LA river studio |b o o k
Students
Brad Cantrell
Annie Gilson
Anna Kaufmann
Han Song Lee
Chih-Wei Lin
Jie Liqiu
Wes Michaels
Alissa Puhm North
Ryosuke Shimoda
James Smith
Todd Wenskoski
Chung-Hsun Wu
harvard university graduate school of design department of landscape architecture
LA River Studio Book
Professor George Hargreaves
LA river studio |b o o k
harvard university graduate school of design
department of landscape architecture
LA river studio |b o o k
harvard university graduate school of design
department of landscape architecture
Editor
George Hargreaves
Chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Student Editors
Annie Gilson MLA '02
Alissa Puhm MLA '03
Students
Brad Cantrell
Annie Gilson
Anna Kaufmann
Han Song Lee
Chih-Wei Lin
Jie Liqiu
Wes Michaels
Alissa Puhm
Ryosuke Shimoda
James Smith
Todd Wenskoski
Chung-Hsun Wu
Project Advisors
Kathleen Bullard, MRCA
Mia Lehrer, Mia Lehrer & Associates
Lewis MacAdams, Friends of the Los Angeles River
Copyright © 2002 President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
without permission. The work herein is that of individual authors;
it does not necessarily represent the views of the Graduate School
of Design, Harvard University, or any of its programs or faculty.
ISBN 0-935617-57-4
Published by Harvard University
Graduate School of Design
Printed in the United States of America
Copies of LA Studio River Book are available for purchase from:
Harvard University
Graduate School of Design
Book Orders
48 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617.495.4115
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
LA River Center & Gardens
570 West Avenue 26 Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90065
323.221.8900
The Harvard Design School is a leading center for education,
information and technical expertise on the built environment.
Its
departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban
Planning and Design offer masters and doctoral degree programs
and also provide the foundation for its Advanced Studies Programs
and Executive Education.
LA river studio |b o o k
harvard university graduate school of design
department of landscape architecture
contents
1 7 |introduction
friends of the los angeles river lewis macadams
santa monica mountains conservancy kathleen bullard
mia lehrer + associates mia lehrer
urban partners dan rosenfeld
harvard university graduate school of design department of landscape architecture george hargreaves
2 9 |student projects
strategy alissa puhm | ryosuke shimoda | han song lee
habitat annie gilson | chung-hsun wu
water cleansing james smith | chih-wei lin
recreation anna kaufmann | jie liqiu
edge todd wenskoski | brad cantrell | wes michaels
9 9 |groundwork
los angeles river history
landuse analysis maps
hydraulics information
precedents
1 5 5 |epilogue
los angeles river studio book
9
introduction
1 8 |friends of the los angeles river
lewis macadams
2 0 |santa monica mountains conservancy
kathleen bullard
2 2 |mia lehrer + associates
mia lehrer
2 4 |urban partners
dan rosenfeld
2 6 |harvard university graduate school of design department of landscape architecture
george hargreaves
Proposal
When landscape architect Mia Lehrer first approached
me with the possibility that Friends of the Los
Angeles River could work with the Harvard Graduate
School of Design's ‘Sponsored Studio,’ I was thrilled;
and immediately suggested that they take on the
most intractably industrialized, most inaccessible,
most degraded part of the Los Angeles River in the
city of LA, the River through downtown. Cut off by
factories, warehouses, junkyards, and railroad tracks
running along both sides, its banks and bed encased
in concrete, this four mile stretch of river paradoxically offers the 250,000 people living in Lincoln
Heights and Boyle Heights, and the 300,000 who
work and increasingly live downtown, a tremendous
opportunity to create parks, schools, housing, and
jobs, raise property values and build stronger and
healthier communities in the heart of the city.
The proposals you see here are the results of one of
the most extensive research projects yet undertaken
along the Los Angeles River. In September of 2001,
12 graduate students under the direction of George
Hargreaves, the chairman of the Harvard Graduate
School of Design's Landscape Architecture
Department, spent three days in Los Angeles where
they received a series of intensive briefings on a
dizzying array of relevant topics from the history,
politics and demographics of the riverfront communities to the economics of redevelopment, the
mechanics of flood control, and the river's flora and
fauna. The class met with everyone from the LA
County Department of Public Work's Watershed
Management Division and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to the tenant's association at Pico-Aliso
Village, the vast public housing project east of the
river. In the clearest possible underlining of the
dimensions of the problems they had taken on, the
students were almost arrested for trespassing in the
Union Pacific's Los Angeles Transportation Center, an
active railyard that takes up almost a mile of riverfront
directly across from downtown, and emerged as the
pivitol property in many of these plans.
Lewis MacAdams
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Friends of the Los Angeles River
lewis macadams
18
After their site visit, the Harvard students went back
and began to draw. Their preliminary work was
reviewed three times over the course of the semester
by representatives from the Mountains Recreation
and Conservation Authority, the Corps of Engineers,
the offices of County Supervisor Gloria Molina and
City Councilman Ed Reyes, Northeast Trees, the
Latino Urban Forum, and Friends of the Los Angeles
River. The results of the study were first presented in
LA during February of 2002.
Many people contributed to the success of this
project. In particular, I would like to thank Mia Lehrer
of Mia Lehrer & Associates who oversaw this whole
effort; Joe Edmiston of the Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy, who agreed to fund the project; and
Kathleen Bullard and Belinda Faustinos of the MRCA,
who figured out how to pay for it. Both Kathleen and
Cara McLane of the MRCA brought their own skills as
landscape architects to the project, as did Lynne
Dwyer. Dan Rosenfeld of Urban Partners and Alex
Ward, the Design Director of the architectural firm of
Leo A. Daley, helped bring a business perspective to
what might have been an ivory tower exercise.
Architect Arthur Golding added his vast knowledge of
planning and design issues in this part of the city.
Doug Suisman of Suisman Urban Design supplied
historical context. Stephen Callis, whose brilliant
photos have brought this stretch of the river into the
public eye for the first time; artist Lane Barden,
whose visionary efforts to create a lake in the
downtown river channel influenced a number of
these projects; Poet and cultural analyst Ruben
Martinez, James Rojas of the Latino Urban Forum
and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Katie
Klapper, Chi Mui, and David Diaz, Board members of
Friends of the Los Angeles River, Andy Lipkis of Tree
People, Robert Garcia from Center For Law in the
Public Interest, Los Angeles City Councilman Ed
Reyes and his deputy Alan Gee; City Council member
Jan Perry and her planning deputy, Darryl Sweeney,
County Supervisor Gloria Molina, and her planning
deputy, Carrie Sutkin; and State Assemblywoman
Jackie Goldberg and her deputy, George Magellanes,
all helped make this possible.
Above all, I would like to thank George Hargreaves.
His pioneering work in restoring riverfronts across
the United States has established principles and
provided examples that all of us in LA need to
consider as we begin the effort to transform the River
through downtown from an object of pity and
contempt and an example of every mistake humankind
has ever made in our long history of living alongside
rivers, into a symbol of hope and a source of beauty,
inspiration, and sustenance.
introduction
19
Parameters
The Harvard Graduate School of Design students
created a provocative vision of the Los Angeles River
that challenges the viewer to imagine a dreamscape
of beaches, new ecologies, and connections across
the city. The task now is to build upon these proposals by taking the best from them, re-sorting them,
and bringing forth a set of workable projects that
transform this section of the Los Angeles River and
its environs. The students' analyses make clear the
challenges facing this stretch of the river and the
communities surrounding it.
One cannot view the work from the confluence of the
Arroyo Seco and Los Angeles River to the Los
Angeles City border with Vernon as the creation a
single project in need of massive funding and
political will. Implementation and change will occur,
as it always does, in fits and starts. From the initial
mini-park on a residential lot to the creation now of
multi-acre riverfront parks, a strong constituency has
been built for re-greening the river. Yet this constituency is made of various organizations, alliances,
and individuals who may not have a shared image of
how this will be manifested in the environment.
Disagreements exist over active versus passive recreation, the primary targeted user groups, access,
and habitat restoration, to name a few. The ultimate
outcome of the redesigned city and river will be
wrought through the often messy, but effective,
process of public planning.
The greater question becomes not what do we
implement, but how? Do we have the existing
resources in place to affect a change of this magnitude over time?
Kathleen Bullard
Chief of River Projects
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
kathleen bullard
20
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and sister
agency, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation
Authority built the first mini-park in Elysian Valley in
1996 that offered a glimpse of a new attitude towards
the river. While the bank of the river may be concrete,
where the riverbed is naturalized, opportunities exist
for bird watching, enjoying the sound of water as it
passes over the rocks, and connecting with nature in
even a small way. It created a place for people to see
the river, albeit through an opening in the fence
(newer parks are now open to the river). Los Angeles
County park bonds passed in 1992 and 1996 initially
paid for this park and subsequent ones. In March
2000, state-wide park and watershed bonds were
passed for the first time in 17 years for a total of $4
billion. Again in March 2002 voters passed park
bonds totaling $2.6 billion. Funds were slated specifically for river parkways (which unlike elsewhere in
the country do not refer to roads) as part of the legislation. The possibility for parks in every city along
the river is beginning to be realized.
However, rather than simply fix up the edges, a desire
for dramatic change, one that creates a new urban
ecology with habitat for endangered species such as
the steelhead trout, recreation for people, and
improved water quality exists at the edge of our consciousness. After the devastating floods of 1934 and
1938, the Army Corps of Engineers were given the
task to "fix the river" and save Los Angeles from flood.
