The Wetlands

Changing a community: 2050

The above photo shows Greenhill Apartment from Riverside Drive. It is currently fenced in (or fenced out?)

Could a park in the area bring safety? Could it bring down the fences? I think so.

2050

Starting to work towards a defense

There still needs to be a board inserted here that would summarize how I got to 37915.





I think this is where I will need to insert a slide detailing how I chose General Shale.





In between here will be a few slides. Of course one with the plan, but also one that consolidates my site inventory.



Following will be two slides, much like the one above, with my other two sections. And, a final slide with "details" of how the different programs should be built. Items to be included, possible vegetation, addressing CPTED... this might end up being multiple slides.

A step back...Photo Inventory

In an attempt to follow the three T's I've created a master photo inventory panel of the site as it appears today. It's important to have an overall sense of place, especially in this thesis as part of the EJ that I am trying to address is the fact that this community surrounds a former industrial site. So, these pictures tell the story of what this community lives with and looks at every day. And hopefully, they illustrate why it is so important to clean up and repurpose not only this site, but other sites like it.

2050?

In my pre defense I was asked what I thought the implications of my plan would be. What would my park look like in the year 2050? Well, I imagine that by then it will have become an integrated aspect of not only 37915 but of Knox County as a whole. I hope that it will be loved and used by a broad range of people from both in 37915 and all over the county.

Plan?

Treating Water

The above slide hopefully shows the relationship of the new park and water treatment area to the existing KUB Water Treatment Plant. While I don't know exactly what each element of the KUB plant does I've tried to highlight the areas that are used for water treatment against the "green."

Riverview Park

Visual Aids

First Draft

It's impossible to see in a black and white CAD drawing, but one aspect of my park that I am hoping to make apparent is that water and its uses are out in the open for everyone to see. I hope to accomplish this through the building of wetlands to the south of the tracks along with a recirculating stream with sheet water fountains to cleanse storm water before draining back into the aquifers and being used as irrigation for the garden. In the garden, the irrigation system would also consist of above ground spray fountains that would rise above the plants and create a "rain system" to water the plants.
For precedence I have been looking at the Bill Clinton Library roof and Toronto's Sherbourne Park.

Riverview Park Garden

Riverview Park

Before

After

The Onlys?

Beginning plan

More Analysis

A closer look

Bubble Park 1

After looking over my past research and seeing that KUB had attempted to buy this site in 2009 my design has expanded. At the time the KUB sell fell through the property was priced at $3.3 million, that's a lot of money for a city to spend just to purchase the land for a park. So, my recommendation is that KUB and the city partner in purchasing the site and use it as a water treatment area and park. Much like the water treatment parks in Toronto and Connecticut.
The area south of the rail line could be allotted for an educational/water treatment area. It would be open to the public and could help fill in some of the obvious educational problems this area already faces. The schools are lacking in their environmental education and the local (even all of Knox County) children could really benefit from an area like this.
The area north of the tracks could be used for more traditional park activities such as open fields and a play area. It would also contain the community garden that I still believe would benefit the community since they currently live in a food desert.
I would like the heart of this park to be a community center. This would be a place that all of the educational aspects of the entire site could come together and it could also serve as a gathering place for the community.

General Shale

Choosing a SIte

Parks in 37915

37915

Why 37915?

Environmental Justice Slide

Building a garden

After some exhaustive research I have chosen 23 fruits and vegetables that could provide a year-round garden in East Tennessee. I have also started looking into the amount of space required to contain a garden that could potentially feed 500 people by supplying them with all of their vegetable needs for one year. This number could go through trial and error and various planting methods, but for now, I have decided to allocate 15 acres of my available 39 acres to a community garden. I also plan on making use of shade trees by planting fruit trees and potentially some fruit vines and shrubs as well.

When starting to look at my program this still leaves room for all-purpose fields, a few basket-ball courts, a playground and a community center that could hopefully function on many levels as well. I also would like to look into water management and since the site will be housing a large garden I feel that a wetland buffer would be a good idea along the river. This could double as a quiet fishing pier.

Site Analysis

The design is still to come.

Making a case for a farm

Just 90 years ago this now vacant industrial site was home to a typical East Tennessee family owned farm. Today the site sits unused and wasted while hundreds of its surrounding neighbors live in a virtual food desert.



