounds. We visited every playground we could find, and what we found was that London offers some great places to play. The large and well-known Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens lived up to it's reputation, with a sand beach and water play, huge pirate ship and a variety of nooks and crannies to explore. The playground is not only fun for the kids, it's also a pleasant place for parents, with places to relax in a garden-like setting.

The girls also had a great time at the Holland Park Adventure Playground, which has a wide variety of moving elements, including several different types of swings and spinners, and platforms suspended on cables that all bounce and jiggle when kids (and their parents) jump on them. It also has one of the long zip-lines that we found in many of London's parks. With so many interactive things to do, the girls couldn't help but make friends among the children of many nationalities who visit the park. It was interesting to see how the kids all quickly figured out how to cooperate to make things spin faster and go farther, even when they didn't speak the same language.

In Kew Gardens we found a number of fantastic interpretive playgrounds, including one inside a greenhouse (especially popular in the wet weather London is famous for, I'm sure) and several natural play areas built around the concepts of photosynthesis, the food chain, and other natural processes. Lots of great ideas for combining play, learning, and nature can be found at Kew Gardens.

London's playgrounds were among the highlights of our trip, offering the girls a way to burn off some youthful energy, interact with people their own age, and maybe even learn a little about the environment while we grownups enjoyed a shady spot to take a break from the rigors of sightseeing. They make a great city even better.
Rob Layton
July 16th, 2010

Discovery Playground

2010-06-16T08:45:00.000-06:00

Discovery Playground, Design Concepts’ newest destination playground has just had its grand opening. Located in Spokane Valley, Washington, it was designed to appeal to people of all ages and abilities. The playground has multiple activities to engage the senses. Colorful custom play and art pieces, a water spray area, climbing wall, musical elements, extensive plantings and landforms all provide fun for Eastern Washington residents.

The Secret Garden with "Large Objects"

The Bear Cave and Sand Play

Construction is done - time to relax!

Q&A on Playgrounds

2010-04-22T09:07:00.001-06:00

We're excited to be featured in the April issue of Colorado Parent. Carol and Shanen did a Q&A session on building better playgrounds, and how to incorporate activities for adults as well as kids. Parents are the ones bringing kids to playgrounds, why not give them something to do too? The online version can be found here.

Centennial Park

2010-04-02T15:48:00.001-06:00

Colorado’s newest incorporated city is Centennial. Located in the southern portion of the Denver Metropolitan area, Centennial stretches from the Platte River Valley on the west to the eastern plains. Centennial is so new that it lacks much of the imagery and activities that most towns grow up with. One great start being planned by Centennial is the new Civic Center Park and Town Plaza. Located on the central spine road of Arapahoe Avenue and at almost the geographical center of the city, the Park will provide a highly visible place that defines the look of Centennial. The theme of “One hundred years of settlement, ten thousand years of habitation” talks about the history of habitation from the Clovis people, to the cattle people, to the jet set of today. The design and materials used in the park keeps this theme apparent throughout the space. As well, this park includes a diversity of uses from an outdoor coffeehouse to climbing walls and multigenerational play. In this town, having a place that is accessible and inviting to meet your friends and neighbors will be a great new asset. The park also includes a creek, a regional trailhead, diverse topography, a plaza for events, a large amphitheater, and a huge variety of play. The architecture includes a shelter overlook, a large venue group shelter, sledding, restrooms, climbing, and a looped linear arboretum. There is a lot of activity packed into this eleven acres! That is exactly the point of a civic space. This gives people a chance to rub shoulders with other people in a very active way, or to read on the side of the mesa that dominates the park. A new generation of public spaces, well exemplified by this park, focuses on getting people outside, getting them together, and creating education and activity that is meaningful and healthy. That is how the people of Centennial define themselves.

Please enjoy this video of a computer model we did for the park.

-Axel Bishop

How Trees Are Made

2010-03-26T08:19:00.002-06:00

A friend at Little Valley Wholesale Nursery sent this video and we found it fascinating. Trees are made by sticking a seed in the ground and five years later you have a tree, right? Not exactly.

The video is lengthy, but if you have time it's worth watching. Watch it here (click on the photo on OPB's page to start the video).

Bike Commuters on the Move!