Using the best available technology, and approximately $5 billion in today's dollars, the Corps fulfilled its mission perfectly. But at what a cost! The
river is lined with some of the poorest communities
most in need of open space, brownfields lie adjacent
to its banks, and habitat is all but lost.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works
estimates that in 20 years the flood control infrastructure will be obsolete. The Los Angeles River will
never be restored to its natural state, when it moved
wildly across the Los Angeles plain changing course
and displacing the 6 million people who live there.
Now is the time to start planning its replacement, but
with a new mandate - bring back the habitat, clean
the water, and make it a natural amenity, while maintaining flood protection. It can be done. Just as the
Los Angeles River flood control channel was at the
leading edge of technology in its day, so it should be
again. With the will of the people firmly behind it
already, a partnership at every level of government and the dollars to back it up - should re-create the
Los Angeles River and transform it from today's poor
joke into the centerpiece of a great city. The Harvard
Graduate School of Design studio work begins to
show us the way.
introduction
21
Perspective
Los Angeles is a stunning canvas for the landscape
architect. Its history is, among other things, one of
squandered opportunity in the making of vast infrastructure. No place is this more evident than in the
evolution-some might say, devolution-of the Los
Angeles River.
As a member of the Graduate School of Design
Alumni Council, I became familiar with, and intrigued
by, the "Sponsored Studio" projects, now an integral
part of the Studio offerings at School. The resonant
possibilities for students, faculty, alumni, and communities involved in these projects were compelling.
The work I saw being produced was powerful and
often inspired. The depth of the curriculum in the
Department today-from Brownfield reclamation to
watershed management to the creation of beautiful
places-suggested that a Sponsored Studio focusing
on the Los Angeles River could be a triggering
mechanism for complex change that only an
expansive landscape architectural approach could
provide. Realizing this, I called my colleague and
fellow classmate, George Hargeaves, and suggested
this Studio. Contacting Joe Edmiston, Director of the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, resulted in
their sponsorship of the Studio. I asked my friend,
Lewis MacAdams, the driving force of the Friends of
the Los Angeles River, to give voice to this endeavor.
Mia Lehrer, ASLA
Harvard Graduate School of Design, MLA ‘79
Mia Lehrer + Associates
mia lehrer
22
introduction
23
Possibility
The river is the most important real estate in Los
Angeles. From the beginning of human settlement,
it has defined how, why and where our city exists.
Early European settlers discovered a valley resembling paradise on earth. The river they named Los
Angeles flowed from snowcapped mountains into the
largest arable plain on the west coast of the continent. Starting in the early years of the Pueblo, the
topography of the river and its watershed have
defined the morphology of our community. Even
when imported water and accelerated transportation
systems unleashed patterns of oncological growth,
the river remained the fundamental natural spine of
the city. Through years of mistreatment and abuse,
the river has exerted an inescapable influence on
patterns of human activity in the Los Angeles basin.
In a metropolis so large that it is best viewed from
satellite photos, the original organic configuration of
the land is still visible. The river is still there.
A small, grass roots organization called the Friends
of the Los Angeles River, and its founder Lewis
MacAdams in particular, have inspired a dramatic
change in the last two years, demonstrating the significance and, even more important, the immense
potential of the Los Angeles River. The river is now,
without question, the most important land use
opportunity in North America's third largest city (we
do not forget Mexico).
This potential exists in multiple dimensions:
The environmental benefits of the river are beginning
to be seriously studied: the potential to improve
groundwater balances, soil and air chemistry and the
health of our entire ecosystem on land and far out to
sea. Environmental impacts run deep into the web of
human occupancy. For example, higher density
mixed-use development along the river will profoundly address our second most significant land
use challenge transportation and also benefit our
notorious struggles for air quality and the preservation of the mountains and beaches that surround
the urbanized core.
Dan Rosenfeld
Principal
Urban Partners
dan rosenfeld
24
Economic benefits are also underappreciated.
Ironically, the greatest beneficiary of a revitalized
river may well be the City's famous real estate devel-
opment "machine." Once committed to sprawl on a
mega-urban scale, the real estate industry will soon
discover that a 58 mile river, appropriately enhanced,
yields 116 miles of new waterfront, an invaluable
commodity that is traditionally assumed to be in
finite supply. Other cities demonstrate the retail,
recreational, residential and mixed-use development
potential that riverfront or lakefront real estate allow.
Small trickles in San Antonio, new lakes in Phoenix
and reemerging waterfronts in San Diego and San
Francisco show that high quality and successful
waterfront redevelopment do not require a Hudson or
a Charles.
The land value appreciation created by this new
waterfront development, which could be 500% or
more, say from $15 to $100 per square foot, if
captured in property taxes, will finance the acquisition and improvement of the land itself. In this
sense, the riverfront is "self-financing," a major
public works project that can pay for itself.
Beyond specific development opportunities on the
banks of the river, are the larger, macroeconomic
benefits that a centralized community can provide.
There is no question that dense, centripetal cities are
more efficient, that they use basic factors of economic
production such as land, energy and time more efficiently and therefore compete more successfully on
a global scale. Economic success, in turn, funds
social welfare, culture and quality of life.
But perhaps most valuable in our time and place are
the social and political benefits that the river can
impart. By drawing people back together, as well as
back to our historical and natural roots in the land,
the river will create the sense of community, of
civitas in the traditional Latin sense, so urgently
required in a community as diverse and dispersed as
Los Angeles.
It is no exaggeration to propose that the Los Angeles
River alone can reverse the fundamental trend of
urban growth in Southern California, from centrifugal
sprawl to a renewed focus on the center, in both
physical and psychological terms. In that context,
we may someday see the evolution of our City as a
single cycle: to the river, then away from it, and then
back again.
introduction
25
Project
Strategy
Habitat
Water Cleansing
Recreation
Edge
The purpose of a design studio at Harvard is to
provide a fulcrum for critical inquiry into specific
sites. Often, as in the Los Angeles River Studio,
students are asked to develop a program of land use
and define its characteristics as an articulated
physical proposal. Since this was an advanced studio
there was neither an agenda nor an overarching set of
objectives provided. Each student was asked to
perform independent design research based on a
conceptual exploration of the entire four mile long
site. The teaching approach was at times one of
encouragement and at others one of challenging,
questioning, or probing.
The methodology of the studio began with a series of
analyses performed in groups of two: watershed
hydrology, regional and adjacent land uses, national
and international precedents, engineering principles
of flood control, water remediation techniques, and
an architectural inventory of significant structures
were topics identified by the studio. The class then
spent three days in Los Angeles touring and photographing the site, meeting with local stakeholders,
and having extensive conversations with the studio
sponsors and the Army Corps of Engineers. Two
broad assumptions emerged from these meetings:
one, that the railroad tracks on the east side could be
considered removable whereas the tracks on the west
side were not and, two, that to completely replace the
concrete channel would require a widening of the
river corridor of up to 6 or 7 times.
George Hargreaves
Chaiman of the Department of Landscape Architecture
Harvard Graduate School of Design
george hargreaves
26
The student work as presented here coalesces
around five themes: strategy, habitat, water cleansing,
recreation, and edge manipulation. These themes
represent the central concerns revealed in the student
work rather than a grand systemic vision. In introducing each theme some definition seems in order.
Strategies involve a significant set of operations that
occur over a long period of time; often the final
outcome is not as much of a concern as are the
means employed to get there. Habitat refers to those
projects that provide large scale wildlife areas within
their projects. The water cleansing or remediation
projects seek to create a landscape that cleans pollutants from surface water run-off before returning it
to the hydrologic cycle. Recreation forms the central
theme of those projects that prioritize neighborhood
enhancement. Finally, the edge projects are those
that realized that edge is the key to opening up the
river to the city and resolving flood control issues at
the same time. Although one can certainly find other
thematic elements within each project, we found
central themes served to demystify a large complex
site and the individual conceptual approaches.
Upon our return to Harvard the students began their
individual work. The studio sponsors, stakeholders,
and political representatives of the district attended
two preliminary reviews and one final review at
Harvard. In January 2002 the studio returned to Los
Angeles to share their work with the general public
and stakeholders. The entire studio lasted fourteen
weeks.
introduction
27
student projects
3 0 |strategy
alissa puhm
ryosuke shimoda
han song lee
5 0 |habitat
annie gilson
chung-hsun wu
6 0 |water cleansing
james smith
chih-wei lin
7 0 |recreation
anna kaufmann
jie liqiu
8 0 |edge
todd wenskoski
brad cantrell
wes michaels
River System
Los Angeles spends one billion dollars a year to
import water, while every day 100 million gallons of
water flows down a concrete channel, otherwise
known as the Los Angeles River. This project attempts
to deal with water at the source, at the level of the
watershed, and use it as a resource.
Implementation of best management practices at the
watershed scale are suggested, such as cisterns to
collect water to use on site, residential scale retention
systems, property detention grading, the use of
drought tolerant planting, and the implementation of
low flow plumbing. These practices would be phased
in incrementally, with emphasis placed in high flood
risk areas. The watershed strategy aims to increase
the productivity of the watershed.
At the site scale this project attempts to use the
channel as an existing infrastructure resource with
slight modifications. Incisions take place in the
channel walls trapping sediment and debris, setting
a base for incidental vegetation to grow. The cuts are
the first transformative step and become the symbol
for the beginnings of a park, which will occur at bank
level. With this strategy, the channel crumbles,
slowly allowing the transition to become ingrained in
the attitudes of its users, rather than the channel
being there one day and missing the next.
The parks serve as appendages to the concrete
channel system, allowing the channel to function as
a river system. Each park is initially structured by
revealing its past uses and by making new connections to the surrounding neighborhoods, while
directing it toward a potential wetland condition
determined by its location in the watershed and how
flood water can enter the site. The sites are set with
an initial planting, but attempt to reverse the 'fallacy
of green' by allowing evolution, which is directly
related to the quantity of water that may flow into the
site over time.
