Designing For Urban Green Space Elizabeth Goodman University of California, Berkeley School of Information

Urban green space is not “natural” San Francisco Historical Photo Collection - San Francisco Public Library

Design is a form of politics Library of Congress What we want for green space can tell us a lot about what we want and fear for our cities. What public visits the park? Whose community is in the garden?

Urban green spaces are a technology …for what end? Air Trees Eco Boulevard

The benefits of city green space Public health Opportunity for exercise Asthma mitigation Psychological well-being Environmental remediation Storm runoff reduction Pollution absorption Wildlife protection Noise buffering Neighborhood stability Building social cohesion to address local concerns Early education, adult job training

Defining urban green space

“Urban jewels” Celebrated spaces Publicly owned and accessible Defining urban green space

Ordinary small places Accessed mostly by “the locals” Defining urban green space Neighborhood spaces

Privately owned street places The public can see (and often touch), but doesn’t own them Defining urban green space

Privately owned private places Things and places that cannot be seen without invitation Defining urban green space

Challenges Awareness Complexity Maintenance Costs Virginia Department of Forestry

Technologies for urban green spaces

Sensing

Sensors speak “for the plant” Data feeds distribute responsibility Botanicalls

Soil sensor accesses expertise in database Assisting reasoning about environmental conditions Easy Bloom

Social networks of cultivation

Building a database of local knowledge Sharing plant varieties Myfolia.com

Landshare.net Making unused land available Creating connections between neighbors

Local mapping

fallenfruit.org “Every day there is food somewhere going to waste. We encourage you to find it, tend and harvest it. If you own property, plant food on your perimeter.” Fallenfruit.org

ParkScan.org Enlisting local volunteers Working towards accountability and transparency

Journey North Reporting small events to map climate change

Imaging regions

Remote imaging A tool for making charismatic images americanforests.org

“The $50 Million Photos”

Framework: Green spaces as a network

Of distributed food production Farmadelphia - Front Studio

Of ecosystem intervention PlantSF.com

Of institutions and groups City of Seattle Food Bank garden plot

Of new modes of sharing, ownership, and access Guerillagardening.org

In conclusion: Back to the future? Railroad worker cultivating the small victory garden in the Proviso yard, Chicago Jack Delano, flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/

Thanks! Elizabeth Goodman confectious.net