1. Greening the Grid
A Parks Master Plan for Downey, CA
Alison Emilio
Spring 2012
2.
3. Greening the Grid
A Parks Master Plan for Downey, CA
Alison Emilio, 2012
Alison Emilio
UCLA Extension: Landscape Architecture
Thesis - Spring 2012
Advisor: Patrick Reynolds
A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the
Professional Certificate in Landscape Architecture
University of California, Los Angeles, Extension
4. Master Plan 37
Site Selection 33
The Golf Course 27
Typologies 21
Research and Analysis 17
Overview 13
Introduction 5
5. Bibliography 87
Presentation Boards 73
Rain Garden 63
Downey Skate Park 59
Old River Parkway 49
Conclusion 71
Sky Garden 67
Old Spanish Trail 55
Los Amigos
Regional Park 43
6. 05
“Linkage is the key. Most of the big tracts in our Metropolitan areas have already been
saved, or they have already been lost. The most pressing need now is to weave to-
gether a host of seemingly disparate elements - an experimental farm, a private golf
course, a local park, the space of a cluster subdivision, the edge of a new freeway
right-of-way.“ - William Whyte
8. 07
Introduction
Our cities are no longer blank
canvasses on which to paint
urban dreams and histories. The
only constant in our landscapes
and built environment is
change. Cities are elaborate
puzzles that are being redrawn
every day - interlocking pieces,
big and small, that are being as-
sembled, adapted or dismantled
and re-imagined according to
economic, demographic, cultural
and environmental shifts. The
impact of commerce and popu-
lation growth on living systems
requires collaboration with
government, corporations, deve-
lopers, community groups, and
environmentalists. As leading
author, entrepreneur and envi-
ronmentalist Paul Hawken states:
“We are going to have to figure
out what it means to be a human
being on earth at a time when eve-
ry living system is declining, and
the rate of decline is accelerating.“
As of 1998, over 80 percent of
Americans live in cities. A study
by the United Nations Population
Fund (UNPF) estimates that by
2030, 5 billion of the world‘s over
8 billion people will live in cities. If
sustainability equates to quality of
life, what will our cities be like in
another decade or so? With urban
open space and parks falling far
short of national averages in Los
Angeles, our ecosystems, natural
resources and habitat are endan-
gered, as is the health and welfare
of the city‘s population. Where will
people recreate, exercise, play and
share communal experiences?
How will our most economically
challenged regions fare in the
face of this reality? It will take an
army of stakeholders to continue
the search for sustainable growth
strategies, interventions, adaptive
models and funding structures
for growth in the coming century
and beyond. We are well beyond
small pocket parks and green
alleys here and there. The need
to identify large and small parcels
and legacy projects that adapt
urban assets on a large scale as
the future park systems, play-
grounds and mixed use commu-
nities for the city is urgent. We
must envision and adapt our
city to what it could have been,
had our earlier politicians seized
the opportuntiy to implement
forward-thinking plans such as
the Olmsted Brothers vision and
General plan for a complete system of parkways and large parks
9. 08
Introduction
map of a green Los Angeles. To
think that in 1930, the Olmsted
Bros. designed a coherent
network of schools, beaches,
parks, playgrounds, forests and
environmental vitality for Los
Angeles and the health of its
people was within our grasp,
yet was shelved.
In “The Experience of Place,”
Tony Hiss talks about how the
quality of the places, built and
natural, where we spend our
time affect the people we are
and can become. Urban land-
scapes with high connectivity
are more humane, accessible
and democratize our cities in
a spatial way. These magical
moments can happen in parks
and gathering places - if they
are there.
for the Los Angeles Region, from the original Olmsted Report, 1930.
“There is only one playground per 10,000
people in Los Angeles.”
The Trust for Public Land, 2012 Report
10. 09
Thesis Statement
Open Space is being devoured by urban development to the point
where the natural life of our cities is disappearing.
Large and small scale interventions will foster human and eco-
logical connections and improve the health of our cities.
The Big Idea
Guiding Principles
• Identify, reclaim and protect open space and park assets
• Weave nature into the urban environment
• Provide convenient and equitable access to recreation and programs
• Community, family and individual health
• Ecological, wildlife and habitat health
• Conservation
• Legacy
• Foster environmental, historical and cultural education through programs and
design features throughout the park system
• Public Art in parks, plazas and community spaces
• Balance green infrastructure with economic development and cultural vitality
• Parks and open space
• Public gathering places
• Center for the community and sense of place
• Habitat enhancement
• Health
• Education
• Economic development and sustainability
• Revitalized districts
• Public art
• Multi-modal transportation
• Inviting pedestrian streets and trail systems
• Culture and History
Goals
11. 10
Concept Diagrams The Big Idea
Emerald Pearls
A network of parks, plazas, nodes and civic spaces with fingers
into the community along a green corridor.
The Big Green
A regional or central park and gather-
ing space with multiple connections
and opportunities for the community.
Green Grid
A patchwork of large and small scale spaces
connected through a web of green threads.
Emerald Ribbons
Uninterrupted ribbons of open
space to connect community and
wildlife and to bring the edges in.
Refined Concept Diagram
The final concept applied to Downey, Ca. will
combine the key features of each concept;
the regional park will provide the anchor or
nucleus for a system of existing and developed
sites through a network of trails, green streets,
nodes and parks. The emerald pearls will emanate
off the rail corridor trail and the emerald ribbons
will be the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel trails and
rivers, taking the form of linear parks along their
edges.
14. 13
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land
as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.“
- Aldo Leopold
16. As of 2011, about 250 million Americans
live in or around urban areas. That means
more than three quarters of the U.S. pop-
ulation shares just about 3% of the U.S.
land area.
Source: 2011 U.S. Census
15
Overview My project is about large and small-
scale open space interventions in
people-packed, greenery-starved
cities to serve the unmet needs of
these communities. The challenge is
to identify and adapt useable land to
meet the reality of population growth
in the urban context where 80% of
Americans live, work and play.
Many of our kids in cities today call
streets, alleys and vacant lots their
neighborhood park. Only one-third of
American children live within walking
distance of a public park or useable
open space. This is a serious threat
to our children and communities.
With limited access and a shortage of
programs and amenities, health and
human risks such as diabetes, obe-
sity, asthma and juvenile delinquency
are at record levels, and on the rise.
Park-poor neighborhoods are also at
greater risk for crime and urban blight.
Our children are losing a vital relation-
ship with nature and, as a result, are
disconnected, less healthy and less
likely to become good stewards of our
earth and natural resources. Com-
munities are suffering from a lack of
connection, identity and civic pride.