One thing I believe could truly benefit this community is not only a park, but an Urban Learning Farm.
1 - Community Outreach
2 - Education
3 - Potential Income
4 - Fresh fruits and vegetables

37915 and General Shale

The General Shale Brick factory opened on Riverside Drive in the late 1930s on a former agricultural site. Small mill communities began to build up around the factory and by the 1960s Riverview was a thriving community. The factory seemed to be faring well in the late nineties and its ultimate closure in December of 1999 was a shock to Knoxville as a whole. The factory laid off 65 workers and thus began the downfall of Riverview. While the population continued to grow in 37915, the jobs did not and there is a drastic increase in poverty levels from 2000 when they were 27.1% to 2010 when they jumped to 49.8%.

In December of 2011, the "Economic Review Journal" listed 37915 in Knoxville as one of the "most miserable cities in America."

37915 has the 7th highest unemployment rate for Zip Codes in Tennessee, the 8th highest poverty rate for Zip Codes in Tennessee, and the 4th highest homeowner vacancy rate for Zip Codes in Tennessee.

Site Analysis and Suitability Study

The above section shows the change in elevation a person would experience walking along the streets to Morningside Park.

The above map is a study of walking distances. A study conducted by NRPA shows that the average person is willing to walk 1/2 mile to a park. As of now, the red circle represents a 1/2 mile radius from Morningside Park while the green circle shows the area that my suggested park could serve. Underneath is a current land use map which shows that my proposed site is currently zoned industrial.

The above map shows the soil types of the proposed park site. The majority of the soils are urban land surrounded by various loamy soils. This could mean that outside soil will need to be brought in if any major planting is to be done.

The above map shows the flood plain areas on the proposed site. Next to the river is a 100 year flood plain and above that is 500 years. This means that development along the riverbank should be limited due to the higher flood risk.

First Look

The experience of Morningside

What's it like for a mom living on Lombardi to get to Morningside Park with her kids? Is it hard? Easy? Close-by? Far-away? One she gets there is there anything to do?
She would have to walk three-quarters of a mile, basically uphill, traversing a change of elevation of 80 feet in less than a mile. She would encounter broken sidewalks, trash on the streets, stray dogs, and have to walk on a busy highway with no sidewalks for part of her journey. Once she got there she would find a 23 acre park with two playgrounds, a walking/bike trail, picnic pavilions and a frisbee golf course. Depending on the ages of her children and on her racial demographics she may or may not find these aspects appealing.
On my own community survey I found that most residents of Greenhill Apartments and Riverview Terrace didn't even know Morningside Park existed, and when I told them what was there they weren't interested. Almost everyone I interviewed were very responsive to the idea of a new park located down the hill on the former General Shale site. And most had the same comments as far as programming, build it for children. "Give the children a safe place to play and get them out of our streets."

The National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) recommends 6 to 10 acres of local parkland for every 1,000 residents. The NRPA standard for close-to-home parks which includes neighborhood, community and school parks (that is, school playfields and playgrounds) is a range of 6.25-10.5 acres of parks for every thousand residents. The standard of 6.25 acres per thousand residents is what both Knoxville and Knox county parks departments have used as a baseline standard for the last several years.

The above table, provided by the MPC, looks at the total park acreage per sector for the city and the county and compares the total acreage to the number of acres of close-to-home parks per 1,000 residents. A close-to-home park is defined by the MPC as "parks that are within an easy walking or driving distance to most residents." These include neighborhood parks, pocket parks, squares and plazas, greens and commons, school parks, and community parks.
This table for the City Park and Natural Area Acreage shows an average of 4.98 acres per thousand citizens throughout the six city sectors. The North City Sector has the least close-to-home park acreage per resident at 3.49 acres per thousand. In comparison, the East City Sector has the most with 6.35 acres per thousand.
The table shows an average of 3.29 acres per thousand citizens throughout the six county sectors. Looking at the individual sectors the East County Sector has the most close-to-home parks at 8.2 per thousand versus the North County Sector which has the least at 1.45 acres per thousand citizens.
The following table on types of city parks shows that the most close-to-home parks are within the Central City Sector. However, this sector also has the greatest population of the city sectors, which lowers its park to people ratio. The North and Northwest City Sectors have relatively few neighborhood parks and the West City Sector does not have as many individual parks, but does have an abundance of large parks, such as Sequoyah and Lakeshore Parks that are cherished by area residents.

This information becomes even more important when looking at income levels in the various sectors.

All information courtesy of MPC - "The Knoxville - Knox County Park, Recreation, and Greenways Plan," December 2009.