Although we recognize our impact on the environment, it is critical that we take steps to work with
systems intelligently in a manner that allows them to
evolve rather than exist statically. This project
attempts to achieve that through maximizing function
with minimal intervention.
alissa puhm
30
strategy
31
alissa puhm
32
strategy
33
alissa puhm
34
strategy
35
alissa puhm
36
strategy
37
alissa puhm
38
strategy
39
Proposed Field Protocols
My proposal is not to remove the industrial area and
to simply situate new parks, but rather to change the
huge industrial space into a zone of environmental
industry that would concurrently produce new nursery
stock and remediate the soil. Local residents will be
able to benefit from these environmental changes.
The plants grown here and the resulting healthy soil
will be distributed throughout the new riverside recreation and residential areas. This proposal will take
approximately thirty years to complete and has the
following three phases.
North Park
Phase 1
2005 - 2010
Phytoremediation on the Existing Rail Yard
Nurseries will be set up on all vacant lots that are
located within two to three blocks of this section of
the river. These nurseries will produce plants that will
also clean the soil through phytoremediation.
Phytoremediation will also take place on the existing
rail yard site. As the plants grow at the nurseries, they
will be used to vegetate interstitial spaces that can be
used for recreation.
West Residential Area and SCIArc Rail Yard
Phase 1 Phytoremediation on the Rail Yard
Phase 2
2010 - 2020
Remediation Completion and Start of Production
During this phase, phytoremediation of the rail yard
will conclude. The rail yard site will begin to function
as a nursery. At this point the spatial structure of the
rail yard will also change.
Phase 2 Phytoremediation and Production (Nursery)
Phase 3
2020 - 2030
Coexistence of Productive Space and Landscape
Along the river, most of the manufactured sites will
be transformed into places where functioning nurseries and recreational areas coexist.
Phase 3 Production and Recreation
ryosuke shimoda
40
strategy
41
South Park
Land Use Phasing
Existing Condition
Phase 2 2010-2020
Phase 1 2005-2010
Phase 3 2020-2030
ryosuke shimoda
42
strategy
43
Territory Assemblage
This section of the Los Angeles River is surrounded
by industrial manufacturing buildings that have the
potential to be redeveloped into an information technology and service-based district. Such dynamic
changes are already underway in this area.
Railroads along the river will be moved outside of
this downtown area, and many warehouse structures
and factories will be either transformed for new uses
or eliminated. Ecologically friendly flood control
measures will replace the current concrete channel.
Historically, parks have provided both natural habitats
and places of recreation for people. This project
envisions a different kind of park, one with a flexible
quality that will accommodate the complex dynamics
of the site. A new park will promote the redevelopment of the largely abandoned district and provide
complex and diverse urban activities and cultural
programs for the use of the community.
The Los Angeles Riverfront Park will be a regional
park due to its large scale and the impetus it will
provide for further redevelopment within the area.
The park will provide regional attractions such as
beaches and natural resources, which will play a
major cultural role at the regional scale.
han song lee
44
strategy
45
Phase 1
Phase 2
Strengthen the Existing Community, Artist Studios, Institutions, and Community Parks
Change the Territory, Rail Yard Area Development
han song lee
46
Land Use
Land Use
Infrastructure
Infrastructure
Access
Access
Structure
Structure
strategy
47
Phase 3
Phase 4
Evolve to Regional Attraction, Loft House Park Development
Long Term Potential
Detention
Land Use
Retention
Infrastructure
Access
Structure
han song lee
48
strategy
49
Breaking the Channel
With regular maintenance of channel debris and the
establishment of an effective warning system for the
public, the river, or rather the massive concrete void
that the river only periodically fills, could actually be
occupied. The sparks of spirit that appear within the
culvert come from life finding small moments of
potential sustenance. Imagine possibilitiesstretching small cracks in the concrete into more
substantial breaks, until whole portions of the wall
come down and reveal new permeable edges that
could re-supply the aquifer below. Pedestrians and
bicyclists, even horseback riders, could use the
channel as a recreational path, safe from the traffic
above. An existing ramp beneath the Seventh Street
Bridge, one that reaches from street level on the west
side of the rail yard down into the riverbed, suggests
a promising way to invite pedestrians into the
channel. A ramp would not only provide universal
access from the old industrial neighborhood into the
riverbed, but it would also act as an effective transition zone for flood overflow. This ramp, along with
the existing rail yards and electrical towers, could be
an urban backdrop to an entertainment plaza offering
indoor and outdoor movie screenings, restaurants,
music stores and galleries.
On the other side of the river, between the Hollywood
and Santa Monica Freeways, floodwaters could periodically break out of the aqueduct and infiltrate a
large public park graded to accept, absorb and then
release storm flow back into the channel a mile
downstream. This botanical park would especially
benefit the neighborhoods to the east of the river,
those families underserved by a lack of nearby open
space. The wide corridor would provide habitat to
migratory birds and planted native vegetation, serving
an environmental purpose similar to the ecologically
rich banks of the early Los Angeles River.
The Los Angeles River can become a destination
where the individual might safely measure his scale
against the scale of a flood. Marking this experience
could be encouraged; the authorities could allow
spray painting. Here, a new ecology can evolve, one
that both embraces the safety provided by past
responses to drought and flood, but one that also
warps seemingly rigid restrictions into opportunities
for inhabitance.
annie gilson
50
habitat
51
annie gilson
52
habitat
53
annie gilson
54
habitat
55
Ecology for Birds
The Los Angeles River is an important flood control
channel. In addition, this concrete basin has become
one of its city's icons. Although its purpose as a flood
control channel is essential, the river itself is now
considered a negative place. Its most serious
drawback is that it serves almost no ecological
function.
Finding a way to naturalize the river is now a priority.
This project proposes to fulfill this need, not by
creating a natural form, or removing the concrete
base, but by creating a functioning river to support
human society and ecological integrity.
linkages
bird movement
chung-hsun wu
56
habitat
57
patches
proposed flood condition
prominent spots
current flood condition
river energy
current river condition
Currently, the non-concrete portions of the river and
reservoirs at the upper reaches of the river, such as
the habitat north of Elysian Park, show the ability to
support birds and wildlife. In an attempt to introduce
and maintain biodiversity closer to downtown Los
Angeles, this project intends to create bird habitats
- stepping-stone patches and corridors for the
movement of birds. In support of this plan, abundant
bodies of water and zones of vegetation need to be
created. Capturing water can be accomplished by
raising the water level in two areas bounded by
inflatable dams. In this way humans and birds can
coexist within an urban context. The artificial river
will be given new meaning and an increased ecological function.
long lines
proposed water condition
isolation
Bird Habitat 1
Bird Habitat 2
Bird Habitat 3
Master Plan
chung-hsun wu
58
habitat
59
Plug In River Parks
There are three major elements in this design
approach to the Los Angeles River:
1. The Union Pacific Rail Yard Water View Park
An amenity driven park designed to maximize the use
of a large space. The expanse of water and beach
enclosed by natural vegetation provides a unique
sublime experience easily accessible by the surrounding community. The inclusion of recreational
program and residential property further improves
the usability of the site. The park is system based and
powered by a water cleansing process.
2. The Plug In Neighborhood Park
These smaller parks are inserted into the existing
fabric of the community, creating a new device for
ordering the development of the neighborhood. The
edges of these parks become energized and can
develop into strong residential and commercial communities. The parks are designed to use water-processing technologies to both drive the landscape and
illustrate human participation in this system. The
amenities of open lawn space and water edges will
become places for occupation and enjoyment within
the community.
The Plug In Parks can also serve as green centers and
environmental filters for industrial districts. The
installation of a Plug In Park is a process that considers economic, community, residential, and commercial variables in determining the scale of a site.
The cooperative development and construction processes will determine the eventual physical details of
one of these spaces.
3. Campus or Institutional Bridging
This is an opportunity to bridge the gap created by
the river. In this case the grounds of SCIArc are
extended. An efficient bridging system is built which
spans the river channel and connects to recreational
program on the other side. The bridge itself contains
commercial program and becomes an armature of
the area's new pedestrian community.
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Use water-powered systems to illustrate the human
relationship to the constructed
ecology of Los Angeles
Establish or strengthen neighborhood communities
through the insertion of new spaces and edges
Design adaptable prototype park spaces that use a
number of functional variables to ultimately
build a Plug-In Park
Establish connection perpendicular to the LA River
Bridge the Gap
Come down to the Water
Create mixed pedestrain, bicycle, and vehicular link
on existing roads parallel to the river
channel linking park spaces
Maximize potential of newly available spaces to
create large landscape experiences where possible
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Branches
The 'branches' strategy includes both parkway and
hydrologic networks reaching through the neighborhoods adjacent to the Los Angeles River. This
approach focuses on breaking the boundary of the
current Los Angeles River and allowing its fabric to
expand and fit into the urban context.
Proposed Housing
Union Pacific Rail Yard
In the first phase, the twenty-five year flood control
measures are kept in some areas of the concrete
channel, while the material of other areas are
changed to be permeable. The second phase focuses
on regional housing redevelopment and the initiation
of the branch systems at areas of critical conjunction
along river. In order to break the isolation of the river,
caused by railways and industrial land use, this
project proposes removing the rail lines and reconstructing abandoned warehouses into public loft
studio housing, supporting both commercial and
mixed-use housing programs. Also in this phase, the
branch systems would extend several riverbank areas
into the neighborhoods.
