Placemaking through Ecological Design:

Assessing the Viability of Beacon Hill Public Library

as a Potential Site for a Rain Garden

Ciera Wiser
CEP 303: Final Report
June 5, 2016
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How would the implementation of ecological design practices impact the Beacon

Hill neighborhood in terms of placemaking? To narrow the scope of inquiry so as to

enable a comprehensive research project fitting the length of this paper, an analysis of

the potential impacts of implementing a rain garden system in front of the Beacon Hill

library in terms of community placemaking was completed. In choosing this research

site, archived data that had been collected over the course of the quarter was extracted

and analyzed in an attempt to select a place that is both highly and under utilized (in

reference to space use vs. frequency and volume of patrons). To specify a design

practice, information from relevant landscape architecture courses was drawn upon and

served as the basis for selecting the most efficient and simple ecological design

practice a rain garden. Referencing the original research hypothesis, a revised

version was then constructed: how would the installation of a rain garden along the

southeast entrance of the Beacon Hill Public Library impact placemaking of the highly

utilized community asset?

a b

a. Location of Beacon Hill Public Library

b. Photo of library entrance and intended rain garden placement
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To begin, definitions must first be given for a few terms that seem rather fluid and

contextually based. What is implied by the concept of placemaking and how is it

applicable to current day planning in the context of climate change?

The idea behind placemaking was first inspired by the likes of Jane Jacobs and

William H. Whyte. Their groundbreaking proposition that cities be designed for people

as opposed to cars and markets1 took hold and sparked a much needed paradigm shift

in urban planning. A simple, yet thorough definition of placemaking can be found on the

webpage Project for Public Spaces, which was founded as an extension of William

Whytes work in the mid-70s:

As both an overarching idea and a hands-on approach for improving a

neighborhood, city, or region, Placemaking inspires people to collectively
reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community.
Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share,
Placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public
realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban
design, Placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular
attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and
support its ongoing evolution.2

In comparing the notion of placemaking to ecosystem-based mitigation and adaptation3

c
, the similarities reveal that the two are not only complementary system management

strategies, but inextricably intertwined concepts for those who hope to combat the

1
"What is Placemaking?," Project for Public Spaces, accessed June 4, 2016,
http://www.pps.org/reference/what_is_placemaking/.
2
Ibid.
3
Ken Yocom, "Cities + Climate: Adaptive Strategies" (lecture, Gould Hall, UW, WA, May 2016).

c. Ecosystem-based mitigation + adaptation is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of
an overall strategy to help people to plan for and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.
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adverse effects of climate change through progressive, inclusive, and equitable

processes as well.

Before addressing how a rain garden might function to bridge the existing gap

between placemaking and ecosystem-based mitigation and adaptation, a look at the

work of Michael Houghes will provide a simple overview as to the current urban water

management status, and the problems existing within that system:

There are serious problems of discontinuity in our perceptions of urban systems

and natural processes...The benefits of well drained streets and civic spaces are
paid for by the cost of eroded stream banks, flooding, impaired water quality, and
the disappearance of aquatic life...There has been a failure to grasp fully the
hidden environmental and economic costs of local water management
practices...Conventional urban design, in fact, contributes to the general
deterioration of the environment by shifting an urban problem onto the larger
environment, and by the failure to recognize and act on the relationships
between human actions and natural systems.4

It is difficult to understand and value a thing that is not present in ones life, and this is

the case with the urban hydrological cycle. Water is seemingly on demandd when

needed and disappears when finished-- Houghes describes this as keeping your shoes

dry.5 Water is drained in a way that keeps it out of sight and out of mind, which serves

to perpetuate environmentally destructive practices due to a lack of human

consciousness surrounding process.

4
Michael Hough, Cities and Natural Process: A Basis for Sustainability, 2nd ed. (London, UK:
Routeledge, 2004), 15.
5
Hough, Cities and Natural Process, 17.

d. This is obviously not the case world wide, but for the purpose of this essay the assumption will be
made that the urban environments described are sufficiently supplied with water and have the necessary
infrastructure to support the mentioned water management practices.
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How can all of these concepts-- placemaking, ecosystem-based mitigation and

adaptation, system visibility and consciousness-- be combined in a straightforward and

equitable manner in the urban context? Simple, make a rain garden.