The need to capture and protect open
space for our current and future needs
has never been greater, as our cities
continue to grow, and our natural
environment is threatened.
We lose 6,000 acres of open space
each day across the United States - a
rate of four acres per minute. That’s
2.2. million acres per year. The popu-
lation continues to boom. By mid-
century, the California population will
balloon by 75% from 38 to 60 million.
In Los Angeles, the current population
is 16 miilion. By 2030, that figure will
skyrocket to 30 million. As Economist
Jack Kyser said, “We are a country
masquerading as a city.”
17. 16
OverviewThe context of Los Angeles is that it is a
park-rich region on the edges, namely,
the mountains and national forests, the
beaches and coastal parks. In fact, Los
Angeles is park-poor on the interior,
where only 8% of the total land is devoted
to parks and there is only one playground
per 10,000 people. Park acreage is just
4.2 acres per 1,000 residents, which is
significantly lower than the national aver-
age which ranges from 6 - 10 acres per
1,000 people. Research shows that Los
Angeles is over 11,000 acres short of
adequate park space in the urban and
suburban context. Like the steel head
trout and the red-legged frog, our
parks are an endangered species, both
in terms of acquiring acreage for new
parks, but also in terms of protecting
our current inventory. Between 1972
and 1998, the City of Los Angeles ac-
quired less than 1,000 acres for parks
and, in the post Proposition 13 years,
have closed 24 recreation centers.
Further, there is an inequitable distri-
bution of parks and urban greenery
throughout Los Angeles. Predomi-
nantly white neighborhoods enjoy,
on average, 17.4 acres of park space
for every 1,000 people, compared
with 1.7 acres in African-American
neighborhoods and 0.6 acres in
Latino neighborhoods. California got
through two World Wars and one
Great Depression without closing one
park. Today, there are 70 State Parks
at risk of cutbacks and closure. In
our own backyard, the UCLA Hannah
Carter Japanese Garden, a cultural
landmark, is in serious jeopardy of
being razed in favor of residential
development.
In our cities, parks and open space
are not a luxury. They are not frivo-
lous. They are an essential component
of a healthy, vibrant community and
a resource that should be available to
all residents in every region of the city
and county. This project seeks a bal-
ance between the natural world and
“green infrastructure” with urbaniza-
tion to address the unmet needs of
our communities, especially the most
park-poor regions. Let the work to
bring nature, recreation and beauty
back into our cities forge ahead until
shining examples of adaptive re-use
such as the High Line in New York City
roll off our tongues. Our cities and
communities are worth the fight.
18. 17
“Everyone in urban America should live within a short walk of a park that is safe, clean
and vibrant.”
-The U.S. Conference of Mayors, June 2011
20. 19
Research and Analysis
Greater Los Angeles is surrounded by an extensive frame-
work of protected areas that include state and local beaches,
coastal parks and in the interior, with mountains and national
forests, and a desert national park. The National and Califor-
nia state government agencies are responsible for protecting
these lands and work closely with effective agencies such as
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
At left: Los Angeles County Regional Parks
Mapping and 5 Mile Radius Studies
Assessment of open space deficits in Los Angeles County
began with mapping 25 Regional Parks with a five mile radius
drawn around each park. This exercise revealed that there are
gaps in the distribution of regional parks in the South Eastern
and South Central regions. Opportunities are indicated by red
circles - Downey, Ca., and the Gateway Cities region demon-
strated a deficit of large scale parks and so became the spring-
board for further analysis.
There is an inequitable distribution of parks and greenery
throughout Los Angeles. Los Angeles has only 8% of the total
city land devoted to parks. In the Olmsted Brothers 1930
Master Plan for Los Angeles, parks and playgrounds were
envisioned as important neighborhood assets that had to be
in close proximity to residences. This visionary roadmap was
derailed, and today only a third of the city’s population lives
within a quarter mile of a park.
22. 21
“The California Department of Health Services estimates that physical inactivity costs the state
$13.3 billion per year in medical care, workers’ compensation, and lost productivity. If Califor-
nians increased their physical activity and lost 5 percent of their collective weight over five years,
they would save more than $1.3 billion. Public park and recreation organizations enable residents
of all abilities to participate in physical activity.”
National Recreation and Parks Association
24. 23
Typologies
Vacant Lots - Brownfields
Urban brownfields, or vacant lots, litter the city’s
landscape. Many are unused, while other plots, called
brownfields, have been deemed unfit for use due to
industrial contamination. A 2000 study of 70 major
American cities found that on average, 15 percent of
a city’s land sits vacant. The Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA) estimates that there are around
490,000 vacant sites and almost 15 million acres of
potentially contaminated properties nationwide. Re-
searchers at the University of Pennsylvania studied a
10-year project in Philadelphia to convert vacant lots
into park space which found that gun-related assaults
significantly declined in areas around the greened lots,
as did vandalism and criminal activity.
Greyfield Malls
Underutilised malls of all sizes are a blight on the
American cityscape. The vacancy rate at shopping
centers and strip malls was 11 percent in 2011, the high-
est level since 1991. In most cities, where land is very
scarce, this urban infrastructure that averages from
45 - 70 acres, is being looked at as an opportunity
to serve a variety of needs and uses, such as hous-
ing, schools, medical clinics, aquariums, casinos and
ice rinks. Some are being adapted to provide much
needed public open space as parks, urban farms, com-
munity gardens and dog parks, while also addressing
the restoration of natural elements such as creeks that
were paved over. The Hawthorne Mall, one of the sites
surveyed, has been vacant for 13 years.
Municipal Airports
In 2015, all land and building leases at the 227 acre
Santa Monica Airport are set to expire. There is heat-
ed debate over potential future use of this vast parcel
of land, from remaining a busy airport offsetting traffic
impacts at LAX, to eliminating student pilots in the
densely populated area and elevated levels of poten-
tially hazardous particles from jet exhaust and lead
from propeller plane fuel. With traffic at municipal
airports such as Santa Monica and Hawthorne down
by nearly 30 percent in the last decade, these are
serious questions to pose when our cities are starving
for more open space and parks.
