Imagining and Creating Emerald View Park

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TURNING THE INVISIBLE, VISIBLE

Turning the Invisible, Visible: Imagining and Creating Emerald View Park

Speaker Information

• Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph.D. • Executive Director, Mount Washington Community Development Corporation

• 301 Shiloh Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15211 ilyssa@mwcdc.org

• 412.481.3220 x203

• Eva Simms, Ph.D. • Professor of Psychology

• Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282 simms@duq.edu

• 412.396.6515

• Andrew JG Schwartz, AICP CUD, RLA, LEED® AP

• Managing Principal, Environmental Planning and Design

• 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh PA, 15219 AndrewSchwartz@epd-pgh.com

• 412.261.6000

Turning the Invisible, Visible: Imagining and Creating Emerald View Park

Presentation Outline

• Setting Context: Mount Washington’s Environmental History (Ilyssa Manspeizer)

• Neighborhood Nature Commons and Deterritorialization (Eva Simms)

• Getting Boots on the Ground to Reclaim the Nature Commons (Ilyssa Manspeizer)

• Creating Experiences with Context Appropriate Trails (AJ Schwartz)

Which invisible nature spaces could you bring to light in your neighborhood? How does the specific character and context of this space influence the kinds of trails or other amenities that could go there? How can your challenges become your solutions, and ultimately your strengths?

Mount Washington’s Environmental History

Robert Griffing

By 1874…

By 1911…

By 1915…

By 2005…

Landslides worsened by undermining

Abandoned mine drainage

Contaminated soil

Abandoned roads and foundations

Remnants of 60 years of illegal dumping

Eva-Maria Simms, Ph.D.

Psychology Department,

Duquesne University, Pittsburgh

THE NEIGHBORHOOD NATURE COMMONS: HOW NEIGHBORHOOD WOODS ARE LOST AND FOUND

The Invisibility of Nature

• Neglect of urban non-park green spaces

• Invisibility of nature

• Trashed neighborhood woods

Garbage

THE SYMPTOM OF INVISIBILITY

3,500 volunteer hours

140 tons of garbage (280,000 pounds)

Over 6 years

What is the perception of nature by city dwellers so that it is o.k. to trash natural spaces ?

Territorialized Urban

Landscapes

Urban landscapes have political and economic use functions and are “territorialized”, i.e. they form a nexus of psycho-social attitudes, practices, and conceptual realities which make them “real” to a community.

Logging, Mining, Pollution

The "Indian" Steps in 1911. Note the lack of vegetation on what is now a forested slope

Foraging, coal digging, foot travel

To forget that natural places are there……

DE-TERRITORIALIZATION

Deterritorialized Nature Places

Nature becomes • invisible • unused • trashed

THE FERAL LANDSCAPES

Invisible Nature Spaces

•Unused

•Undifferentiated “Green stuff”

•Eco-phobia

•Fear of “nefarious activities”

•Unknown territory

•Falling real estate prices

•Forbidden to children

“Oh, you mean the junky wooded slopes at the end of my street?”

Garbage is a symptom:

THE LOSS OF THE NATURE COMMONS

The Commons

Refers traditionally to the elements of

the environment -- forests,

atmosphere, rivers, grazing land – that are

shared, used, and enjoyed by all.

The Hauberg, Siegerland

The Tragedy Of The Loss Of

The Commons

•Forgetting that natural places are part of our commons

•The bio-ethical failure to understand and manage our commons

Garbage is a symptom

HOW can we integrate natural

places into our commons?

Community conversations

Community involvement

Reclaiming the green spaces as “ours”

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGE

HOW can we integrate natural places into our commons?

Making Nature Visible

Fostering familiarity Hikes

Clean-ups

Education

Birding and botany

Developing attachment

Developing Topophilia through nature practice

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGE

HOW can we integrate natural places into our commons?

Making Nature Visible

Neighborhood Organization

Trails for hiking/biking

Maintenance/Care

Signage

Next to parks we find Increases in

Real Estate Prices

Economic Activity

Safety

COMMUNITY PARK DESIGNATION

HOW can we integrate natural places into our commons?

Re- Territoria

lize

Make Nature Visible In Urban Neighborhoods !