So, what is a rain garden? A rain garden is a low impact development designe

that can withstand the extremes of moisture and concentrations of nutrients,

particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus, that are found in stormwater runoff.6

A major issue faced in the urban environment regarding the hydrological cycle is

a lack of sufficient storage. Looking outside of the city, one can see abundant examples

of natural storage reservoirs: lakes, floodplains, wetlands. These integral cycle

components help to reduce the magnitude of peaks downstream by spreading and

equalizing flows over a long period of time.7 This applies to cities as well. Flash flooding

occurs due to high amounts of impervious surfaces and a concentration of water flow to

specific points,8 leaving the inadequate drainage systems compromised. This often

leads to a mixture of stormwater and sewage bypassing treatment facilities during

heavy storms and flowing unabated into rivers and lakes. Not only does this pollute the

receiving water sources, it also limits retention.

The design of a rain garden is such that it serves act as a storage basin on a

small scale basis. Above ground it may seem to be a typical garden: well managed

plant life (typically native), natural habitat for birds and insects, greater landscape

6
"What is a Rain Garden?," Low Impact Development, accessed June 5, 2016,
http://www.lowimpactdevelopment.org/raingarden_design/whatisaraingarden.htm.
7
Hough, Cities and Natural Process, 46.
8
Ibid, 10.

e. Refers to practices that mimic natural processes to manage stormwater in a way that protects water
quality.
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incorporation. The difference, though, lies below ground. Constructed depressions and

the use of compost-amended soils helps to slow and filter roof or driveway runoff,

serving to abate additional water flow during storm weather.9 Below is a simple diagram

that illustrates the basic composition principles:

10

While there is no doubt that large-scale changes are integral to sustainable city

initiatives, as Andrew Manshel states, profound change is more likely to result from a

deeply considered idea that alters an essential component of an urban environment

than from an elaborate master plan that requires abundant resources and considerable

political capital.11 Take William H. Whytes movable chairs, for example.12 For various

9
Seattle Public Utilities, comp., Building a Rain Garden (Seattle, WA: n.p., n.d.),1.
10
Rain Garden, illustration, Lauren's Garden Service, accessed June 5, 2016,
http://www.laurensgardenservice.com/rain-gardens-and-rain-barrels/.
11
Andrew Manshel, "A Place is Better Than a Plan," City Journal, October 2009,1.
12
William Whyte, "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces," video file.
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reasons, including fear of theft, public urban furniture was typically fastened to the

surface upon which it sat and as such, limited use to a single context. From his vast and

thorough observations, Whyte was able to conclude that people truly love deciding

where they want to sit movable chairs enlarge their choice.13 One simple suggested

change to public place design was able to help activate new spaces for enjoyable use

and led to a paradigm shift in planning practice.

This same concept might be applied to ecological planning principles. City wide

plans like Seattles RainWise program serve as a foundational start to green stormwater

management and help set the agenda with quantitative goals (i.e. manage 700 million

gallons of runoff by 202514) but in order to gain public support for innovative design

techniques, the key is to start local and small with ample public involvement. By

allowing citizens to take charge of their community's identity through project

involvement, the outreach burden on the city for public approval is lessened and the

likelihood that a place or a project will be utilized to its fullest potential is greatly

increased--if the intended users are involved in the design process and able to offer

suggestions, they are much less likely to have complaints upon completion.

And herein lies the suggestion for a successful rain garden project outside of

Beacon Hills Public Library: involve the community. Seeing the simplicity and

ecosystem benefits first hand are likely to promote the implementation of more rain

gardens at the residential level which contributes positively to the urban environment

water management as a whole.