Sports Park
Residential Branches
These branches would serve to combine pedestrian,
bikeway, and green ditches, thereby offering strong
neighborhood-scale parkway channels by which
local residents could trace their way to the Los
Angeles River. The branch system would play a role
in recharging the underground water system and
remediating contaminations in the soil through phytoremediation. By implementing 'branches', planners
could open the Los Angeles River to the public, a
move that would offer environmental and health
benefits to the entire city.
SCIArc Yard
Proposed Railway
Branches Under Bridge
Flooding stages
LA Cultural Park
Commercial Branches
Unaccessible Areas
Fragmented Space
Commercial Potential
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Connecting Branches
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Entrance to Union Pacific Rail Yard
Union Pacific Rail Yard
Residential Area Branches
SCIArc Yard
Branches Under Bridge
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Connections
Park Space
Water Quality
The project is driven by three goals:
1. to make connections across the channel
2. to provide park space and river access for the
residents of East Los Angeles
3. to improve the quality of the river water
Currently the river channel functions as a barrier
between East Los Angeles and the downtown area.
The channel also prevents people from accessing the
river. The project strategy alternately pulls back the
river channel to create park zones and pinches the
river channel to create urban connections. The union
pacific rail yard has been transformed into a constructed wetland that will cleanse the river water,
protecting park goers to the south and ultimately
sending cleaner water to the ocean. The constructed
wetland also provides significant wildlife habitat.
The project has a north-south spine developed along
existing roads. Major urban connections are pulled
off the spine across the channel. The language of the
urban context is pulled from the spine into the park
zones in the form of terraces, piers, and groves that
serve as landscape rooms.
cut in channel wall
constructed treatment wetland
connections
institutional anchor
pores
treated water returns to channel
community gardens
proposed pico aliso development
pedestrian connection
urban promenade and boardwalk
park zones
Water is diverted from the channel into the constructed wetland located in the Union Pacific Rail
Yard site. The existing channel wall is maintained
along this stretch to protect the fragile wetland from
floods. South of the rail yard the channel wall is
alternatively pulled back and built in to create park
zones and connections.
amphitheater
pedestrian connection
marketplace
water
pedestrian connection over rail
sports zone
citrus grove
strategy
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return of water to main channel
recreation
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Constructed Wetland and Institution
Citrus Grove and Sports Zone
Terraced Pathways and Piers
Amphitheater and Reflecting Pool
recreation
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Section Looking East
Union Pacific Yard Constructed Wetland and Institution
Section Looking South
Sports Zone and Citrus Grove
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Transition
The Los Angeles River is inaccessible and hidden by
industry. Undoubtedly, the people of Los Angeles
need a renewed open space.
Overflow
Linkages
Neighborhood Park
Water Levels
Connections
Following the topography, the study area is divided
into four levels in order to address conditions caused
by varying water levels. The riverbed is widened to
handle larger flood volumes. Vegetation is used to
link access around the park and to connect the east
and west sides of the river. Urban areas transition to
natural landscapes. The trees planted in west bank of
the river become a green wall to screen noise and the
chaotic influence of the railway. These parks have the
potential to bring serene places of relaxation into the
frantic urbanity of Los Angeles.
Regional Park
The Los Angeles River has had continuous flooding
problems. This project attempts to solve flood
control issues and provide much needed open space
in the area adjacent to downtown Los Angeles.
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Framework+Strategy
The Los Angeles River is a neglected river. It has a
single function, to remove water from Los Angeles
with expedience and safety. This single view neglects
the ecological environment, the city, and most of all
the residents of Los Angeles.
The history of the Los Angeles River goes beyond the
simple metaphor of water. The Los Angeles River
represents a territory defined by natural, political,
economic, and cultural forces. Only through the
convergence of these additional metaphors can the
river begin its new trajectory. This project recognizes
the convergence of forces and establishes three
influences as its conceptual foundations: urban
flows, hydrologic flows, and ecological flows.
Urban Flows represent the tangible and intangible
elements in the urban context. Tangible elements are
the existing transportation networks, bridges, land
uses, infrastructure, parks, and built structures of the
territory. Intangible elements consist of urban districts, such as Chinatown, Boyle Heights and Pico
Aliso, and the observance of social, cultural, and
political forces.
Hydrologic Flows highlight the dynamic forces of the
fluvial environment neglected by the current channel
configuration. The dynamic flows and flood events
represent opportunities to accentuate the phenomena. Conditions of low-flows, bi-annual flooding,
50-year events, and slug flows are used as generative forces in the reconfiguration of the channel.
Ecological Flows observe the role of the river in reestablishing an ecological continuum of habitat
diversity. Islands, patches of trees, basins, plains and
pond areas represent the initial ecological framework
of the natural processes in the river corridor.
The Los Angeles River is at once engineered and
natural, dynamic and contained. Can this paradox be
used to liberate the river and create a new landscape
integrating ecology, engineered structures, and
architecture? Building on the conceptual foundation
this project extends the paradox and identifies three
intervention strategies as a framework for development of the river corridor.
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Hydrologic Flows
Ecologic Flows
Urban Flows | 1
Urban Flows | 2
Urban Flows | 1
Urban Flows | 2
Urban Flows | 3
Hydrologic Flows
Ecologic Flows
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Flow Strategy
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Armature Strategy
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Flood Events
Phasing Strategy
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Urban Piers
This design focuses on the Union Pacific Rail Yard
and a two-mile stretch of the concrete channel to the
south. The Rail Yard plan programs the space as a
regional park system and creates activity planes that
allow for interaction with the channel. A system of
piers extends the urban fabric into the channel
creating space for human connection with the river. A
north to south corridor along the river edge connects
existing roadways with a link along the western edge
of the Union Pacific Rail Yard.
On this site water is diverted from the low flow
channel and pushed into a set of landforms creating
a wetland that would serve as a regional park. The
water at the base of these landforms supports a large
variety of native plant material. A large plinth supports
an athletic center with sports fields that juxtapose
with a tilted plane that leads down into the wetland.
Connections are established through the Rail Yard
site on two levels. Human scale connections are
created through the park by two perpendicular promenades. New vehicular connections are created on
the northern and southern edges of the site.
North to South Connection
Water Flow
Urban Extension
River Development and Pier Relationship
This plan proposes a redeveloped Pico Aliso community with associated civic facilities, as well as a
large retail center and a set of public buildings
catering to the community. The opportunity exists to
create a relationship with the river through open
spaces in the development.
Connections from north to south and east to west
reinforce the relationship between the river and the
city and move people through these spaces on a
daily basis. This exposure to the river exists on
several levels through implementation of the piers,
low flow diversion channels, and points of community connection.
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Union Pacific Rail Yard North
Union Pacific Rail Yard South
Building Pier
Festival Pier
Community Pier
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Alternate Systems
This project took as a basic assumption that the
studio client, the Friends of the Los Angeles River
and the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy, will be
the instigators of change in this section of the Los
Angeles River. Given the contentious political situations in any city, especially Los Angeles, this project
looked at developing a series of typologies that could
be used to inform decisions about the river as
various parcels come under control of the interested
parties. The overarching goal of the strategy was to
provide housing and open space in a city that is in
desperate need of both.
After looking at the constricting land uses around the
river, and being mindful of the river's desire to flow
along the most direct route, a series of interventions
are proposed. These changes fall into three levels: a
major level of intervention culminating in a soft
bottom channel and removal of the channel wall, an
intermediate level of intervention that does not alter
the friction of the channel bottom but does remove at
least portions of the wall, and a final level that does
not alter the channel bottom or wall.
After identifying a series of opportunities along the
river, the project looks at each condition in detail,
and offers site-specific solutions for incorporating
housing and open space into a design. These studies
are not meant to be definitive, but rather an example
of what can be accomplished in any of the three
given conditions.
Some of the highlights of these investigations
include a soccer arena in the channel bottom of the
Los Angeles River, with seating incorporated into the
existing channel wall, a series of shifting mounds
that change shape with the yearly floods, and a
minimalist intervention into the channel bottom that
collects vegetation during the low flow season, and
is washed away during the highest flows.
Constricting Land Use
Open Space Opportunities
By developing a framework from which to view the
opportunities, the concerned parties in Los Angeles
will be able to see how a small, presently available
parcel of land might relate to a larger scheme that
incorporates the entire length of the Los Angeles
River.
