Edward Leathers Memorial Park

Working within the City’s constrained budget, we developed a scheme that transformed a trash-strewn lot into a heavily utilized community park. In this city distinctly lacking in open space, the park aims to catalyze greater investment in the urban environment. The design prioritizes the planting of large trees throughout, which established the park as a fixture and provide much needed shade. The walks, trees, and garden areas, configured in linear bands, suggest a connection to future greenways to be developed along city streets, through alleys, and into neighboring yards. The park’s program includes a garden of native flowering shrubs, a play area for small children, a reading circle, a walking loop designed with the elderly in mind, and a stage. The public process engaged a committee of stakeholders in a series of workshops to steer the conceptual design, and included three public meetings that successfully built consensus within a varied constituency.