13
Nate Berg, "The Power of the Movable Chair," City Lab, accessed June 4, 2016,
http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/10/power-movable-chair/3520/.
14
Seattle Public Utilities, Building a Rain Garden, 1.
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Rain gardens as art. As my professor Jerry Franklin always said, you cannot

manage anything for one goal otherwise you will fail to manage for everything else. The

beauty of ecological design is that in its utilization of naturef, projects are quite often

works of art. On a much grander scale of stormwater management as art, one can look

to Lorna Jordans design at Waterworks Garden in Renton to see a prime example of

place making through ecological design. Located at the northern end of a water

reclamation plant, the project naturally treats stormwater, enhances on-site wetland,

provides five garden rooms, and creates eight acres of new open space for public use

providing an experience of the purification of water.15

15
Lorna Jordan, "Past Projects & Philosophy" (lecture, Gould Hall, UW, May 2016).

f. note, using this term as such is actually quite problematic being that too often humans and nature are
seen as separate entities when in actuality everything works together as a worldwide system in which
humans play a significant, yet not separate, role (but seeing as how language has a way of evolving quite
slowly, it is still the simplest way to describe many ecological design concepts)
g. Clipping of newspaper article praising Lorna Jordans design of Waterworks Garden-- functional
beauty.
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Her (realized) idea was that in creating this space, not only would it serve as a water

treatment plant and a public park, it would also reconnect people with the water system

that is so often hidden and swept underground or behind chain link fences.

The Beacon Hill community could easily employ a similar tactic for the design of

the library rain garden. Making use of the abundant artistic resources in the area, it

would be a simple matter to compile a task force with the intention of creating a system

that not only serves to store, filter, and clean stormwater, but also provides the residents

of the neighborhood an aesthetically and experientially pleasing place to visit. Due to

the nature of the site, a creative implementation plan would have to be developed. Rain

gardens typically ought to be more integrated into a natural drainage system and kept

from heavy public use spaces (due to the danger of falling into the depressed ground,

especially in the case of children) but instead of a hindrance, this could pose as an

opportunity to further involve the community and bring the hydraulic system to life.

Some type of waterfall system could be employed, attaching the roof to the garden in

a way that clearly displays the runoff, thereby showing the connections in a functional,

yet beautiful manner. As for protecting the public from possibly falling into the garden,

an integrated sculpture might serve as a fence or sorts. Certainly more creative ideas

would present themselves with a greater number of minds to draw upon, and Beacon

Hill seems to be a neighborhood adept at mobilizing citizen engagement.

As gathered from field recon and personal interviews, it is clear that many of the

residents of Beacon Hill are proud of their community feel. One interviewee felt so

positively about the area that she went as far as to say that Beacon Hill is the only
 Wiser 9

place in Seattle where you feel real community.16 This seems to be due to the

emphasis on keeping assets local: local artists are contracted to paint murals and

create art installations; zoning and public consensus have kept the main boulevard of

Beacon Ave occupied by mom & pop shops; long standing businesses like The Station

promote local artists through event hosting and art work displays; El Centro de la Raza

offers a variety of community classes hosted and taught by invested citizens. Continuing

with this method of community based activation of citizen engagement, the

neighborhood could capitalize on the benefits of implementing a showcase rain garden

further by employing a local artist and supporting construction crew to instill pride and

ownership in the project. Moreover, it could serve to function as a demonstration project

with an educational purpose displaying the ecosystem benefits and simplicity of small

scale rain garden implementation.

Rain gardens as education. Not only would the library be an ideal location for a

community rain garden due to its current underutilization of space and high potential for

appreciation from the mass amount of daily visitors, it is also a place that symbolizes

education and achievement, innovation and human success, setting the perfect tone for

educating the community on the importance of ecological design practices. Once more

referring to Lorna Jordans brilliant design and intentionality, connecting urbanized

people to the frequently cut off natural systems that support life is a crucial step in the

16
Claire, interview by the author, Beacon Hill, April 2016.
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process of urging awareness and consciousness when it comes to the use of limited

available resources.

How does one build a rain garden? What resources are available to homeowners

trying to implement this practice and what existing city regulations apply to the

installation of one? By involving the community as much as possible throughout the

project design, construction, and maintenance process, these questions would be

answered collectively. Workshops held at the library itself would function to further

communicate ideas and serve as a hub for brainstorming creative solutions to possible

complications with specifics. Hopefully, from this, community members would be

encouraged to do their own research and look into how similar project implementation

might work at their own home.