In Search of Open Space...all over Los Angeles County
Vacant Lot in Downey, CA Hawthorne Mall, Hawthorne, CA Santa Monica Municipal Airport
25. 24
Typologies
Victoria Golf Course - Carson, CA
Rail Corridors
Locating continuous routes through densely-popu-
lated developed cities is a huge challenge. Railroad
corridors provide a viable resource for thousands of
miles and acres of useable land in the urban context
nationwide. Many of the routes are scenic, crossing
historic bridges. The key to their success at add-
ing trails, greenery and connectivity in and through
the city is their continued recognition as a priceless
resource. To date, abandoned railroads have been
converted to train trail routes in nearly every state,
with over 500 projects totalling 6,000 miles.
Utility Corridors
The need to revitalize cities and provide open space
has opened up opportunities to take a closer look at
public utilities for trails, urban wildlife corridors, flood
control, utilities, education, observation, links to parks
and schools, historic sites and commercial areas and
other threads of the urban fabric. Utility corridors
can be found along city water mains, water storage
project aqueducts, irrigation canals, flood control proj-
ects, electric power lines, sewer lines, fiber optic lines
and gas and transmission pipelines. With the LADWP
owning over 500 miles of utility corridors, they are a
valuable and underutilised resource for creating linear
parks, trails and wildlife corridors to include a public
use and function along with the utility.
Rail Corridor in Downey, CA Utility Corridor along Rio Hondo River & Trail
Public Open Space Opportunities in the Urban Context
Public Golf Courses
The game of golf has never been an efficient use
of space but it can be argued that in any context, it
can help subsidize other parks in a system through
green fees. This paradigm may be shifting, making
way for failing and underutilised golf courses to be
adapted to other uses, including smaller courses,
mixed use developments, parks and other recre-
ational activities. Golf’s popularity is not keeping
up with population growth or demographics in
some cities, nor with the explosion of the number
of private courses that developers built to sup-
port housing - there is more supply than demand.
Golf is losing out to other self-directed activities
like running, and cycling. The decline of public
golf would be less taxing if courses were low-cost
facilities, but they require a full-time staff, constant
maintenance, a fleet of electric carts, a shop and
clubhouse.
26. 25
Typologies
1. Regional Park
A regional park is 50 - 80+ acres
serving the region (5+ miles)
and provides specialized recre-
ational facilities such as lakes, golf
courses, campgrounds, wilder-
ness areas, which normally serve
persons living throughout the Los
Angeles basin. A regional park
may also contain the types of fa-
cilities provided in neighborhood
and community recreational sites.
Community-wide with uses that
vary but with a focus on outdoor
and natural learning, recreation
and community gathering.
2. Community Park
15+ acres, serving a half mile ra-
dius. These are parks that serve
the entire community as well as
visitors to the area, although this
is not their primary focus. The
park may be natural or developed
for a variety of recreational uses.
3. Linear Parks
Linkages and linear Parks are
built connections or natural cor-
ridors that link parks together
and often follow streams and
include trails that link neighbor-
hoods, community or other park
categories. Typically the linear
park is developed for one or more
modes of recreational travel.
4. Neighborhood Park
2 - 15 acres, usually serving a
half-mile radius and usually free
of major barriers such as major
highways or steep topography.
5. Mini Parks, Pocket
Parks, Plazas
2,500 square feet to one acre,
serving up to 1/4 mile radius.
Provide opportunities for
recreation close to home, par-
ticularly where access to larger
parks is limited. This category
includes plazas with limited
recreational development.
Components of a Parks Master Plan
1 2
3
4 5
Precedents
Central Park, New York City
Emerald Necklace, CA
High Line, New York City
27. 26
Typologies
In land use planning, urban open
space is open space for ‘parks,’
‘green spaces,’ and other open
areas. The landscape of urban open
spaces can range from playing fields
to highly maintained environments
to relatively natural landscapes.
They are commonly open to public
access, however, urban open spaces
may be privately owned.
Areas outside of city boundaries,
such as State and National Parks,
as well as open space in the coun-
tryside, are not considered urban
open spaces.
Open: New Designs for Public Space
Urban Open Space Defined
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
Among its strategic objectives, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy now lists:
“Expand efforts to integrate nature into the urban environment.” Among other things, this
includes: “Acquire or create parkland in urban areas that lack open space or aquire natural
parks;” and “Link and integrate new natural parks into existing park systems - literally, via
transportation and physical linkages, thematically via programs and events.” The goals of
weaving nature, conservation, remediation and key linkages will be present in the Downey
Parks Master Plan.
Big Lake Park, New Orleans
New Orleans is home to four 18-hole golf courses covering 520 acres of prime city
land. A drawn-out and heated debate with the community, tired of footing the bill for
under-performing golf courses in the city, led the park’s Chief Executive Officer, Bob
Becker, to conclude that “the economics did not justify that many acres of golf.” The
public demand for other recreational and passive uses , combined with the economic
downturn of the market following Hurricane Katrina, resulted in one of the golf courses,
Big Lake, being converted to a 50 acre park. The adaptive re-use also involved an
environmental sweep of the lake, with instrumental financial and strategic assistance
provided by The Trust for Public Land. The park features a boardwalk, dock, boating,
trails, active and passive recreation and is much loved by the people of New Orleans.
Augustus F. Hawkins Park, Los Angeles
Big Lake Golf Course Converts 50 Acres to Park
City Park, New Orleans
28. 27
“Parks, beaches, and other recreational facilities contribute $730 billon per year to the U.S. econ-
omy, support nearly 6.5 million jobs, and contribute to cleaner air and water and higher property
values.”
National Recreation and Parks Associaton
30. 29
The Golf Course
Eleven Golf Courses
in Six Mile Radius
Downey Golf Course Cluster - One Mile Radius
West Los Angeles Golf Course Cluster - 10 Mile Radius Santa Ana Golf Course Cluster - Six Mile Radius
Public and private golf course
clusters occur throughout Los
Angeles County and the United
States. This project looks at
underutilised public golf courses
as one possible typology for
adaptive re-use in the urban
context. These golf courses are
often within a short distance of
one another, as is the case with
Los Amigos Golf Course and Rio
Hondo Golf Course in
Downey, California which
are within 1.5 miles of one
another, on the same street.
The average 18-hole golf
course is 100-150 acres and
is zoned as open space. Most
development sites available
in existing cities and towns
are too small to justify the
increased costs and risks of
infill development, and too
Golf Course Clusters
small to accommodate develop-
ment projects of sufficient scale
to offer real community benefits.
Golf courses spread site develop-
ment costs and enable adaptive
re-use to a large scale public
park, recreational center and the
possibility of future mixed use or
new urbanist development.