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Union Pacific Rail Yard Field
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groundwork
9 8 |los angeles river history
1 0 8 |landuse analysis maps
1 2 2 |hydraulics information
1 3 0 |precedents
los angeles river history
a million years ago
A period of strong mountain growth occurred
The rising mountains had faults which rapidly eroded
The Santa Monica mountains reached over a thousand feet in height
The San Gabriel mountains were up to seven thousand feet high
Alluvial deposits of several thousand feet filled the basins and coastal plain
river history
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groundwork
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1781
Zanja Madre ditch built
1811
Flood
1815
River floods and changes course at Alameda and Fourth Street cutting west and emptying into Ballona Creek
1825
River changes its course back from the Ballona wetlands to San Pedro
Woodland between the pueblo and the ocean destroyed
Marshland drained by the new channel
1832
Flood
1860
First wells drilled
1861-1862
Heavy flooding
Fifty inches of rain falls during December and January
Much of San Fernando Valley is under water
City's embankment and Dryden's system are destroyed
1867
Floods again spill over the old channel and create a large, temporary lake out to Ballona Creek
1876
The Novician Deluge
Transcontinental railroad is a catalyst for population explosion
Trestle railroad bridges formed dams during floods breaking and unleashing a flood of debris
1884
Heavy flooding causes the river to change course, turning east to Vernon and then southward to San Pedro
The downtown section of the river is channelized
1886
5 million gallons a day being taken from river
Infiltration galleries capture underground river flow
1888-1891
Annual floods
Reservoirs are added to store captured flow
1892
10 million gallons of water a day being taken from river
black and white photography by Stephen Callis
1898-1904
The area of artesian water shrinks 33 percent
Potential of river as water source is governed by average dry season flow
This was measured in early twentieth century at 45-50 million gallons a day
Zanjas are abandoned and filled
The deposition of sediments from the eroding mountains fills channels causing channel location to change
Sand and gravel are quarried from river bed and rubbish was dumped in
LA river 1815-1825
river history
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groundwork
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1913
Owens Aqueduct built 233 miles from Los Angeles River - passes through Mojave desert,
through tunnel in San Gabriel mountains and into reservoir in Northern San Fernando valley
The Owens collects snowmelt from 40 mountains
The new aqueduct can supply 325 million gallons a day,
seven times the ammount available from the LA River alone
1914
Flood
Great damage to the harbor
Silt deposits from flood fills Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors
stranding ships and ruining navigation channels
Disscussion of channelizing the river begins
1915
3,000 acres of intensive agriculture in the San Fernando valley
Levees built are routinely washed away
Depression - height of transient life in river basin
1921
Moderate flood
1930
70,000 acres of intensive agriculture San Fernando Valley
More infiltration galleries built to divert river
Goal is to keep river bed dry for water quality and because water flowing away is wasted water
1934
New Year's Day Flood in La Canada Valley killed 49 people, destroyed 198 homes and caused 6.1 million in
damages (73.4 million today) - most damage done by debris flows
1935
Pres. Roosevelt approved WPA work supervised by Army Corp of Engineers
The Plans include Concrete Channelization, Raising/Strengthening of Bridges, Enlarging Channels,
Debris Basins and Detention Basins
1938
Great county-wide flood with 4 days of rain
Recorded as a 50 year storm
Army Corps of Engineers begins channelizing the river
1940
Hansen Dam controlling Tujunga Wash built
Second major aqueduct from Colorado River
Railroads and stockyard industry lines the river storm drains - untreated sewage flowed in
1941
Congress approves Army Corps of Engineers Plan
Los Angeles County Drainage Area Project
71.8 million for flood control in watershed/tributary streams, 35 million spent on river
3 more large flood control basins, 33 debris basins at bases of mountain canyons, 300 bridges to be built
Sepulveda Flood Control Basin is single most expensive at 6.7 million - an earth filled dam 2.9 miles long,
57 feet high, storage capacity of 16,700 acre feet
1941-1944
LA river floods five times
LA river 1825-1889
river history
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groundwork
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1948
Los Angeles River Pollution Committee begins sampling and surveying river water discharges - ends the
worst point-source pollution
1950
Throughout the 1950’s perpetual construction, 5 days a week, 24 hours a day
Construction moved twenty million cubic yards of earth
3.5 million barrels of cement
147 million pounds of reinforced steel
460,000 tons of stone
1952
Moderate flooding
1959
Last section finished, beginning of new channel was near Chatsworth Hills Mountain, San Pedro Bay
Flood control increased area that could be built upon,
however, people continue to build on foothills where mudslides and debris flows can kill and destroy homes
The development of the San Fernando Valley reduced the land’s natural ability to absorb and regulate floods
1969
One heavy flood after 9 day storm
One moderate flood
1970
New channels on 100 miles of river and 370 miles of tributary to handle population growth
5 major flood control basins in San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys 11,441 acre feet
15 smaller flood dams
129 debris basins in hills
Channelized 47.9 miles of the river
1971
Shut down Headworks Deep Infiltration Gallery because of water quality
Nearly all of the water flowing in the river is treated sewage,
authorized industrial discharges, and street run off
1978
Two moderate floods
1980
Flood tops banks of river in Long Beach
Most wells closed
Channelization reduced the length of the river by 28%
Average width had been 70-140 feet is now 260 feet
Average depth had been (1903) 4-6 feet is now 17 feet
Most common contaminants are trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene widely used in small industry,
metal platers, machinery degreasers and dry cleaners
Places not connected to municipal sewage
1982
Shut down Headworks Spreading Grounds
1983
Flood
1984
LA river 1889-pre-channelization
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groundwork
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Donald Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys provides 1/3 of river flow
starting just above Sepulveda Dam
City of Burbank Reclamation Plant
Los Angeles/Glendale treatment facility near outlet of Verdugo Wash
EPA began San Fernando Valley
Superfund site - a cleanup program continues today
1990
All wells closed
1991
Army Corps proposes to raise levees from Rio Hondo to Long Beach to protect against a 100 year flood
1992
15 year flood
1993
109.5 million gallons a day near Arroyo Seco more than double the flow of 1902 above the diversions
10 - 15% of the of LA water supply is still pumped from beneath San Fernando Valley
Less than 5% comes from historic basin
Storm Drains provide 30 % of flow
1994
Heavy flooding
Estimates range from a 15 to over a 100 year flood
2001
In other cities, the 40-50 million gallons of water a day that Los Angeles uses would supply 400,000 people
Los Angelenos have historically used 3 times as much water as other people
Highest per capita use of water of all US cities, much of it going into gardens
New water treatment diverts river water into Headworks Spreading Grounds north of Griffith Park
and percolates it for a year then redraws it as passable drinking water
Could provide 10% of LA water supply
Project on hold until conclusion of EPA cleanup
River has most extensive set of controls for a river of its size in the world
Storm fed runoff can reach speeds of 30-40 miles an hour
LA river channelized
river history
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groundwork
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sub watersheds
legend
landuse analysis maps
108
groundwork
109
hydraulics
urban built areas
landuse analysis maps
110
groundwork
111
parks, public open space and natural features
LA river studio site
landuse analysis maps
112
groundwork
113
local access points for future development
green spaces
landuse analysis maps
114
industrial sites suitable for redevelopment
landuse
groundwork
115
areas in need of more schools
public facilities
landuse analysis maps
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areas resistant to change
existing schools
groundwork
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population densities
predominant ethnicity
landuse analysis maps
118
population aged 0-17
population aged 18-64
groundwork
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bicycle corridors
roadway network
landuse analysis maps
120
rail corridors
school locations
groundwork
121
Aggradation The process by which a stream bed is
raised in elevation by deposition of sediment
(opposite of degradation).
Capillary Fringe The unsaturated zone immediately above the water table containing water in direct
contact with the water table.
Alluvial Term used to describe material deposited
by running water.
Carrying Capacity The number or mass of
organisms of a species that can live in a given area.
Aquifer One or more geologic formations containing sufficient saturated porous and permeable
material to transmit water at a rate sufficient to feed
a spring or for economic extraction by a well.
Channel A waterway with obvious banks that
contains moving water at least part of the year.
Artificial Recharge The deliberate act of adding
water to a groundwater aquifer by means of a
recharge project; also, the water so added. Artificial
recharge can be accomplished via injection wells,
spreading basins, or in stream projects. See also
incidental recharge, natural recharge, and recharge.
Base Flow Streamflow derived from groundwater
seepage into the stream.
Basin The total area of land that drains water to a
central stream, river or other water body. Also called
Drainage Basin.
Bioengineering In soil applications, refers to the
use of live plants and plant parts to reinforce soil,
serve as water drains, act as erosion prevention
barriers, and promote dewatering of water laden
soils.
Biotechnical In slope stability engineering refers to
the use of both live plant material and inert structures
to stabilize and reinforce slopes.
BMPs Best Management Practices. Managerial
techniques that are recognized to be the most
effective and practical means to control pollutants
yet are compatible with the productive use of the
resource to which they are applied. BMPs are used in
both urban and agricultural areas. BMPs include:
reducing paving areas and increasing plant cover,
using gray water for irrigation, filter beds, subsurface
infiltration basins, green trellises for shade, cisterns
for roofs and playgrounds, permeable parking areas,
regarding for onsite infiltration, green roofs, cistern
walls, green planning, green screens, vegetated
creeks/drainage channels, parking orchards.
Channel Route Channel Route must take into consideration surrounding land uses and topographic
constraints. With the Los Angeles River located
within a highly urbanized area the channels existing
route cannot be lasted to a great degree.
Consumptive Use A use that makes water
unavailable for other uses, usually by permanently
removing it from local surface or groundwater storage
as the result of evaporation and/or transpiration.
Does not include evaporative losses from bodies of
water. See non-consumptive use.
Coefficients of Runoff Are measured in feet per
second. In urban areas, typical coefficients include:
downtown 0.70-0.95, shopping centers 0.70-0.95,
single family residential (5-7 houses per acre) 0.350.50, attached residential 0.60-0.75, suburban (1-4
houses per acre) 0.20-0.40, light industrial 0.600.90, heavy industrial 0.20-0.80, railroad yard 0.200.80, parks/cemeteries 0.10-0.25, playgrounds
0.20-0.40.
Contaminant Plume A zone of polluted groundwater down-gradient from a point source of pollution.
Cover Any object in the stream that provides protection to fish and other animals. Fish use cover to
hide, rest, escape and feed.
Dams/Weirs Used for ponding water in a river.
Often used to prevent sediment flow downstream.
Degradation The process by which a stream bed is
lowered in elevation by removal or scouring of
sediment (opposite of aggradation). This term is also
used to refer to a damaged condition of habitat.
Deposition The process of sediment falling out of
the water onto the stream bed in areas of lower flow
and energy
Detention Ponds Controls flooding by diverting
water during peak flow times. Usually placed out of
channel. Hold water temporarily, as opposed to
Retention Pond (see below). Detention facilities are
dry ponds which become completely dry within 24
hours of a storm event. Extended detention facilities
store the first flush (normally the first ½" of runoff) of
stormwater runoff for a period of time between 24
hours and 72 hours. After 72 hours, the bottom of the
facility will be dry until the next storm event.
