FUTURE GROUND Finalists announced

FUTURE-GROUND-FINALISTS-Teams-Combined
Recently, the Van Alen Institute and the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) kicked off the Future Ground competition in New Orleans, announcing the three finalist teams and launching the initial research phase with a series of events around the city.
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Future Ground | Design & Policy Competition to Develop Long-Term Strategies for Land Reuse in New Orleans

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Van Alen Institute recently announced the international competition Future Ground, and is now accepting submissions from professionals in landscape design, architecture, planning, public policy, and other related fields to develop innovative strategies for vacant land reuse in New Orleans. The competition is supported by the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), which owns over 2,000 vacant lots and has become a regional and national leader in reuse of vacant lots for community resilience and development.

Continue reading Future Ground | Design & Policy Competition to Develop Long-Term Strategies for Land Reuse in New Orleans

This Week in Landscape | 23 February 2014

A roundup of this weeks landscape related news from around the world.

The Green Team: On Occupying Urban Space | Johanna Phelps | Metropolis Magazine
In urban environments, where square footage comes at a premium, landscapes are frequently designed to satisfy multiple social performance requirements ranging from small group activities to large scale event spaces.

A Lesson for Detroit in Efforts to Aid a New Orleans Devastated by Katrina | Campbell Robertson | NY Times
“If any city can speak about the difficult politics of downsizing, it is New Orleans, where a group of planners and business leaders proposed the idea as the best way to bring back the city after it was devastated by the flooding after Katrina in 2005 ”

Life on Mekong Faces Threats As Major Dams Begin to Rise | Joshua Zaffos | e360 Yale
“River experts say that if the dam-building boom proceeds as planned, it could diminish essential flood pulses and decimate fisheries and riverside gardens that are dependent on variable flows and sediment.”

Where are architecture’s Bravehearts? | Richard J Williams | bdonline.co.uk
Talk of independence omits Scotland’s built environment

Villa Mekrech gardens retain protection, despite building permit | Times of Malta
The Mepa board this afternoon rejected an application to de-schedule the gardens of Villa Mekrech in Ghaxaq.

Continue reading This Week in Landscape | 23 February 2014

VIDEO | Stormwater Management Ecological Services Metrics

Stormwater is important part of any landscape and even more so in cities.  Cities are striving to understand water and stormwater management and implement water sustainable design principles. This 5 minute video recently posted on vimeo by DBA Inc. gives graphic information about a New Orleans water management study that was undertaken by a group of Architects, Landscape Architects, Engineers, and Planners.

Stormwater Management Ecological Services Metrics from DBA Inc. on Vimeo.

New Orleans Urban Farm hits red tape

The Viet Village Urban Farm is an integral part of  the rebuilding the community in New Orleans but has hit red tape. The CDC purchased land for the Urban Farm but the land has been disignated by the Army Corp to be ‘jurisdictional’ wetlands which would require the CDC to purchase over $300,000 in environmental credits. They are now looking at other options for the planned Urban Farm that requires $5-6million for Phase I and II.

Read more about the Viet Village Urban Farm at NOLA.com

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