31. 30
The Golf CourseContext
With over-crowded cities and under-
served populations desperately in
need of more useable land for parks,
recreation and public use, the idea of a
public golf course being adapted to an
urban public park that would be acces-
sible to a much larger user group and
local community, as well as a “destina-
tion” park for the region, is a viable
option depending on conditions.
Golf in America is on the decline. The
number of new courses has outpaced
demand over the past 15 years and has
seen over 600 golf courses close in the
past five years, with 500 more predict-
ed to close by 2015. The National Golf
Foundation (NGF) reports that in 2005,
30 million people played golf. Today,
there may be more than three million
fewer golfers, many playing shorter
games due to time, lifestyle and budget
constraints. A 2004 study of the rec-
reation facility desires of San Francisco
households found that golf ranked
16th out of 19 amenities; highest on the
list were trails, pools and community
gardens. Sports such as tennis and
snowboarding have seen huge leaps
in popularity and are, perhaps, fill-
ing in where golf is falling off. In the
current design paradigm, the sport
is dependent on water. With 16,000
golf courses in the U.S. (half the total
in the world), Audubon International
estimates that the average American
course uses 312,000 gallons of water
per day. The negative environmental
impact of golf courses spans years of
applying pesticides, fungicides, herbi-
cides, non-native turf and plant mate-
rials on most courses. The approach
to adaptive re-use of golf courses that
fall on hard times due to changing
sports appetites, the economy, time
management and lifestyle choices - in
short, the continuing trend in America
- is to use this as an opportunity to
re-shape the existing golf course to
a more sustainable model as a vital
urban park and central gathering place
for the community.
Project Benefits
• Economic development with Park as the draw for new housing, retail, light com-
mercial, dining and other sectors to locate near the park
• Increased property values and economic conditions in surrounding neighborhood
• Remediation of environmental issues
• Opportunity to use water more wisely, recharge the aquifer, stormwater manage-
ment
• Decrease in use of fertilizers, non-native plants and toxins
• Improve the quality of life and public health with active and passive recreation
• Create a “center” to improve sense of community identity and civic pride
32. Golf course community developments
present a unique opportunity to pre-
serve and create wildlife habitat. Golf
course management and development
industries have become increasingly
aware of their environmental responsi-
bilities in recent times and are respon-
sive to new research and methods. This
shift is due, in large part, to maintenance
costs including turf management, water,
chemicals and personnel. But a great
deal of credit must be given to author
and environmentalist, Ronald G. Dodson,
founder of Audubon International, who
in 1993 teamed with the United States
Golf Association to form the Audu-
bon Signature Cooperative Sanctuary
Program’s certification program for golf
courses. This program works with golf
courses to help them create environ-
mentally friendly areas while maintaining
great places to play golf. The program
focuses on environmental planning, wild-
life and habitat management, chemical
use reduction and safety, water conser-
vation, water quality management and
outreach and education.
Both golf courses in the Downey Parks
Master Plan, Rio Hondo and Los Amigos,
will achieve Audubon Certification.
The First Tee Golf Program
Los Amigos Regional Park and Golf Course
is directly adjacent to schools, and resi-
dential neighborhoods. There are many
opportunities city-wide to bring more
youth, seniors and women to the sport of
golf through a variety of programs. One
of these is First Tee, a youth develop-
ment organization that impacts the lives
of young people by providing education
programs that build character, instill life-
enhancing values and promote healthy
choices through the game of golf.
The First Tee has reached more than
4.7 million youth since its inception in
1997 and reaches kids on golf courses, in
schools and military sites where it focuses
on teaching character education.
Junior Golf
Another opportunity to learn the game
of golf, get exercise and build character
is provided by the Los Angeles County
Junior Golf Program. The program
exists to provide today’s youth with an
opportunity to experience the game of
golf, introducing young people to the
County’s facilities and exposing them
to valuable life skills such as Respect,
Integrity, Character and Honor (RICH).
The program has been in operation
since 2001 and is funded by a $1 fee
from every round of Tournament Golf
played at County Golf Courses.
Building a Better Golf Course - Audubon International
31
The Golf Course
33. Rancho Park Golf Course
This 18-hole golf course was
formerly a private country club,
one of the 10 in West Los Angeles.
In 1936, American Legion post
commander C.D. “Ace” Aseltine
launched a drive to establish a
recreation park on the site of the
Rancho Country Club which had
been shuttered due to a Fed-
eral Government tax lien. The
Legionnaires made a case that Los
Angeles had not one single large
park west of Western Avenue and
that the community was entitled
to such a place.
The plea and plan were sup-
ported by the mayor, council-
men, local PTA’s and by 1942, the
city began to lease the Rancho
Country Club. Of the original
180 acres, 140 remain a thriving
public golf course and a 40 acre
park, the Cheviot Hills Recreation
Center, was added to serve the
community. The park features
basketball courts, baseball dia-
monds, multi-purpose fields, an
aquatic center, archery, play-
ground, a very popular walking
trail and a community center.
Shiskine Golf Club
On Scotland’s Isle of Arran, Shiskine
Golf and Tennis Club is a 19th cen-
tury links gem that had 18 holes for
a short time until World War II and
has kept its current 12-hole route
since. It is rated one of the best 100
Golf Courses in Great Britain.
12-hole golf courses are a hot topic
in the industry, especially after golf
legend, Jack Nicklaus told Golf
Digest in 2007: “We should consider
the possibility of making 12 holes the
standard round...Eventually it would
be accepted because it makes sense
in people’s lives.” This standard, of
course, will never be fully accepted
by the historical and traditional
sport but it does offer an alterna-
tive model for the game of golf that
addresses the core issues impacting
its health and future - time manage-
ment, economics, land and water
management, changing interests
and lifestyles, and more. Reknown
golf course designer, Tom Doak,
explains that “a 12-hole routing of-
fers more flexibility than nine-hole
courses and can get more golfers
around with the possibility of two
or three starting tees, not just one...
you could easily create 18 different
holes out of 12 holes worth of acre-
age and maintenance.” In addition
to time and expense, the smaller
course provides land for other rec-
reational uses, and the new model
will attract a younger, more diverse
user group to the sport.
12-Hole Golf Course Typology
Derrydale Golf Club
This family-owned daily fee course in
Toronto opened in 1970. The own-
ers sold off 33 acres in 2005 for
development when a steady plunge
in revenues threatened to close the
course. Seeking a solution that would
allow them to keep their golf course,
the family opted for a 12-hole design.
The course is thriving, with green fees
and the number of rounds up. At
maximum, the course takes two hours
and 45 minutes to play 2,541 yards
and the course books 240-260 rounds
on busy days. The course provides
a great experience for less time and
money.