2010-03-12T11:21:00.001-07:00

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, interesting things are happening in the world of bicycle commuting. According to the article, the Census Bureau reports that in the 70 largest cities in America, the number of bicycle commuters increased 48% between the years 2000 and 2008. Bicycle commuters now account for 1% of all commuters. While 1% is not a staggering percentage, the rate of growth is significant. The Post article also states that in Washington, DC the number of commuters doubled during that same time frame.

The article also makes note of the fact that Google Maps has now started providing bicycling directions in addition to its driving directions. While the system apparently needs some refinement, Google has attempted to incorporate off-street bike trails, separate bike lanes, and designated bike routes into the directions, and avoid obstacles like hills, busy streets, and crowded intersections.

This is great news for all commuters, not just those on bikes, as the growth of the cycling infrastructure will ultimately lead to reduced traffic congestion and heathier communities. It's great to see that the trails and bikeways that we have been planning and designing for our clients across the country are really paying off!

Rob Layton

Communities at Play

2010-02-04T10:46:00.001-07:00

Our American culture today does not incorporate play into everyday life. Possibly this is a cultural thing, but more likely it is a partial result of the way we build and live in our communities. Throughout history society has usually integrated some sort of play into the culture. As a matter of fact, cultures that integrate more play into everyday life tend to live longer and healthier lives. This is especially true of people who have frequent intergenerational contact and, more importantly, when that contact incorporates some form of release activity—like play.

Much in the same way that we have segregated the aspects of our lives through community zoning, we have segregated our generations, our friendship groups, and the activities that can bring us together. One of the most important of these may be play. Our planned and zoned physical isolation creates difficulty in finding places and partners for play. Not only does this affect us physically, but it affects us emotionally and socially. No other activity in our lives, with the possible exception of spiritualism, brings so much to our well being. Play is usually low or no cost and is best when spontaneous.

Nationally, there is a trend towards finding ways to overcome the isolation created by our automotive-oriented, zoned communities. People are now asking for lifestyles that allow for closer communities with more potential for contact among generations and friends or potential friends. One thing that we have learned through urban and recreational design is to create spaces where a greater number of activities are possible and encouraged. This is the first step in allowing people to do what brings them the greatest happiness: being with other people. Contemporary studies show that the greatest satisfaction in life is found through contact with others.

One of the best ways that humans historically have found to gather is through play. Since play is at best spontaneous, and often has no real purpose, it can blend the broadest range of people. Any type of place will function as a play area, as long as something about the space creates a comfortable atmosphere. It is also very easy and inexpensive to create a playful environment simply through thoughtful design.

America is rethinking its cities and neighborhoods in order to create a more cohesive, healthy and connected citizenry. Many planners are rethinking recreation areas. Now many of our parks, open spaces, drainages, land buffers, sports complexes and playgrounds can and are taking on a new look. They too are no longer always isolated into separate categories. These recreational lands are being designed and built to create all of these uses in proximity to each other and close to where we live and work. They are the community rather than an afterthought or addition. The new millennium should find all of us with greater opportunity to see each other, to interact with each other, and to relieve the stress of our lives through play and interaction.

-Axel Bishop

For further reading see:

“A History of Children’s Play and Play Environments” by Joe L. Frost.

“Play” by Stuart Brown, M.D.

“Waiting for the Weekend” by Witold Rybczynski

The Mile High Million

2010-01-29T11:40:00.003-07:00

We're certainly in the business of adding trees to our environment. In 2006, our Mayor John Hickenlooper introduced a great tree planting program. The goal is to add one million new trees to the Denver metro area by 2025. All new trees count. Schools, residential, parks, etc. If you have a tree planted, please register it. Contractors should also be made aware of this program so they can register all the trees they plant.

To learn more about this program, visit The Mile High Million site.

While you're there, check out Greenprint Denver too.

Design Concepts Clients in the News

2010-01-18T17:53:00.003-07:00

A couple of articles on the front page of the Boulder Daily Camera caught my attention today, mainly because they both involve clients that Design Concepts has worked with over the years. The headline for the first one was “Superior Resurrects Morgul Bismarck”. This is great news for an old bicycle racing fan like myself, who can remember the glory days of the first Red Zinger Classics. And the fact that the Town of Superior has been a good client of ours over the years leads me to wish them all the best of success. I’m sure that the Town’s officials are hoping that the race will bring fame, glory, and notoriety to Superior, and even better, put some sales tax revenues into the Town’s coffers. Mark your calendars for May 28th, 29th, and 30th, and head on over to the races.