Rain gardens as ecological design. Why a rain garden? What benefits might

the Beacon Hill community derive from this simple, yet innovative ecological design? In

considering the answer to this question, Christopher Alexanders A City is not a Tree

comes to mind. His concern focuses on how to best develop and organize cities so as

to not imitate the past in an attempt to recreate in modern form the various

characteristics of the natural city which seem to give it life and notes that so far these

designs have only remade the old.17 This is the same issue that ecologists, planners,

architects, politicians, etc. are facing today in light of climate change not only is there

pressure to activate cities in a way that encourages interaction and brings back the

17
Christopher Alexander, "A City is not a Tree," Design, 1966, 3.
 Wiser 11

historical liveliness that has seeped away, mitigating climate impacts through

innovative design is a crucial factor in current and future planning. There must be a

multifaceted approach in tackling these issues that includes drawing upon the past, yes,

but an open-minded stance in regards to new design concepts must be present. The

world of glass and concrete boxes18 Alexander mentions as being a fear of city citizens

and architects alike is no longer a possibility; cities must be rebuilt in balance with

nature,19 as Richard Register advocates in his outline of ecocities.h

18
Ibid.
19
Richard Register, EcoCities: Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature, revised ed. (n.p.: New Society
Publishers, 2006).

h. ecocity: a city that takes into account its position within the processes of the biosphere(form) vs.
ecopolis: a city that creates an environment that generates health and dynamic ecological
stability(process)
i. Created by Professor Ken Yocom, this inforgram illustrates the multidimensionality of the ecopolis and
the complexity of an urban environment that demonstrates ecological integrity.
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Due to innovative techniques that look to emulate the natural order and processes of

world systemsj, simple projects, such as rain gardens, are able to help promote healthy

cities and serve to facilitate a multitude of functions.

Next steps in assessing the Beacon Hill Public Library as a viable

community rain garden site. Being that this paper is serving as an introduction to the

ideas behind conceptually dense and complicated material, it is somewhat lacking in

quantitative and qualitative data in regards to the site itself. As such a vibrant and

inclusive community, it would be strategically favorable for beacon Hill to begin a

movement to development as an ecologically progressive neighborhood. The

community pride and conscientiousness is present, creating the amiable setting that so

perfectly fosters positive change. All that is needed is a catalyst, a spark, that

encourages community members to reconsider current development practices and

recognize ecological design principles for the all encompassing, beneficial methods or

urban planning that they are.

j. biomimicry: an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by

emulating nature's time-tested patterns and strategies. The goal is to create products, processes, and
policiesnew ways of livingthat are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul (Yocom)
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Bibliography

Alexander, Christopher. "A City is not a Tree." Design, 1966, 1-17.

Berg, Nate. "The Power of the Movable Chair." City Lab. Accessed June 4, 2016.

http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/10/power-movable-chair/3520/.

Claire. Interview by the author. Beacon Hill. April 2016.

Hough, Michael. Cities and Natural Process: A Basis for Sustainability. 2nd ed. London, UK:

Routeledge, 2004.

Jordan, Lorna. "Past Projects & Philosophy." Lecture, Gould Hall, UW, May 2016.

Manshel, Andrew. "A Place is Better Than a Plan." City Journal, October 2009, 1-3.

Rain Garden. Illustration. Lauren's Garden Service. Accessed June 5, 2016.

http://www.laurensgardenservice.com/rain-gardens-and-rain-barrels/.

Register, Richard. EcoCities: Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature. Revised ed. N.p.: New

Society Publishers, 2006.

Seattle Public Utilities, comp. Building a Rain Garden. Seattle, WA: n.p., n.d.

"What is a Rain Garden?" Low Impact Development. Accessed June 5, 2016.

http://www.lowimpactdevelopment.org/raingarden_design/whatisaraingarden.htm.

"What is Placemaking?" Project for Public Spaces. Accessed June 4, 2016. http://www.pps.org/

reference/what_is_placemaking/.

Whyte, William. "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces." Video file.

Yocom, Ken. "Cities + Climate: Adaptive Strategies." Lecture, Gould Hall, UW, WA, May 2016.
Wiser 14