32
The Golf Course
With time and money a
premium these days, more
golf courses are turning to
less-than-18-hole layouts.
Courses such as Scotland’s
Shiskine Golf and Tennis
Club and Toronto’s Derry-
dale Golf Club are thriving
with 12 holes.
34. 33
“Even if you can’t restore the ecosystem, you can restore the aesthetics. Environmentalists often
write off urban ecosystems, but you can’t write off people.”
- Joseph T. Edmiston
Executive Director, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
36. Site Selection
Available Open Space in Downey
Regional Map Vicinity Map
Site Analysis
Downey provides an ideal canvas
on which to apply large and small
scale typologies to create a system
of green infrastructure in a Parks
Master Plan. It fits two main criteria;
Downey is in one of the two most
park-poor regions in Los Angeles
County, and sits in a cluster of four
public golf courses within a mile
and a half radius that total over 250
acres. Two of these 18-hole courses,
the Rio Hondo Golf Course, and
the Los Amigos Golf Course, are
on the same street, a mile and a
half apart.
The city of Downey lies 13 miles
southeast of downtown Los An-
geles, between the 710 and 605
Freeways, just south of the 5 and
north of the 105. With a popu-
lation of 112,000, the density is
9,000 people per acre. The city
is in South Eastern Los Angeles,
the second most park-poor region
after South Central and provides
only 1.0 acres of open space per
1,000 people. The city is lacking in
usuable open space for most user
groups - namely, the 23% of the
population that are children and
teens up to 17 years of age. There
is a shortage of ball and soccer
fields, only one dog park, and a
trail system that many are unfami-
liar with, or don‘t have access to.
35
38. 37
“The fundamental lesson, to summarize, is that open space has to have a positive function.
It will not remain open if it does not. People must be able to do things on it or with it - at
the very least, to be able to look at it.“
- William Whyte
40. 39
City of Downey
River
Golf Course
Green Street
Freeway
Railroad
DowneyLink NW Route
DowneyLInk NE Route
DowneyLink SE Route
DowneyLink SW Route
Metro Green Line
1/4 Mile Reach
Existing Trail
New Bike Trail
New Pedestrian Trail
Existing Park
New Park
Developed Site
Future Development
Master Plan
41. • The Downey Parks Master Plan will:
• Add 160 acres of parks
• Upgrade or re-design the existing 12 parks in the system
• Add over 2,000 trees
• Add nine parks
• Add two trails totalling 15 miles
• Increase park acres per 1,000 persons from 1 to 2.4, a 140% increase
• Increase environmental education and programs
• Increase recreation facilities and programs
• Identify four core areas of the city for TODs and future mixed use development to balance growth
Program Delivery
40
Master Plan
Park acreage in Downey will
increase from 1.0 acres/1,000
people to 2.4 acres per 1,000.
* Does not include golf course acreage
42. 1. Los Amigos Regional Park
2. Old River Parkway
3. Old Spanish Trail
4. Downey Skate Park
5. Rain Garden Pocket Park
6. Sky Garden
7. Tierra Luna Commercial/Retail Development
8. Metro Green Line/105 TOD Development
9. Rancho Industrial Park Development
41
Master Plan Key Map
Legend
City of Downey
River
Golf Course
Green Street
Freeway
Railroad
DowneyLink NW Route
DowneyLInk NE Route
DowneyLink SE Route
DowneyLink SW Route
Metro Green Line
1/4 Mile Reach
Existing Trail
New Bike Trail
New Pedestrian Trail
Existing Park
New Park
Developed Site
Future Development
43. Research, analysis, site visits and
interviews with golf course per-
sonnel, Downey residents and the
Principal of Old River Elementary
School helped determine that the
recreational and physical needs
of the community in Downey are
not being met. From a business
perspective, Rio Hondo Golf
Course is outperforming Los
Amigos in rounds of golf and
also in the volume of the
banquet and special event
business. The park system in
Downey no longer adequately
addresses the needs of the shift
in deomographics and popula-
tion over time. With the bones
of a beautiful regional park and zon-
ing for open space intact, Los Amigos
is well positioned to become the
region’s big park - while adapting to a
12-hole golf model within the park.
42
Master Plan
44. 43
“Continued prosperity in Los Angeles will depend on providing needed parks, because,
with the growth of a great metropolis here, the absence of parks will make living
conditions less and less attractive, less and less wholesome...In so far, therefore, as
people fail to show the understanding, courage, and organizing ability necessary at
this crisis, the growth of the Region wil tend to strangle itself.“
-Frederick Law Olmsted
46. Legend
Los Amigos Regional Park
45
Los Amigos Community Center
Banquet Hall
Great Lawn
Los Amigos Plaza
Amphitheater
Botannical Gardens
Sculpture Gardens
Native Gardens
Meadow
Lake
Boat House
Carousel
Playground
Picnic Area
Restrooms
Community Gardens
Parking
Urban Camping
Discovery Nature Center
Ranger Headquarters
Fishing Lake
Adventure Mountain
Oak Grove
Outdoor Classroom
Perimeter Trail
Interpretive Nature Trail
Los Amigos Golf Club
Putting Green
Clubhouse
Stewart & Gray Rd. Entrance
Aquatic Center
West Middle School Fields
Sports Fields
Snack Shack
Clubhouse
Parking
Old River Road Entrance
Quill Drive Entrance
West Middle School
Old River Elementary
Los Padrinos Juvenile Center
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Regional Park - 135 Acres
47. Fishing Lake
Oak Grove and Interpretive Trail Paddle Boat Lake and Gazebo
Los Amigos Regional Park
The Regional Park will be the anchor, or nucleus,
of the Downey park system, with green streets,
trails and bike paths reaching out to a network
of exisiting and new parks, trails and schools.
Los Amigos will be the destination playground
for Downey, as well as the Gateway Cities and
South Eastern regions. The new regional park
will address community needs and recreational
shortfalls as determined by analysis of park
inventories and community outreach.
Inspirations for the design include: Central Park
in NYC; Baldwin Hills Regional Park, The Orange
County Great Park, and The Emerald Necklace.
46
48. Los Amigos Regional Park
47
Recreation preferences have shifted significantly over
the past 35 years. In the late 80s, virtually all active
adult communities relied on golf as the primary com-
munity ammenity. Now golf ranks 8th as the preferred
amenity of retirees and continues to decline in popu-
larity. Walking trails and facilities are by far the most
requested amenity in retiree focus groups followed by
fishing, bocce, tennis and pickleball.
