April 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 35

The scorched landscape of Sycamore
Canyon Preserve in San Diego
County.
of the highly acclaimed book, The
Comprehensive Plan: Sustainable, Resilient,
and Equitable Communities for
the 21st Century. " Heat is probably
the greatest threat. It will be impossible
to go outside in some areas of
the country during the heat of the
summer, " he says. " And drought is
the companion to extreme heat. "
Other
experts identify
related
threats, such as sea level rise and
flooding or violent storms, depending
on which areas of the country
are being affected. " Communities
need to look at a spectrum of the
most critical threats and be prepared
to deal with the shocks of single
events and the endemic effects
of long-term stresses as they occur, "
Rouse continues. " But the greatest
of threat[s] from climate change
[are] inequality and a lack of equity.
Parks cannot solve this alone. "
In San Diego County,
Brian
Albright, director of parks and
recreation, says, " For us, the
greatest threats are extreme heat
and wildfires. When viewed in the
context of our recent history over
the last 25 years, heat and wildfires
are changing the very nature of
our parks and open space areas.
For example, after wildfires, what
comes back is not necessarily what
was there before or even what we
want to see in the landscape. We
are restoring our forests with the
right mix of trees and vegetation to
be sure we reduce community heat
islands and manage
stormwater
throughout the landscape. "
Ignacio Bunster-Ossa,
vice
president of landscape urbanism
and resilience at The Collaborative
in Philadelphia, has been called
one of America's leading landscape
architects and urban designers. He
says, " The problem is that climate
change is not urgent in most
people's minds. Park designers and
planners need to become advocates,
too. We have the responsibility to
put the facts before elected officials
and funders. It is up to us to say,
'Here are ways we can address
the
problem.' The changes
are
inevitable and will only happen at
a faster rate in the future. "
" What should a park be? " asks
Bunster-Ossa. " We are at a point
of inflection. Are parks just lawns
and trees, landscaped areas, and
recreation amenities, or are they
something more? In the face of climate
change, parks must become
something more. We must be looking
at the entire system, and it is
going to have to change. "
Systems Thinking
Maria Nardi, director of MiamiDade
County Department of Parks,
Recreation and Open Spaces, agrees
that a holistic view of their entire
park and recreation system is critical.
" We have to look at every part
of our system and how we connect
blueways and greenways and streets
and communities. We must understand
the impacts of climate change
to the entire system, not just to the
individual pieces. This also helps us
understand how our park system
shapes the entire county and region
and how it builds the health of individual
communities. "
Signe
Nielsen,
landscape architect,
founding
principal
of
Mathews
Nielsen Landscape Architects
and designer of Little Island,
a unique waterfront park over
the Hudson River in New York
City, says that without question,
parks will be seen as strategic assets
in responding to the impacts
of climate change. " As Mitch Silver
[former director of New York
City Department of Parks and Recreation]
frequently says, 'Parks are
critical infrastructure.' I am a huge
supporter of that belief. In terms of
health and equity, quality parks are
vital, especially to those who are
most vulnerable. "
Without exception and across disciplines,
experts in landscape architecture,
comprehensive planning and
park design believe it is absolutely
necessary to plan and act now.
" I believe the most important thing
we need to address regarding climate
change is to plan, " says Jason Hellendrung,
vice president of planning and
design for Tetra Tech, an international
engineering and consulting firm.
" So often, agencies and municipalities
are not doing the planning that
will be necessary to meet the challenges
of climate change. A part of
this planning is looking at what your
vulnerabilities to climate change are
and where to make investments. This
is where a large measure of urgency
needs to be. "
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | APRIL 2 0 22 | Parks & Recreation
35
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
April 2022 - Parks & Recreation

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