CLAIM THE WOODS AT THE END OF YOUR

STREETS !

Attachment and Identification with Nature

Attachment to nature as a

particular place

Conversations and actions within the

local commons

Inclusion of natural habitat in the neighborhood

commons

Political changes: protect and

conserve natural habitats and diversity one

neighborhood at the time.

Topophilia

Reterritorialization

Bioethical affirmation

Local knowledge/Familiarity

ATTACHMENT TOPOPHILIA BIOPHILIA

Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph.D.

Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA

GETTING BOOTS ON THE GROUND TO RECLAIM THE NATURE COMMONS - EMERALD VIEW PARK

Challenges

Create a Park on land that is:

Degraded

Fragile

Invisible

Challenges Solution

Create a Park on land that is:

Degraded

Fragile

Invisible

Master Implementation Plan (2005)

Master Trail Plan (2010)

Restoration Plan (ongoing)

PLANS

Challenges Solution Results

Create a Park on land that is:

Degraded

Fragile

Invisible

• 6,000 trees planted

• 280,000 pounds of garbage removed

• 10 miles of trails

• 15,000 volunteer hours

• Over 30,450 hours of employment

• 5 Park entrances

• $4.5 million invested

• Local and national awards received

• Committed park users and supporters

Andrew JG Schwartz AICP CUD, RLA, LEED ® AP

Managing Principal Environmental Planning & Design Pittsburgh, PA

TRAIL PLANNING AND DESIGN IS ABOUT USER EXPERIENCE, CONNECTIVITY, FUNCTIONALITY AND LONGEVITY

Opportunities and Challenges

to Trail Building on

Mt. Washington

• Steep slopes and poor urban soils

• Illegal dumping and former landfill areas

• Open mines and mine subsidence areas

• Isolation and limited visibility

• Existing network of unplanned and poorly constructed trails

• Illicit use of ATV, dirt bikes, etc…

Steep Slopes

Poor Soils and Landslide Prone Areas

Illegal Dumping and Former Landfills

Planning and Design

Principles/Objectives

• Provide a trail connection/trailhead within a ¼ mile walking distance to nearly 30,000 persons

• Conserve and embrace the “wild character” of the hillside

• Use existing or natural materials; minimize mechanical construction

• Accommodate universal accessibility as much as practical

• Solicit/involve residents to build awareness and ownership

• Make connections to Downtown and the GAP

Connecting to Regional Commuter Trails and Downtown Pittsburgh

Leverage Proximity to the Great Allegheny Passage

The Typical Mt. Washington Pedestrian/Bike Experience

Common Trail Building

Considerations and Inputs

• Soil Composition and Gradient of Terrain • Types of Trail Users • Desired Width of the Trail Tread • Longitudinal Slope of the Trail • Existing Drainage Patterns and

Groundwater Sources • Surrounding Street and Block Patterns • Availability of Building Materials – Soils,

Rock, Timber, Stable/Moveable Debris • Vistas, Plant Communities and

Geological/Cultural Assets • Level of Access for Construction and

Maintenance • Transit Connections

Typical Trail Typologies

Unpaved Multi-Purpose Hiking/Mountain Biking Paved Multi-Purpose (Walking/General Biking) (Walking/Blading/General Biking)

PLANS, CONSTRUCTION, TRAINING, ENGAGEMENT AND ENJOYMENT

Trail Master Plan

Trails by Type

Trailheads and Signage

Trail Phasing

Traditional Construction Techniques

Early Trail Sections – Variations in Invisible Spaces, Experiences and Levels of Difficulty

Early Trail Sections – Variations in Invisible Spaces, Experiences and Levels of Difficulty

SUCCESSES AND ON-GOING OPPORTUNITIES

Awards and Recognitions

• 2012 City Parks Alliance

Frontline Park

• 2013 PA-DEL Chapter of ASLA Honor Award for Planning

• 2014 National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program

By-Products of the Trail Building Effort

gototrails.com: Connecting the Emerald View Trails to the World

iOS App

OUR WOODS

OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

OUR NATURE COMMONS

Which invisible nature spaces could you bring to light in your neighborhood? How does the specific character and context of this space influence the kinds of trails or other amenities that could go there? How can your challenges become your solutions, and ultimately your strengths?