Source: New Geography
Adaptive Re-Use of a Public 18-Hole Golf Course Legacy Systems
Typically, legacy systems - park and/or rec-
reation systems that have evolved with the
market and population base over decades - face
multiple challenges when addressing the needs
for additional development. Lack of available
undeveloped land, cost of land acquisition,
and the ramifications of removing private land
from the tax base are some of the challenges.
Recommended service levels to address these
challenges typically include park classifications
of regional, community, neighborhood and mini.
Goals for a Legacy Regional Park and
Mixed-Use Future Development
• Design concepts, programs and amenities
that allow added flexibility in addressing land
use needs.
• Design projects that reduce dependency on
vehicles and promote pedestrian, transit and
alternate modes of travel.
• Explore mixed-use developments with
housing on the same site or in proximity to
commercial services to reduce the need for
trips by vehicles.
• Promote commercial and residential uses in
proximity to transit stops to reduce depen-
dency on vehicles.
• Work with zoning officials to promote and
develop scale-appropriate dining and retail,
small business development around the park.
• Consider and develop child-care centers and
other essential health and human services
near the park.
• Promote the placement of buildings at or
near the pubic right-of-way with a primary or
secondary entryway facing the sidewalk.
Income Offsets for Regional Park Adapted
from a Public Golf Course
• 12-hole Golf Course
• Aquatic Center
• Urban Camping Fees
• Little League/Tournaments
• Batting Cages
• Rock Climbing Wall
• Weddings, Quinceneras
• Fishing
• Boat rentals
• Farmers Market
• Community Garden
• Carousel
49. Los Amigos Regional Park
48
Park
Low Density
Mixed Use Residential
Los Padrinos Juvenile Center
Medium Density Residential
Premium property adjacent to open space such as golf courses or parks is known as the
proximate principle. This market condition dates back to the first half of the 19th century in
England when Regent‘s Park in London and Prince‘s Park in Liverpool were built by private
developers to create a premium for lots around the parks. Birkenhead Park in Liverpool was
the first park to be a self-financed venture by surrounding the park with plots for single family
homes and selling them at enhanced value. The profit from the residential component paid
for the park.
The pioneer for applying this principle in the United States was Frederick Law Olmsted after
visiting Birkenhead Park several times and proclaiming it “perfection I have never dreamed
of.” Olmsted applied the proximate principle to many of the parks he developed in America.
The magnitude of the principle related to parks can have a “positive impact of 20% on prop-
erty values abutting or fronting a passive park areas as a starting point.”
The adjoining abstracts indicate several scenarios of land use and zoning shifts that could
occur over time as the neighborhood develops around the big park. The park will attract
residential, commercial and retail interest as it evolves as an economic attractor or engine for
the community, presenting some interesting challenges but also opportunities to parcel out
portions of the park to residential and mixed use development to ensure the park’s sustain-
ability and legacy.
50. 49
“Can there be a sustainable future without beauty?“
- Jim Hubbell
52. q
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Old River Parkway
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Community Park - 26 Acres
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Entrance
Rio Hondo Trail & Timeline Path
Trails from Los Amigos Park
Power Line Towers (typ.)
Tongva Memorial Garden
Amphitheater
Riparian Corridor
Bird Sanctuary Pond
Wildflower Meadow
Outdoor Classroom
Native Demonstration Garden
Orchard
Gathering Lawn
Picnic Area
Dog Park
Children‘s Adventure Playground
Mural Wall
Parking
Bikeshare
53. Old River Parkway
Inspiration: Judith Baca’s “Great Wall of Los Angeles”Timeline Trail and Mural Art on Re-Design of Rio Hondo Trail
52
This 26-acre former utility corridor is
adjacent to the Rio Hondo River and trail
and houses eight power towers. This
satellite to Los Amigos Regional Park
will provide a community park that can
be shared by South Gate and Downey
residents that will connect to Circle Park
and Los Amigos. The concept for the
design is to mirror the successes of the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s
objective to “expand efforts to integrate
nature into the urban environment.” The
park will be designed with passive recre-
ation, trails, native ecology, conservation
and educational programming connected
to the Nature Discovery Center in Los
Amigos Park. There will be a dog park, a
Tongva Memorial Healing Garden, ripari-
an corridor, orchard, demonstration swale
and dry creek, seating and picnic areas
and a Bird Sancturay lake. This portion of
the Rio Hondo trail will be enhanced with
an interpretive historical time line trail
and public art in the form of murals on
the east facing walls of the river.
Precedents: The Duck Farm (part of
the Emerald Necklace); Wilderness Park
(Downey) and Augustus F. Hawkins Park
in South Los Angeles.
54. Old River Parkway
Tongva Circle and Memorial Garden
The river is an important cultural and ecological resource, representing two centuries
of settlement, commerce and industry. This park will be naturallly-inspired, with minimally
managed landscapes within an ordered sequence of spaces. The concept for this park is to
preserve the history of the place, while re-using it in sensitive ways that reference the ecologi-
cal and cultural history of the land. The natural and social value of the river will be referenced
through landscapes, interpretive signage, teaching gardens, the outdoor classroom and
Tongva Circle Garden, and connections to the Nature Discovery Center in Los Amigos Regional
Park. An “Atlas of Biodivesity” will detail the geology, human history and bilogical richness
of the site.
53
Tongva Memorial Garden
White Sage Religious Purification Inner Circle
Purple Sage Medicinal Inner Circle
California Buckwheat Medicinal South Garden
California Lilac Basketry; soap North Garden
Chia Medicinal West Garden
Deer Grass Basketry Garden Entry
Lemonade Berry Food Source South Garden
Manzanita Medicinal Garden Entry
Toyon Wooden Implements West Garden
Yarrow Medicinal Outer Circle
Yucca Twine; rope Outer Circle Boulders
55. Bike Share
More than 200 cities around the
world have bike-share programs.
The city of New York expects to
have a fleet of 10,000 bikes by 2013
- where a garage is $45 per day and
parking spots are scarce.
The Downey Parks Master Plan will
feature bike-share stations at stra-
tegic locations throughout the city.
“I got hooked on biking be-
cause it’s a pleasure, not be-
cause biking lowers my carbon
footprint, improves my health
or brings me into contact with
different parts of the city and
new adventures. But it does all
these things...still the reward is
emotional gratification, which
trumps reason, as it often
does.”
