Emergency Parks

This project will be conducted under the framework that in order to create infiltration opportunities, the asphalt from “No-Parking” spaces can be removed and the area transformed into a micro-park. By removing the asphalt from emergency parking spaces (or other underutilized/non-necessary impervious surfaces) and creating micro-parks that are integrated with the street, infiltration opportunity can be increased, reducing the amount of pollution entering the watershed. These micro engineered green spaces prevent storm water runoff; use foliage to stabilize the soil, and to provide a durable low maintenance surface cover. The park does not prevent a fire truck from utilizing the space in the case of an emergency, but rather provides an infiltration opportunity as well as a green space in an urban environment. As a result, water quality will improve as the pollution burden from impervious surfaces is decreased. Micro-parks transform the meaning of “Emergency Parking” by bringing awareness to the environmental emergency and by providing aid in the form of a park. Though micro-parks require little maintenance they do provide opportunity for community interaction and collaboration making them beneficial to both society and to the environment.