Detention of stormwater runoff provides water quality
benefits by allowing some pollutants to precipitate
from the water before being discharged to receiving
streams.
Discharge The volume of water that flows past a
given place during a certain amount of time.
Discharge is often referred to in cubic feet per
second (cfs).
DO Dissolved oxygen. The amount of oxygen that is
dissolved in water. It also refers to a measure of the
amount of oxygen available for biochemical activity
in water body, and as indicator of the quality of that
water.
Eddy A circular current of water usually formed at a
bend or obstruction in the stream.
Effluent Treated wastewater discharged from
sewage treatment plants. See tertiary treatment.
Erosion The wearing away of rock or soil and the
movement of the resulting particles by wind, water,
ice, or gravity.
Estuary The area where fresh and salt water mix at
the mouth of a river. Estuaries are important areas
that are used as rearing habitat by many fish species
and other animals.
Evaporation The process of liquid water becoming
water vapor, including vaporization from water
surfaces, land surfaces, and snow fields, but not from
leaf surfaces. Compare with transpiration.
Evapotranspiration The sum of evaporation and
transpiration.
Floodplain The low area along a stream into which
water spreads during a flood.
100 Year Floodplain Those lands that are subject
to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any
year.
Floodway Those portions of the floodplain adjoining
and including the channel of a river or stream which
discharges the flood water and flow of that water or
stream. It is any place where the water is moving with
velocity and a definite current, but does not include
other portions of the floodplain where the water is
just standing.
Flow Resistance Channel material can either
increase of decrease friction, thus slowing down or
speeding up the water. Factors that contribute to flow
resistance include: sediment and grain size, bed
forms including ripples, dunes, bars, pools and
riffles, river sinuosity, water depth to grain size,
sediment transport, and vegetation. As more objects
and obstructions are introduced into the channel it
becomes hard to predict channel flow and water turbulence.
Freshet A rapid rise in stream flow due to runoff
from rain or snowmelt.
Gabions Used in a variety of forms to stabilize
slopes. Durable and porous. May be used with
plants.
Gaging Station A site on a stream, lake, reservoir
or other body of water where direct systematic observations of hydrologic data are obtained.
Gradient The amount that a stream drops in ele-
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groundwork
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vation over a distance; the stream's steepness.
infiltrate more quickly than gravelly soils. The practicability of infiltration depends on groundwater elevations, the depth to bedrock and the infiltration rate.
Instream Flow - The amount of water remaining in a
stream without diversion that is required to maintain
a particular aquatic environment or water use.
Green Slope Stabilizers There are a variety of
slope stabilizing methods that involve the use of
grass and vegetation.
Groundwater Subsurface water body in the zone of
saturation or more commonly, available groundwater
is defined as: That portion of the water beneath the
surface of the earth that can be collected with wells,
tunnels, or drainage galleries, or that flows naturally
to the earth's surface via seeps or springs.
Hydraulic Continuity The term refers to the
Intragravel Flow Water that moves between gravel
or other particles in the stream bed; important for fish
eggs and young fish in the gravel.
natural interconnection between ground and surface
water.
Mainstream The principle stream or river of a particular basin.
Hydrologic Cycle The cyclic transfer of water vapor
from the earth's surface via evapotranspiration into
the atmosphere, from the atmosphere via precipitation back to earth, and through runoff into bodies of
water.
Meander A turn or winding of a stream.
Incidental Recharge Water incidentally added to
a groundwater aquifer due to human activities, such
as excess irrigation water applied to fields or water
Natural Recharge Naturally occurring water added
to an aquifer. Natural recharge generally comes from
snowmelt and storm runoff. See also recharge, artificial recharge, incidental recharge.
Non-Consumptive Use A use that leaves the water
available for other uses. Examples are power generation and recreational uses. See consumptive use.
water away from, the channel.
Point Source A source of water pollution that
originates from a single point, such as an outflow
pipe from a factory. See NPS.
Pool A part of the stream that is usually deeper than
the surrounding water and has slower current. Pools
are often formed by scouring under or around an
obstacle, by plunging over logs or rocks, or by side
channels.
Pool-Riffle Ratio The total area of pools compared
to the total area of riffles in a stream. In habitat restoration we often try to increase the number of pools by
adding large woody debris. Most healthy streams in
forested areas have a high pool-riffle ratio.
Potable Water Water of a quality suitable for
drinking.
Primary Treatment A physical process in which
the sewage flow is slowed down in settling tanks or
NPS Nonpoint source pollution. Occurs when water
runs off land or through the ground, picks up pol-
lutants, and deposits them in surface waters or
introduces them into groundwater. Pollution that
does not come from a single source, such as a pipe
or ditch.
discharged as waste after a use. See also recharge,
artificial recharge, and natural recharge.
Off-Channel Habitat Ponds Channels or wetlands
that are connected to the main channel of a stream.
Infiltration Ponds Infiltration allows the water to
seep into the ground and recharge the groundwater.
The infiltration rate or how quickly the water enters
the ground depends on the type of soil. Sandy soils
Outlets/Inlets Used to bring water into, or take
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lagoons. The thicker part of the wastewater, the
sludge, is then removed from the bottom and
disposed of in a variety of ways. Floatable solids, oil
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and grease are usually skimmed off the surface
before the remaining effluent is discharged into a
water body.
biological filters are two of many methods of secondary treatment.
Sediment The silt, sand, rocks, wood and other
solid material that gets washed out from some places
and deposited in others.
Prior Appropriation Doctrine The western
system of water appropriation that establishes water
rights based on the seniority of use, i.e. an individual's right to a specific quantity of water depends on
when the use began.
Rapids Steep section of stream with swift current and
lots of surface agitation and some waves.
Recharge To add water to an aquifer; also, the water
added to an aquifer. See also artificial recharge,
incidental recharge, and natural recharge.
Retention Ponds Retention facilities or wet ponds
permanently pond water. Wet ponds also provide
water quality benefits by allowing pollutants to precipitate from the water before discharging into
receiving streams. Wet ponds increase the temperature of the water stored in the pond. These increased
temperatures can adversely impact the cool waters
required for trout.
Riffle Shallow rapids with surface agitation, but no
waves.
Rill A tiny drainage channel cut in a slope by the
flow of water. Can develop into a gully with continuing erosion.
Stream Bed The stream bottom.
Rock Job Bank stabilization achieved by lining the
stream side with rocks or rip rap.
Rootwad The mass of roots of a tree. Rootwads of
fallen trees in the stream can form large pools and
provide excellent cover.
Run Swiftly flowing part of a stream with little
surface agitation and no major obstructions.
Runoff That part of rain and snowmelt that runs over
the ground and into a stream or other water body.
Scour Removal of sediment from the stream bed by
flowing water.
Secondary Treatment Also known as biological
treatment, further reduces the amount of solids by
helping bacteria and other microorganisms consume
the organic material in the sewage. Oxygen is critical
to this treatment stage. Air activated sludge and
Streamflow The discharge that occurs in a natural
channel. A more general term than runoff, streamflow
may be applied to discharge whether or not it is
affected by diversion or regulation.
Subcritical Flow Subcritical flow is classified
according to the flows Froude number which is a
speed to length ratio. Subcritical flow is less than
one. Subcritical flow causes less erosion problems.
Supercritical Flow Classified according to a
Froude number which is a speed to length ratio.
Supercritical flow is more than one. Concrete
portions of the Los Angeles River have Supercritical
flow, but erosion is not an issue. Supercritical flow
is purposefully engineered to help speed up flow,
under low bridges. In a case like this it is cheaper to
create baffles which cause supercritical flow, than to
make the bridge higher.
Tailout The shallow area where water flows out of a
pool.
Thalweg The deepest area running along the stream
bed. Usually where the fastest water runs.
Riparian Anything associated with the banks of a
stream, river or other water body. Often used to
describe the vegetation along a stream.
TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load. The federal Clean
Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) addresses waters
that are not "fishable or swimmable" by requiring
each state to identify the waters and to develop total
maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for them, with oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). A TMDL is an assessment of how much pollution "load" the stream can accept and still meet
federal and state water quality standards. A TMDL
allocates pollution control responsibilities among
pollution sources in a watershed, and is the basis for
taking the actions needed to restore a water body.
The Washington DOE administers the TMDL process
for the EPA in this state. Technically, Total Maximum
Riparian Habitat Natural home for plants and
animals occurring on the land bordering a stream or
river.
Rip-Rap Used for lining banks and as an apron for
outlet pipes. May be washed away in high flow times
if not properly used. Grouted rip-rap is an option to
add stability to the material. Rip-rap is porous and
may be used with plants.
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Daily Load (TMDL) is the sum of the individual waste
load allocations (WLAs) for point sources, load allocations (LAs) for nonpoint sources and natural background, and a margin of safety (MOS). TMDLs can be
expressed in terms of mass per time, toxicity, or
other appropriate measure that relates to a state's
water quality standard.
Tributary A stream that feeds into a larger stream.
Also called a "feeder stream."
Water Information for Los Angeles
Hydrometeorology. Coastal and Mountain Areas.
Precipitation (rainfall) in the Los Angeles area occurs
primarily in the form of winter orographic rainfall
associated with extra tropical cyclones of North
Pacific origin. Major storms consist of one or more
frontal systems and occasionally last four days or
longer. Air masses and frontal systems associated
with major storms commonly extend for 500 to
1,000 miles in length and produce rainfall simultaneously throughout the County. Major storms
approach Southern California from the west or
northwest with southerly winds which continue until
frontal passage. The mountain ranges lie directly
across the path of the inflow of warm, moist air, and
orographic effects greatly intensify precipitation.