David Byrne
Artist, Musician
Bike ride along the Rio Hondo Interpretive Trail
Old River Parkway
Public Art throughout Site
Outdoor Classroom
Patrick Dougherty ‘Willow’ Sculptures
54
56. 55
“No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in the morning.”
- Cyril Connolly
58. Los Amigos Regional Park
West Middle School
Old River Elementary School
Williams Elementary School
Warren High School
Downey Regional Medical Center
Pocket Park
Rio San Gabriel Elementary School
Stonewall Mall
Coca Cola Plaza
Downey Skate Park
Downey High School
Downey Civic Light Opera
Downey Civic Center
Downey Library
Porto‘s Bakery
Spanish Trail Plaza
Downey Post Office
Griffith and Price Schools
Crawford Park
Rain Garden
Downey Urban Farm
The Sanctuary
Veteran‘s Park
Rio San Gabriel Park
Wilderness Park
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The Old Spanish Trail
Legend
57
Rails with Trails - 3.2 Miles, 63 Acres
59. The Old Spanish Trail
In my initial search for open space in Downey, I did not anticipate
the opportunities presented by the rail corridor that cuts across
the city’s geographical center, east to west, just below the main
auto corridor of Firestone Avenue and connected to the Rio Hondo
and San Gabriel River Trails. This portion of the Southern Pacific
Rail Line easement is 3.2 miles long and totals 63 acres of undevel-
oped land. This route was formerly part of the Old Spanish Trail,
an historic trade route dating back to the 1600s which connected
the northern New Mexico settlements near Santa Fe with Los An-
geles and Southern California.
The rail corridor will follow the model set out by the Rails-With-
Trails Conservancy. These are shared use paths or trails located on
or directly adjacent to an active railroad corridor. Currently, there
are 65 Rails with Trails in 30 states, with 82 more in various stages
of development. The Old Spanish Trail will provide alternative
transportation options with a 2-way pedestrian path on one side,
and a 2-way bike path on the opposite side. The trail will add 1,700
new trees and native plantings for beauty, and as carbon offsets.
There will be wayfinding, interpretive signage, public art, and tran-
sitional nodes and spokes into civic, cultural, retail, dining and
parks connecting to the trail.
Bike and pedestrian paths will be 10’ wide on either side
of the tracks, with a 20’ buffer and fencing to the track
There will be a Par Course, seating and water
fountains along the route
58
60. 59
“If your city doesn‘t have a skate park - then your city is a skate park.“
- Skaters for Public Skate Parks
62. Downey Skate Park
• Urban Park serving 6,800 High School youth in area
• 11,000 square ft. state-of-the-art Skate Bowl
• WiFi connectivity throughout the park
• Porous, sunken basketball court to capture rainwater and run off
There are over 9.3 million skateboarders in America, and only about 3,000 skate parks nationwide.
As a result, most kids skate in the streets and are considered a nuisance, with 90% of deaths involving
skateboarders occuring outside of parks, usually involving a motor vehicle
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Neighborhood Park - 2.2 Acres
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Skate Bowl
Community Center
Porto‘s Cafe
Art Show Studio
Palm Plaza
Bike Share
Study Shelters
Study Grove
Sunken Basketball Court
Downey High Community Garden
Parking
Downey High School
Legend
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63. Downey Skate Park
Downey Skate Park is a 2.2 acre
neighborhood park that abuts
Downey High. Currently a vacant
lot with no standing structures, the
park is accessible by foot, car, bike
and public transportation. The
two most important connections to
the park are Downey High School,
as well as Warren High just to the
south, which have a combined
enrollment of 6,860 teens.
While there is a small skate bowl
at Independence Park, there is
no active youth park nearby.
The park is designed primarily as
a skate park but is also intended
as a youth “drop-in” center with
a community garden, study shel-
ters, an art space, cafe and more.
Bike Share Stations will be at strategic locations around town.
62
64. 63
“In Los Angeles, only one third of all children live within walking distance of a public park
or other open space.”
- The Trust for Public Land
Water tank castles in the park
66. Rain Garden
Legend
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Pocket Park - .89 Acres
This .89 acre park will enhance environmental education by focussing on rain
gardens, rain capture and storage, and native landscaping. The park will feature a
splash pad, passive recreation, an outdoor classroom, restrooms, as well as shade
seating and picnic areas. The garden will connect to The Old Spanish Trail, the
Downey Urban Farm and The Sanctuary.
65
Entrance
Old Spanish Trail Connection
Rain Shed and Tanks
Eco Rain Cells
Spash Pad
Restrooms
Outdoor Classroom
Rain Garden
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67. Rain Garden
The Rain Garden is a small, neighborhood pocket park of .89 acres that connects to the Old
Spanish Trail. One of the main themes of this garden will be water, where it comes from,
how it is captured and stored, its many uses. There will be demonstration rain gardens that
the community can view and learn to build at home. The rain collection shed and tanks
are also very easy to understand and install in homes, schools and buinesses around town.
There will be a grouping of eco cells, a system of collecting rainwater and storage for future
irrigation use. The park will offer an outdoor classroom for school trips and study; rest-
rooms; picnic tables and shade seating and, finally, for fun and recreation, a splash pad to
cool off in.
The main theme of the park is the value of water. Children will learn that in Los Angeles,
the average personal use is 130 gallons per person, per day, and the average rainfall is only
15” per year. Additionally, overwatering and other careless habits wastes 50% of landscape
water.
Stone Circle - Martin Hill
As with all parks in the system, public art will be a feature of the Rain Garden.
Man with Suitcase - Jonathan Borofsky
66
68. High above the noise and grime of urban streets, gardeners are raising
fruits and vegetables.
-The Grange, Brooklyn, New York
67
70. Sky Garden
The concept for Sky Garden is the
urban farm and a response to the
urban agricultural movement to
create local food production pilot
projects.
The garden will occupy
6,000 square feet of rooftop
on Downey Studio‘s historic
Building #1, home of the
former Apollo Space
Shuttle and Boeing opera-
tion. This complex is once
again in flux, with the
Downey Studios closing and
a million acre plus retail
complex planned. The
building is historic and
protected, and the garden
will be, too.
• Provide youth employment and
leadership training skills
• Increase knowledge and skills of
organic farming, environmental
stewardship and local food systems
• Promote healthy nutrition and
active lifestyles
• Central Famer‘s Market for the
community in the re-designed, sus-
• tainable parking lot - the city of
Santa Monica has four weekly
Farmer‘s Markets for a population
of 88,000; Downey, with 112,000,
has only one. The garden and its
satellite programs will offer an
alternative to the mall culture that
Downey Landing, the Stonewall
Mall and the new Tierra
• Luna Marketplace project provide.