The headline on the other article was “Christian Festival Looks to Longmont”. The article talks about a music festival that could bring as many as 50,000 people to Union Reservoir in July. It is estimated that the festival could pump as much as a million dollars into the local economy.

Even before reading the article, I knew that there would be conflicting opinions on whether or not the event should be held there. Design Concepts completed a recent master plan for Union Reservoir that included an extensive public input process. During this process, it was clear that people value Union Reservoir for a number of different reasons, and sometimes these can appear to conflict with one another. The reservoir and its surrounding landscape make up a pleasant setting that provides wonderful habitat for wildlife. People enjoy fishing, swimming, boating, and camping here as well. And, as evidenced by the article, the reservoir may also be a desireable destination for large events that can bring economic benefits to the community in troubled financial times.

All of these uses have value to someone, and that is the point that I’d like to make. Whether or not you feel that one or another of them is more appropriate for Union Reservoir, the parks, greenways, and other public lands that we all own in common throughout our communities have tremendous value that should not be taken for granted. Sometimes the value seems warm and fuzzy, but often it also involves cold hard cash. Parks provide economic benefits as well as recreational and environmental ones. The officials and staff who provide stewardship for these lands must frequently make difficult decisions in attempting to balance one need against another. But the reason that the decisions are difficult is because the stakes are high. And the stakes are high because the potential benefits from our public spaces are so great.

Rob Layton

To The Ends of the Earth...

2010-01-15T17:00:00.006-07:00

Design Concepts gets to work with great clients and colleagues. Among these is GreenPlay LLC, whose Founder and CEO, Teresa Penbrooke, was recently invited to Antarctica to do a recreation and wellness plan for all of the U.S. stations, field camps, and research vessels located there. She spent the greater part of December "on ice" as they call it. Teresa told me about what she learned on her trip:

"The harsher the environment, the more important it is to pay attention to the outlets people have available to them. This includes facilities and programs for recreation and rejuvination. People living in Antarctica work long hours and have little personal privacy. The living conditions are cramped and most everyone has roomates. At the same time, the types of people who go there are likely to be somewhat introverted and want privacy and personal space."

"The most logical place to be alone and find solitude in Antarctica is outside, but the conditions can be dangerous and people are discouraged from venturing out alone. The investment in time and money it takes to get people there in the first place makes them too valuable to allow for risky behavior. At the same time, people who are willing to go to Antarctica tend to be adventurous. This poses a dilemna. A possible solution is to create safe trails where people can venture out and explore on their own."

So, even in Antarctica, recreational trails are a priority need! In our work here on the "top half" of the Earth, we consistently find that trails are the number one priority for recreational amenities among the public. Looks like that need extends to even the farthest reaches of the world. Certainly, the need to be outside, active, and engaging the senses is a universal one that is important to the well-being and productivity of people wherever they are.

Posted By Rob Layton
1.15.10

Sister Carmen Community Center

2009-12-20T21:03:00.005-07:00

The organizational mission of Sister Carmen Community Center (SCCC) is to provide assistance without discrimination to residents of East Boulder County who are in need. SCCC is a non profit organization with no religious affiliation. For about forty years, SCCC has been providing comprehensive basic needs assistance in our community. Sister Carmen provides residents of Lafayette, Louisville, Superior and Erie with emergency food assistance through their Food Bank and other emergency assistance through their Community Support Services. The center also has a Thrift Store that provides affordable clothing and household items to all local residents, funds the center's programs, and accepts gently used household items and clothing donations.

The center is located in Lafayette and is supported by area donors which includes grocery stores, community members, schools, businesses, organizations, churches, families, and individuals. The center boasts over 400 volunteers who commit their time to sort donations (see photo right), stock the thrift store, do data entry, and help with Food Bank operations (see photo above).

The center is always in need of donations to their Food Bank. Right now the top needs are:
*Macaroni and Cheese
*Canned Chili
*Canned Tuna and Chicken
*Diapers Sizes 4, 5, 6 and Pull Ups
*Shampoo
*Toilet Paper

What are the non-profit organizations in your community? Because of the economic situation many community-serving organizations are seeing a decrease in donations and a dramatic increase in need. We encourage all firms to look in to how they can serve now and throughout the year. Check out Volunteers of America for service providers in your area.

Now through February Design Concepts is hosting a Toiletries Drive for Sister Carmen. If you come by the office please feel free to contribute diapers, hygiene products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper, and other personal care items to our collection efforts!