The seasonal normal rainfall in Los Angeles County
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ranges from 27.50 inches in the San Gabriel
Mountains to 7.83 inches in the desert. The annual
County average for the annual rainfall for Los Angeles
County is 15.65 inches.
The effects of snowmelt upon flood runoff is of significance in the few cases when warm spring rains
from southerly storms fall on a snowpack. During
major storms, temperatures throughout the County
may remain above freezing. Average individual storm
rainfall amounts and intensities conform to a fairly
definite aerial pattern which reflects general effects
of topographic differences.
Desert Areas
Summer convective rainfall is principally experienced in the upper San Gabriel Mountains and the
Mojave Desert regions. In many desert areas, the
most serious flooding occurs as a result of summer
convective storms.
Runoff. Mountain Areas. In mountain areas, the steep
canyon slopes and channel gradients promote a
rapid concentration of storm runoff . Depression
storage and detention storage effects are minor in the
rugged terrain. Soil moisture during a storm has a
pronounced effect on runoff from the porous soils
supporting a good growth of deep-rooted vegetation
such as chaparral. Soil moisture deficiency is
greatest at the beginning of a rainy season, having
been depleted by the evapotranspiration process
during the dry summer months. Precipitation during
periods of soil moisture deficiency is nearly entirely
absorbed by soils, and except for periods of extremely
intense rainfall, significant runoff does not occur
until soils are wetted to capacity. Due to high infiltration rates and porosity of mountain soils, runoff
occurs primarily as subsurface flow or interflow in
addition to direct runoff. Spring or base flow is
essentially limited to portions of the San Gabriel
Mountain range. Consequently, most streams in the
County are intermittent.
Runoff from a mountain watershed recently denuded
by fire exceeds that for the unburned state due to
greatly increased quantities of inorganic debris
present in the flow and increased direct runoff
resulting from lowered infiltration rates. Debris pro-
duction from a major storm has amounted to as
much as 223,000 cubic yards per square mile of
watershed. Boulders up to eight feet in diameter have
been deposited in valley areas a considerable
distance from their source.
Debris quantities equal in volume to storm runoff,
representing a 100 percent bulking of runoff from a
major storm, have been recorded. Where debrisladen flow traverses an alluvial fill unconfined by
flood control works, flood discharges follow an
unpredictable path across the debris cone formed at
the canyon mouth.
Hill and Valley Areas. In hill areas, runoff concentrates rapidly from the generally steep slopes;
however, runoff rates from undeveloped hill areas are
normally smaller than those from mountain areas of
the same size. In those hill areas which have been
developed for residential use, concentration times
become considerably decreased due to drainage
improvement, and runoff volumes and rates have
increased due to increased imperviousness. On the
other hand, erosion is controlled and debris is minimized from storm flows. Debris production rates
from undeveloped hill areas are normally smaller
than those from mountain areas of the same size.
drainage area from another.
Wetland Land with a wet, spongy soil, where the
water table is at or above the land surface for at least
part of the year. There are a number of different
wetlands indicators (soil type, plants, etc.) that
determine whether a piece of land is legally considered a wetland.
Wetted Perimeter Is the area of water that is in
contact with the channel. The wetted perimeter is
calculated by adding the breadth and length that is in
contact with the water. The most efficient cross sectional shape for a wetted perimeter is an elliptical or
radial shape. This shape is obviously harder and
more expensive to construct than the trapezoidal
channel which most closely approximates the radial
shape.
Wire Walls Used as a gravity wall. Wire walls are
filled with soil, and the face of the wall is anchored
by the weight of the soil. Wire Walls can be designed
with or without a step enabling construction of a
flush-face vertical structure.
In highly developed valley areas, local runoff volumes
have increased as the soil surface has become
covered by impervious materials. Peak runoff rates
for valley areas have also increased due to elimination of natural ponding areas and improved
hydraulic efficiency of water carriers such as streets
and storm drain systems.
30 to 40 percent of the water used in the County is
pumped from groundwater supplies. The growth of
the County, combined with periodic droughts, seriously depleted these supplies on numerous occasions throughout the history of the County.
source: www.lalc.k12.ca.us/target/units/river/tour/hist.html
Water Table The upper boundary of a free groundwater body, at atmospheric pressure.
Watershed The area drained by a river or stream,
including the area drained by its tributaries. Natural
watershed boundaries are ridges that divide one
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Flooding Zone at the Petit Gironde
1989
Les Ponceaux, Coulaines, France
Pascale Hannetel and Anouk Debarre
The design scheme for this park involved the creation
of four dry detention ponds along the Petite Gironde
stream. Periodic flooding had been exacerbated by
runoff from adjacent urban developments. The
opportunity for the ponds to be used by the town as
a park was an integral part of the client's brief.
The site is approximately 600 meters long and 100
meters wide. There are four ponds on descending
levels, capable of absorbing a maximum of 35,000
cubic meters of water. The design of the ponds
allows for consistent circulation despite the rise and
fall of the water level. An underground drainage
system installed in the top pond prevents overflow
during extreme flooding.
The detailed landscape elements in each of the four
ponds reveal the water in a variety of ways. A series
of grassed dykes in the uppermost pond jut out from
the side embankments and cross the flow of water
like pontoons or ships, thus creating rough eddies
and rills in the moving water.
The lower ponds become progressively richer in
vegetation while densely planted beds slow the
water. These beds appear as tranquil islands during
periods of inundation.
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Emscher Park
1989-1999
Ruhr, Germany
Blick Von Westen
Lats & Partner
Seepark Lünen Post Industrial Area, a land reclamation project, encompasses 200 square miles.
Seepark Lünen offers newly laid-out avenues, the
impressive backdrop of a lake, and a variety of landscapes showing nature lovers a unique environment.
An ecological renewal and development area that
was previously marked by mining, the Seepark site
now hosts a regional garden show.
The industrial heritage of the site remains perceptible
- a waste dump still exists on site and shows the
history of a landscape ill treated by mining. Seepark
Lünen attracts visitors by allowing the structural and
material remains of heavy industry to blend with
inspired lakeside landscapes, creating a series of
extraordinary spaces.
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Louisville Waterfront Park
1990-Present
Louisville, Kentucky
Hargreaves Associates
The Louisville Waterfront Park is made up of a series
of varied, flexible and programmable spaces: a
working wharf, Festival Plaza, Overlook, Great Lawn,
and 80 acres of environmentally sensitive parkland
with strolling trails, native riparian plantings and
wetland development. The entire project is graded to
provide flood protection, while simultaneously promoting visual interconnection between the city and
the river.
The project required the development of creative and
original engineering solutions for problems such as
barge wake. A bumper system was also developed to
protect the structural supports of the Great Lawn and
Overlook, which actually extend over the river on
piers, from the potential for barge collisions.
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Parc Corbiere
1993
Le Pecq-sur-Seine, France
Pascale Hannetel, Anne-Marie Werckle
& Arnaud Yver
Parc Corbiere was built along the Seine River on
alluvial banks created by erosion. An island by the
same name had once been located offshore.
The designer's strategy was to transform this boggy
marsh into two distinct terraces separated by a raked
embankment. The upper terrace connects with the
main road leading to the adjacent town. It consists of
a formal oak-lined avenue atop of the embankment.
The path connects with an existing aqueduct and
utilizes an archway as an entrance to the park. A
lookout point is provided, as are small flights of stairs
leading down to the lower terrace, thereby extending
the street grid into the park.
The lower terrace accommodates the Seine's frequent
rise in water level. It has been recreated as a water
meadow that acts as a filter during floods. Tree
plantings of willow, dogwood, and ash trace the
outline of this space and fill the area of the former
island.
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Potsdamer Platz
1996-1999
Berlin, Germany
ARGE Dreiseitl/Piano/Kohlbecker
A unique urban water system was created, covering
an area of approximately 2.5 acres, as part of the
renovation of this large square in Berlin. Holding
approximately 12,000 cubic meters of water and
reaching a maximum depth of 6 feet, the water
system has a mile-long shoreline and flows in the
midst of tall office and cultural entertainment
buildings. The innovative landscape design fulfills
ecological functions to protect ground and surface
water by: extensive and intensive planting of greenery
on the roofs of a major portion of the buildings, collecting of rainwater in cisterns for toilet flushing and
irrigation, and feeding an artificial water system for
floodwater protection, rain water retention and temperature moderation via cisterns.
Changing water levels allow storm concentration to
be buffered and fed at a lower speed into the canal.
This also considerably reduces the direct entry of
pollutants contained in rainwater.
To keep the urban basins aesthetically attractive, the
water passes through various steps in a closedcircuit biotope cleansing system. The re-circulated
water inflow occurs predominantly through reed beds
along the shoreline in all three basins, effecting a
physical, biological and chemical cleansing. The
outflow from the Main and South Basins occurs
through bottom drains embedded in gravel filters.
Flow simulation studies identify possible stagnation
areas and determine the optimal intake and outflow
ratios. During periods of high turbidity the outflow
can be routed through micro filters eliminating even
the smallest algae particles. Chemical additives are
never necessary.
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Mill Race Park
1989-1993
Columbus, Indiana
Michael Van Valkenburgh, Landscape Architect
Stanley Saitowitz, Architect
Before transformation, the landscape on this site was
desolate. A tannery and various ramshackle structures inhabited the space. The concept of the new
design was to enhance public life and to symbolize
the spirit of the city of Columbus while also allowing
for complete flood inundation.
The design allows existing structures to become
parts of new facilities and defines both circulation
routes and activity programming. A covered bridge
links the geometry of the town to the irregular
contours of the riverbank. Visual and physical access
to the site's natural features, especially to the river,
has been enhanced.