Urban Farm - 6,000 Square Feet
Benefits
69
71. Sky GardenOrbit Trail
The Orbit Trail will be the
fourth trail in Downey, and
the second to be added
as part of the Parks Master
Plan. The trail is 11 miles long
and features a Par Course,
Sprint Track, rest stops with
shade, seating and fountains,
interpretative signage about
the historical and cultural
points of interest along the
route which include the
Columbia Memorial Space
Center, the Downey Studios,
the Apollo Space Shuttle
historic buildings, the Civic
center of town, and key
retail, dining and commercial
opportunities. The trail will
connect with The Old Spa-
nish Trail where it intersects
with Firestone Avenue near
Lakewood. The trail will
connect with the Sky Garden
and Farmer‘s Market.
A survey by Green Roofs
for Healthy Cities, which
represents companies
that create green roofs,
found the number of
projects its members
had worked on in the
United States grew by
more than 35 percent,
in 2011, totalling over
6 -10 million square feet.
Columbia Memorial Space
Center - one of the historic
sites along the Orbit Trail
70
72. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot.
Nothing is going to get better. It‘s not.“
- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
71
74. Conclusion
Designer and Harvard
Professor, Kongjian Yu
said: “We must depend
on nature, not technology,
for survival.“ We must conti-
nue to ask ourselves the tough
questions: Where is the open
space in cities? What is the best
use of these parcels? How will
we protect and conserve them?
And who should benefit?
As Landscape Architects,
urban planners, civic and
corporate leaders, we must
think creatively and search
for new approaches to
existing large scale land
opportunities that can be
adapted as green infra-
structure that connects
the public and spaces. An
underutilised public golf
course in a cluster of golf
courses; a railway corridor
that stretches across town;
a barren utility corridor
that offers 26 acres for
wildlife habitat and nature
to thrive, while providing an alter-
native to congested and smoggy
streets for cyclists and pedestri-
ans; and a vacant lot near two high
schools with a combined enroll-
ment of 6,800 youth and no place
to gather. These are just a few of
the urban opportunities we should
be looking for to better meet the
needs of our communities.
In The Last Landscape, William Whyte insists that the only way we can save considerable open
space is to have a big plan, use every tool we can get our hands on, identify what can and should
be saved, what cannot be, and tackle the problem as if there were no reprieve.
William Whyte is right.
73
90. Bibliography
89
BOOKS
Braungart, Michael and McDonough, William. Cradle to
Cradle. New York. North Point Press. 2002. Print.
Bruegmann, Robert. Sprawl: A Compact History. The
University of Chicago Press. 2005. Print
Cooper Marcus, Clare. People Places: Design
Guidelines for Urban Open Space
Dodson, Ronald G. Sustainable Golf Courses: A Guide to
Environmental Stewardship. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2005. Print.
Erickson, Donna. MetroGreen: Connecting Open
Space in North American Cities. Washington, D.C.
Island Press. 2006. Print.
Davis, Mike. The City of Quartz. New York: Vintage.
1999.
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. Back Bay Books/
Little, Brown and Company. 2002. Print.
Gottlieb, Robert. Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and
Community in the Global City. The MIT Press. 2007.
Print.
Halprin, Lawrence. Process: Architecture No. 4. Bungi
Morotani. 1978. Print.
Harnik, Peter. Urban Green: Innovative Parks for
Resurgent Cities. Island Press. 2010 The Trust for
Public Land. Print
Hise, Greg, and William Deverell. Eden By Design:
The 1930 Olmsted-Bartholomew Plan for the
Los Angeles Region. Berkeley-Los Angeles-London:
University of California Press. 2000. Print.
Hise, Greg. Magnetic Los Angeles: Planning the
Twentieth-Century Metropolis. The Johns Hopkins
University Press. 1997. Print.
Kunstler, James Howard. The Geography of Nowhere.
Touchstone. 1993. Print.
Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods. Algonguin
Books of Chapel Hill. 2005. Print.
Whyte, William H. The Last Landscape. University of
Pennsylvania Press. 2002. Print.
WEBSITES
Audubon International
American Planning Association - Smart Growth
Audubon Society
Air and Land Institute
Amigos de Los Rios Vision Plan
ASLA - American Society of Landscape Architects
CBE - Communities for a Better Environment
The Conservation Fund
The City Project
City of Downey
City of South Gate
First Tee
The Forest Preserves
Junior Golf
Land and Water Conservation Fund
Los Angeles City Recreational Parks
Los Angeles Conservancy Corp.
Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation
National Golf Association (NGA)
National Park Service
National Recreation and Parks
Natural Learning Institute
The Nature Conservancy
Nature Play Corps.
Net-Zero Park Design
Open Space Research Center - Edinburgh
People for Parks
Pew Research Center
Professional Golf Association (PGA)
The Project for Public Spaces
Rails to Trails
Rails with Trails
Secretary of the Interior
SNAG
Southern California Association of Governments
Southern California Environmental Report Card
Southern California Golf Association (SCGA)
Sustainable Sites Initiative
Tee it Forward
TonyHawkFoundation.org
TrailLinks.com
The Trust for Public Land
21st Century Youth
UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
USC Green Visions Plan
MASTER PLANS
Baldwin Hills Regional Park
Downey Vision 2025
Duluth, MN Master Plan
East Bay Master Plan
Emerald Necklace Master Plan
South Gate Master Plan
City of Pittsburgh Master Plan
91. Acknowledgements
My husband, Jay - true, loving, unwavering in your belief and unconditional support.
My son Daniel, who would exclaim at each park design, “I would go there!“
You are both an endless source of inspiration and joy.
My Thesis Cohort, but especially my fellow angels, who kept me laughing through the
long nights - the trust, respect, honesty and inspiration that we shared were a rare gift.
Patrick Reynolds - You see, the rat learns. You taught me to look beyond the green, to
drive harder, to let the process be my guide. Your support, deep knowledge and
steady hand were constant - and your sense of humor saw us all through.
For my sister Jane. Live Strong.
90
The amazing talent pool of instructors over the past four years; for sharing your
wisdom, experience, creativity, and red pens, I am truly grateful.
92.
93.
94. Alison Emilio
UCLA Extension: Landscape Architecture Department
Thesis - Spring 2012
Advisor: Patrick Reynolds
A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the Professional Certificate in Landscape Architecture
University of California, Los Angeles, Extension