--Axel Bishop

Chevo Studios

2009-12-01T20:17:00.011-07:00

Andy Dufford is the lead artist at Chevo Studios, which focuses on using art to design and build beautiful places. Using a core value system that focuses on community, creativity, timelessness, and craft, Chevo Studios has been a part of landscape projects throughout Colorado, including some DC has been involved with. Dufford most often works on Learning Landscape Projects with us, contributing work to Hideaway Park in Winter Park, where he created a large concrete wall with relief/impressions, a gateway (see photo left), and a terrific stone fireplace seating area (see below). He also worked with DC on Boulder's Foothills Park.

Andy is an artist who is great at celebrating a site, whether it is a park or a playground, and his art activates and creates spaces where people want to be and want to visit again.

In 2009 Chevo Studios received the 2009 Contractor of the Year Award from the Colorado chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

-Amanda Bower

JVA, Inc. Engineers

2009-11-27T19:39:00.009-07:00

The Colorado Engineering company JVA, Inc. is a local structural and civil engineering company that Design Concepts often works with. When leading a project we frequently hire JVA as our civil engineering consultants, and we have also been paired with them by lead architects which both companies serve as sub-consultants to. While we work mostly with the Civil Engineers in the JVA Boulder office, their firm also has offices in Winter Park and Fort Collins.

Over the years of working on Colorado parks and schools together the two firms have come to have both a friendly professional and social relationship. Among other contributors to our successful working relationship is the fact that both firms share mutual drafting standards, making file-sharing easier on everyone.

Recently JVA and Design Concepts have both been involved in a variety of projects including Bayou Gulch in Douglas County. Currently we are working on Aurora Public Schools' Preschool-8 project as well as the 38th and Kipling park in Wheatridge, both which are under construction.

Meet the DC Team: Axel

2009-11-22T18:12:00.005-07:00

Name: Axel Bishop

Number of years at DC: 28

Title: I am one of four Principals, I am a Land Planner and Landscape Architect. I design neighborhoods, parks, drainage systems and school.

Where are you from? I was born in KC, Missouri where my parents grew up. My family moved, and I lived in Albuquerque, NM from infant to 10yrs. We then moved to Dallas, TX where I lived until College.

Where did you go to school? I graduated from Texas Tech University

Do you have any pets? What are they like? I have a Basenji Dog. These are a very interesting breed of African dog. They are basically untrainable but highly personable. I also have a Springer Spaniel, Freddy. He is very high energy and a well trained hunting dog.

What's one thing you can't live without? I would say that the one thing I can’t live without is my family.

Where is the farthest you have traveled? I guess that a trip to Europe would be the farthest. Budapest, Hungary was probably the farthest destination there.

What's your favorite food? I eat a lot of Soup. I love Dark Chocolate

What's your favorite part of working at Design Concepts? The kind of work that we do seems helpful to the world. It is innovative, recreational and creates good places to play and learn. The collaborative atmosphere makes it a nice place to work.

What would you do with $1 million? I would spend the rest of my life trying to make a positive difference in the world. Actually I think I will try that without the $1M.

If you could be a professional athlete, what sport would you play? I would race bicycles. That has remained my favorite sport.

What is your favorite movie? I really like the philosophy expressed in “Forest Gump”. One of the few movies I’ve seen more than once.

What inspires you? People who know who they are, and know how to apply that to creating beauty or positive change.

What's one totally random fact about yourself? I once played guitar for a Southern Baptist evangelical group that toured the country in the summers singing at revivals.

Public Health and The Landscape

2009-11-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a Facebook post by Bruce Ward from Choose Outdoors I found an interesting article called "Take a hike and call me in the morning..." in the Washington Post that talks about doctors prescribing outdoor activity as treatment for a variety of ailments. This is not just fluffy news-filler, folks. It is part of a very real trend that recognizes the benefits that parks, greenways, and open space provide in terms of community health and disease prevention. As landscape architects, we have a role to play in the public health movement. Frederick Law Olmsted and others recognized this more than a century ago and devoted themselves to creating places that support the physical, mental, and social well-being of people and communities.

I spent several days last week at Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation meeting with their research faculty and discussing how the GRASP® methodology developed by Design Concepts and GreenPlay LLC can be used to support research aimed at making communities healthier places to live. This is exciting stuff for us, and the interesting thing is that they found us and invited us to the table, meaning that the health and wellness field is aware of what landscape architects can offer and welcomes our contribution to their efforts. I'll let you know in future posts where all of this leads. Meanwhile, ask your doctor about that new park in your neighborhood....