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San Antonio River Walk/Paseo del Rio
1939-1941
San Antonio, Texas
Robert Hugman, Project Concept
WPA Project
The San Antonio River Walk, or the Paseo del Rio, is
a public space along the San Antonio River that
provides both a source of commercial development
and green space for the public to occupy. The River
Walk features a lush, carefully maintained landscape
and is lined with restaurants, outdoor cafes, shops,
nightclubs, and an open-air theater. The River Walk's
proximity to the Alamo ensures that it a popular
tourist attraction.
The River Walk is located 25 to 30 feet below street
level and is primarily used by pedestrians. There are
50 staircases throughout San Antonio that bring
pedestrians down to the walk, and 19 bridges cross
the river. The corridor of the River Walk is 60 to 100
feet wide at river level and approximately 100 to 300
feet wide at street level. The river itself is 30 to 50
feet wide.
Because the water level is controlled in the Paseo del
Rio, the walkways along the river are only 6 to 8
inches above the water level and are not separated
from the water by railings. This allows pedestrians
intimate access to the water.
The River Walk is sunken and, therefore, has a relatively constant temperature and higher level of
humidity than the surrounding area. This microclimate allows the River Walk to become a botanical
garden of sorts; plants from sub-tropical climates
flourish in the steady, humid climate along the river.
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Rio Salado/Tempe Town Lake
Master Plan 1990
Phase 1 Construction 1999
Tempe, Arizona
ASU Student Master Plan
Rio Salado is an arid river water project in a large
western urban zone characterized by sudden, violent,
and rapid water fluctuations.
Tempe Town Lake is a 5-mile (220 surface-acre) lake
created on the Salt River running through Phoenix,
Arizona. Located directly adjacent to Downtown
Tempe, commercial and development interests are
the primary forces shaping lakeside land use. The
Lake was created through the use of new inflatable
dam technology; the dams are placed at either end of
the Lake zone creating adjustable water barriers.
Although the inflatable dam technology is a new
technique, the broader attitude of capturing a large
body of water in Western areas has been conventional practice. Unlike other dam projects, where
waterpower has been harnessed as an energy source,
the Tempe motivation focused on recreational and
economic benefits to the area.
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Rhone Embankment
1993
Lyon, France
Renzo Piano, Building Workshop
Michel Corajoud, Atelier Corajoud
Bernard Lachat
Biotechnology, Silene Biotec
A new district known as the Cite Internationale is
coming into being at a bend of the Rhone River in the
east of Lyon. The architect Renzo Piano won the
respective design competition in 1986 and later
called in the landscape architect Michel Corajoud to
turn the buildings and the open spaces into a
homogenous whole. Michel Corajoud integrated the
pioneer vegetation growing on the sandbanks at the
end of the Cite Internationale site in Lyon into his
planning scheme.
Main principals of the design include: creating a
contiguous strip along the length of river in which
vegetation alternates with existing and new buildings,
and reducing the impact of several overpowering
species such as Japanese knotgrass and black
poplars by replacing them with less invasive species.
The project also creates transverse links and transitions between strips of vegetation and introduces a
jetty that runs out to the banks and into the river,
thereby providing visitors with access to sensitive
zones.
Engineering processes included sowing a biotextile
matting carpet of forbs and planting individual
groups of trees. The convex bank was reinforced with
plants to prevent erosion.
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Shop Creek Stream Restoration
1988-1989
Aurora, Colorado
Wenk Associates
Shop Creek, located just east of Denver, drains into
the city of Aurora's reservoir, which provides flood
control and recreational opportunities for the citizens
of Denver. Like much of the Denver area, Aurora
experienced rapid growth over the past few decades.
Extensive urban development within the Shop Creek
watershed increased the volume of runoff, phosphorus load, and sediment load in the storm waters
entering Shop Creek, while increased flow levels in
the creek caused extensive stream-bank erosion
upstream of the reservoir. Also, sediment and phosphorus from the entire Cherry Creek watershed had
caused algal bloom in the water, reducing its appeal
for swimming and boating. Improvement to Shop
Creek was an important component of the overall
plan to improve water quality in the Cherry Creek
Reservoir.
The design team rejected an earlier plan for the
creek, which involved confining it to a uniform
channel. Instead, this new design relied on biofiltration, detention, and infiltration. The restored creek
first enters a partially vegetated detention pond that
provides initial settling of sediment and uptake of
nutrients. Allowing suspended particles to settle out
removes absorbed phosphorus from the water. From
the pond, water follows the existing, sinuous course
of the creek rather than the straight channel originally
envisioned. Terraced, crescent-shaped drop structures built of soil and cement periodically interrupt
the channel, slowing stream flow and reducing
erosion. Constructed wetlands along the creek's
banks further reduce phosphorus through biological
uptake and provide stability to the stream bank.
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South Platte River
1980, continuing
Denver, Colorado
MGD, Inc.
Denver's South Platte River Greenway offers city
dwellers ready accessibility to trails and parks for a
variety of recreational riverside pursuits. Once an
urban blight and a dumping ground for local businesses, the South Platte River running through
downtown Denver is now a resource.
A series of enhancements, including the construction
of a sequence of trails, parks and boat launches,
allow the river to be accessible to the people. The
site's inherent obstacles, such as poor access and
scattered dumps along the river, have been turned
into opportunities to extend trails that reached the
river and to turn landfills into parks. Ten and a half
miles of bike trails and 17 mini-parks enhance the
riverfront and bring to the local residents pride and
ownership of the greenway. The River Foundation
hosts an annual river cleanup, which further connects
the community to their river.
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Guadalupe River Park
1998
San Jose, California
Hargreaves associates
The Guadalupe River is subject to the intermittent,
sporadic floods typical of the western United States.
The Guadalupe River Park is a paradigm of a modern
flood-control project integrated with a major recreation park and wildlife habitat. It assures nature a
place in the center of San Jose - a legacy to last for
generations.
The River Park underlay consists of the grading plan
for the flood-control channel itself; it provides a
structural spine for the design of the River Park.
Undulating terraced banks and landforms enforce the
manmade, river-influenced backbone of the native
riverbank landscape. The second level, or River Park
overlay, consists of a design, currently in development, for open spaces, events and habitat restoration along the channel.
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epilogue
1 5 6 |epilogue
Epilogue
Designing the physical transformations for this
section of the Los Angeles River is a big project. As
the studio studied the site and developed proposals,
the scale and the importance of the undertaking
continued to be underscored. However, with time the
project became less daunting as the students' work
revealed three approached based on bank manipulation.
First, there is an approach that would initiate a
dramatic land use change above the river channel.
This tactic is best exemplified on the 100+ acre
railyard site, but at a smaller scale a land use change
above bank could also have a positive neighborhood
impact in the area bounded by Broadway and
Washington St., east of the river channel. A second
approach would be to alter the physical character of
the channel by softening the bottom, or greening it
by enlarging the channel below the bank (greening
and enlarging must be hand in hand to maintain flood
control). The third approach combines the first two
strategies. It is possible to realize the significant
land uses above bank in conjunction with river-oriented habitat and/or park space below bank. Probably
the most difficult to achieve due to coordination,
time, commitment and imagination, this third
approach is the most three dimensional and synergistic. It provides significant access to and from the
river, the greatest combination of development and
public use, and the most change from existing conditions. As this project moves forward it is important
to understand the validity of these three approaches
and how they can be accomplished over time. It may
be that as some above bank parcels become available
they will be transformed with an eye towards future
change below bank. Meanwhile, the flood control
aspects of the river (including watershed management) would be re-envisioned.
George Hargreaves
Chaiman of the Department of Landscape Architecture
Harvard Graduate School of Design
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156
Changing the physical character of the Los Angeles
River is an extreme task, but it is possible. There are
several areas of common content that emerge from
the students' work such as regional attractions, east/
west connections, habitat development and water
cleansing. As discussed, the railyard site is a pivotal
agent of change. The transformation of this space
could be considered iconic of a new era for the Los
Angeles River. The students typically imagined this
site as a regional attraction - through remediation of
water and/or the creation of habitat, or as a regional
development opportunity (public institutions or
housing) with smaller green and hydraulic strategies.
As one looks up and down the river corridor there are
other important and large sites such as this that will
become available within the next few decades.
These should be looked at together in order to
develop a larger coordinated strategy for the Los
Angeles River basin. In addition, the student proposals sought to connect the east and west sides of
the river either through land uses, connective
elements, or both. Transitioning the warehouse and
light industrial zones into parks and development
space was a common theme. The west side is a
growing loft neighborhood while the east is a long
established single family community separated from
downtown by the river. Whether recreational or
habitat-oriented park space, or development and
some sort of river access joins the two, the students
and stakeholders stressed this connection. A number
of student proposals also addressed the establishment of habitat as they re-envisioned the river
channel. Examined at the regional scale, this section
of the river is on the flyway. If it is to be part of the
wildlife matrix, wetlands and water bodies must be
reintroduced. Since water is scarce, many proposals
link water remediation to habitat. As the river is reenvisioned it is important to solve any pollutant
issues on-site, thereby preventing contaminants from
continuing to flow downstream as well as firmly
establishing policies that reduce run-off within the
regional watershed.
The students have shown that this section of the Los
Angeles River is ripe for creative and imaginative
proposals that bring the river back to the city and the
neighborhoods as a valuable resource. The river can
become important to the people who live near it and
those within the region - it can be a newfound icon.
Thanks to the Friends of the Los Angeles River and
the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy there is
leadership within the community. This project is big.
It is important. It is ready for the next imaginative
step.
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