Putting Nature Back into Neighborhoods The Floyds Fork Greenway Project (aka The Fork)

2. Putting Nature Back into NeighborhoodsThe Floyds Fork Greenway Project(aka The Fork)

3. Today’s Talk • Parklands in an Urban Context • The Ecological, Community, and Economic Benefits of Parklands • The Park Development Process (“The Olmsted Model”) and Project Specifics

4. Takeaways from Today • 21st Century Parks, Inc.: Who we are and what we do: • To reestablish nature as a major element in human and urban life in the 21st Century, and to use that process to shape urban and regional development • Core, Edge, Infrastructure, and the 21st Century City: How do we understand regional growth and balance?

5. Looking Back: The Community Value of Parklands • Parks and green infrastructure as fundamental to sustainable urban design • Community, Connectivity, Character • As public space, parks foster community within our city • Parks create connectivity between areas • Parks preserve and enhance the character of our city and its natural and human landscapes • It’s all about the park users: a place for recreation, contemplation, and relaxation

6. Building Parks: The Olmsted Model • Build parks, greenways, and open space ahead of the development curve to create future livable neighborhoods, integrated with nature • Shawnee, Iroquois, and CherokeeParks • “Jacob’s Folly” became some of our nicest urban neighborhoods • If Louisville can do it again at a significant scale, it can create a model of sustainable urban design

7. “Jacob’s Folly” and the Creation of Louisville’s Olmsted Park System

8. Iroquois Park Today

9. Expanding the Vision: A Park System for the 21st Century

10. Expanding the Vision: A Park System for the 21st Century

11. Expanding the Vision: A Park System for the 21st Century `

12. Expanding the Vision: A Park System for the 21st Century `

13. Expanding the Vision: A Park System for the 21st Century ` Miles Park to Bardstown Road

14. Expanding the Vision: A Park System for the 21st Century ` Miles Park to Bardstown Road

15. Envisioning the Future Landscape

16. Endpoints: No Change

17. Endpoints: Nature integrated with the built environment

18. Endpoints: Development without green infrastructure

19. The Economic Impact of Parklands • Economic Development: • The Role of Parks in Attracting Businesses • The Role of Parks in Attracting Tourists and Retirees • Local Investment: • $64,000,000 in park investment (land, design, construction) by 21st Century Parks, Inc. • Property tax income stream from new homes and neighborhoods. • Quality of Life: • Human health • Children’s Health: The Last Child in the Woods • Recreational amenities • City Branding: The City of Parks (Source: Crompton, 2001)

20. Specifics: Who is 21st Century Parks? • A non-profit corporation • An innovative private-public partnership • Responsible for implementation of The Fork

21. What is our mission? The purpose of 21st Century Parks, Inc., is to serve as stewards entrusted to create and preserve unexcelled parklands that reflect the needs and values of our whole community.

22. How do we achieve our mission? • We build partnerships to fund, design, and maintain world-class parks, integrating nature into neighborhoods. • We employ great design and planning to preserve and enhance green space that brings people together to recreate and to improve their quality of life. • We are creating a new blueprint to build and sustain world-class parks for current and future generations.

23. A Photographic Tour of The Fork…

33. Specifics: The Project Scope • 20-25 mile long trail system between Shelbyville and Bardstown Roads (part of the 100 mile “Louisville Loop”) • Goal is to integrate more than 4000 acres of master-planned open space • Linear greenway system integrated with larger parks • Multi-tiered focus: natural and recreational amenities serving adjacent neighborhoods, Louisville Metro, and the region

34. Floyds Fork Wissahickon Park Philadelphia Rock Creek Park Washington, DC The Emerald Necklace Boston

35. Specifics: The Timetable • Master Planning Phase • Master Plan completed in April of 2008. • Further Planning and Design Work to complete The Fork Project • Design work to begin in 2008; project completion in 6-8 years

36. Specifics: Progress to Date • Over $64,000,000 in private and public funding • 75-80% connectivity within the trail corridor • Over 35 separate acquisitions • Approximately 3200 acres acquired, or under negotiation, and in the Master Planning Process • An Interconnected System of Regional Parks

37. Cherokee Park: 409 acres Seneca Park: 333 acres Shawnee Park: 316 acres Iroquois Park: 739 acres 1,797 acres Floyds Fork: 3,194 acres

39. North Park • Connecting Framework • South Park Framework Sustainability:Habitat and Agriculture Connectivity:Water Trail, Louisville Loop, Hiking Trail, Park Drive Pods Landscape “Theaters”: Future Recreational Activity Areas

40. Park Tour pond meadows filter terraces egg lawn sport walk mill bottom ridge meadow cedar maze arc meadow North Park

41. Park Tour island valley star meadows garden walk meander meadow South Park South Park

42. In Summary. . .

43. A model of sustainable urban design with the potential to significantly shape the Metro region’s, and the watershed’s, future • 20-25-mile trail system that connects to the planned 100-mile Louisville Loop • A goal of over 4,000 acres of new parkland • One of the largest metropolitan park planning initiatives in the U.S. • Preserves significant natural, historic, and cultural resources

44. …at the Edge of the 21st Century

45. The Fork …at the Edge of the 21st Century February 22, 2007

46. Ecological and Watershed Benefits of Parklands Resource Conservation Energy Community Water Quality Habitat • Cultural Heritage • Agricultural services

47. ecosystem benefits summary

48. forest: 1,980 acres grassland: 783 acres wetland: 54 acres proposed landcover total: 3,194 acres sustainable agriculture: 377 acres 10 acres = 1 dot project area = 319 dots

49. Ecosystem Benefits buffers stream restoration stream filtration habitat