Rob Layton

Return of the Buffalo Commons

2009-11-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the NRPA Weekly newsletter that shows up in my inbox, I ran across an interesting article about an old idea that I had long forgotten. Many years ago I went to a lecture at CU presented by the proponents of a concept they called the Buffalo Commons. While intrigueing at the time, it nontheless seemed pretty far-fetched. The idea was to remove people from much of the Great Plains and return it to a natural condition where the buffalo could freely roam. Interesting now to hear the idea being resurected by none other than the governor of Kansas. An article at http://www.kansascity.com/340/story/1570333.html talks about the possibility of turning a large part of northwestern Kansas into a "Buffalo Commons National Park".

The article also mentions a bill introduced in Congress last week to restore full funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In my travels to inventory and evaluate parks across the country, I frequently run across parks that were created years ago with Land and Water Conservation Funds. These parks are providing an important service today to people in a wide variety of communities. Restoration of this program to full funding would benefit many communities, particularly smaller ones that don't have a lot of other resources for creating parks.

Rob Layton

Whimsy and Adaptability in Spokane Valley's New Park

2009-10-29T14:46:00.054-06:00

Discovery Playground, a new park in Spokane Valley, Washington incorporates numerous whimsical and imaginative elements. Working with Beechwood Metalworks and Playtime Creations, we incorporated sculptures of life-size and oversized animals, fish, and flowers among the play and learning activities.

The park's Secret Garden with Objects of Unusual Size incorporates giant flowers designed and created by Casey Lewis of Beechwood Metalworks, Inc. (pictured at above), a pumpkin large enough to stand in (pictured below), and a chair twice normal size. The garden is entered by crouching through a small gateway that then reveals the giant objects inside.

The playground has been designed to accommodate children and adults of all abilities, and provide engaging and entertaining play as well as socialization and rehabilitation therapy opportunities. The bear den (shown above) provides a great resting place for those who may need quiet time. Additional elements such as interactive musical instrument coves, water play, climbing wall, colorful surfacing, sensory gardens and more are incorporated into the region’s first destination playground.

This project presented new challenges for all of those involved (the geology of Eastern Washington was new for us, and none of the local contractors had worked on a project as fanciful as this). With the enthusiasm of the community, contractors and the City, everyone is sharing in the vision of the project. We look forward to its completion in late November!

--Carol Henry

National Recreation and Park Association Annual Congress

2009-10-26T22:01:00.004-06:00

Dispatch from Salt Lake City…

Once again it is time for the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) congress – this year in Salt Lake City. What a great time to be in Utah! It is beautiful here – if a bit windy. This year the Congress is looking a little smaller than usual, presumably due to budgets being slashed across the country. Still there is a great energy here. It is a great time to reconnect with old friends and past clients and see what is new in the world of parks and recreation (see photo).

This year’s keynote speaker, Jim Carroll, encouraged us to pay attention to the future – even embrace it with all of its changes. He emphasized that things are only going to happen faster and we need to be able to respond to keep up and move ahead. It is a good reminder during a time where we are working hard just to put out the fires around us. It is hard to look ahead, but we must do it. He challenged us to think about how parks and recreation can be more responsive, flexible, and on the cutting edge. I guess the response “because we’ve always done it that way” no longer applies.

What does this mean in terms of park design? Providing facilities that keep up with recreation trends? Wiring parks for internet access? Providing spaces for on-line social networking? Installing electronic play equipment? Creating “find a park” and “find a playground” apps for GPS enabled phones? Creating on-line virtual arboretums and amenities inventories for parks? -OR- How about going the opposite direction, creating spaces where electronics are disabled to encourage face-to-face interaction?

When I turn this question on my current work as a parks professional, I wonder – “What are we doing in our current work to address the future of parks and recreation?” In a presentation given by Karon Badalamenti of GreenPlay and I, we talked about the future of parks and recreation planning. In our latest projects we have been trying to figure out how to measure Level of Service that includes all things provided by parks and recreation agencies – not just counting things and drawing a circle around them. Ultimately we would like to be able to measure level of service based on quality of experience. That would include all parts of the experience from first thought to memories after. That level of information may really change the way that we look at what we are providing to the public. But we must act fast! The future is quickly approaching!

–Rachel Brenna