As cities around the world grapple with challenges related to climate change, Culver City has an important opportunity to ensure that its parks and other open spaces play a rolein helping the city adapt to the effects of global warming. The Culver City Green Space Plan is a planning study designed to promote an urban environment that enhances personal and environmental health via the city’s parks, bicycle paths and open spaces. It also aims increase the value of these spaces to a broad segment of the local community through increased chances for passive recreation, or wellness activities.
We want all to lend their voices to the discussion. 2 public workshops have been held where all have been able to exchange ideas about the types of passive recreation they would like to see and do in the city's parks and open spaces. Subsequent workshops will focus on preliminary designs for possible improvements.
Some Background on the Project
North East Trees is a non-profit organization devoted to designing, constructing and preserving open space in Los Angeles through sustainable park, streetscape and schoolyard projects. In 2011, North East Trees, together with the city of Culver City, was awarded a grant from the State of California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) under the Proposition 84 Urban Greening Planning Program for Sustainable Communities. This program provides funds for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide multiple benefits, such as: developing a healthy community, decreasing air and water pollution, reducing the consumption of natural resources and energy, increasing the reliability of local water supplies and increasing adaptability to climate change.
Listening to the Community
The Green Space Plan is being developed through an extended period of community outreach. North East Trees has partnered with Ballona Creek Renaissance and Culver City Unified School District for community and student outreach. During February and March 2012, Culver City high school students helped poll over 200 residents about their ideas for passive recreation. An online survey reached 400 more respondents throughout the city.
People Friendly, Eco Friendly
One goal of the planning project is to provide passive recreational open space within walking distance of all the Culver City neighborhoods, to help promote walkable neighborhoods and a healthy lifestyle. In the past, active recreation facilities, such as ball fields and sports courts, were given the primary focus when the city’s parks were designed, with little attention paid to passive or “unprogrammed” spaces. Those passive spaces present an excellent opportunity to expand the number experiences available to
park visitors and to increase the value of the parks to an expanded public, such as seniors, people with disabilities, indiiduals without children, and children not participating in organized sports.
The Green Space Plan will result in a vision for the conversion of existing public open space to passive recreational space based on community input; this will be in addition to already existing ball fields and other active recreation. From there, five design concepts will be developed for future implementation. This fall, a planning document will be
developed that outlines the final vision for passive recreation spaces in Culver City.
June Scott is a Landscape Designer for Notheast Trees and a Member of the Culver City Green Space Plan Committee.
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