BIODIVERSITY
TOOLBOX
LARC 5386 - SP18 - Billig + Kjer - Erin Cox
what is biodiversity ? richness and diversity of species + structural diversity of habitat Biodiversity is the foundation of ecosystem services to which human well-being is intimately linked. Biodiversity is important in human-managed as well as natural ecosystems. Decisions humans make that influence biodiversity affect the well-being of themselves and others.
what is resiliency ? In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Disturbances of sufficient magnitude or duration can profoundly affectan ecosystem and may force an ecosystem to reach a threshold beyond which a different regime of processes and structures predominates. Human activities that adversely affect ecosystem resilience such as reduction of biodiversity, exploitation of natural resources, pollution, land use, and anthropogenic climate change are increasingly causing regime shifts in ecosystems, often to less desirable and degraded conditions.
how might we design for resilient and biodiverse communities? through enhanced and enriched opportunities for biodiversity of species and habitat structure and collaboration between the designers and the neighborhood and community
COMMUNITY
POLLINATORS
URBAN WILDLIFE
BIRDS
SOIL QUALITY
PLANT COMMUNITIES
HYDROLOGY
+ DESIGNERS
how might we add value to dense, urban communities + neighborhoods through resilient biodiversity? INCREASE USE VALUE EDUCATE CREATE ENGAGE CONNECT ENHANCE PROTECT
for the local community through ecological services
PROMOTE STABILITY of existing ecological systems and of future growth
PRESERVE CHARACTER of existing neighborhood and ecological systems
ATWATER VILLAGE RIVER GATES
*
** * *
3
VERDUGO MOUNTAINS
*
GRIFFITH PARK
*
SAN RAFAEL HILLS
*
BEVERLY HILLS
ELYSIAN PARK
SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS
MARSH STREET PARK
GLENDALE
BURBANK
MONTECITO HEIGHTS
**
*
!
RIV ER
LOS ANGEL ES RI VE
R
CULVER CITY
LOS ANG ELE S
!
RIO DE LOS ANGELES STATE PARK
SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS
FROGSPOT
SIMI HILLS
1 “ = 500 FT
TAYLOR YARD + BOWTIE PARCEL
SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS
1,000 FT
ELYSIAN VALLEY GATEWAY PARK
SANTA SUSANA MOUNTAIINS
!
5
10 MILES
2
1
LO
ATWATER
EAGLE ROCK / GLASSEL
S
AN
GE
L ES
RIV E R
4 JARDIN DEL RIO G-2 PARCEL COMMUNITY GARDEN
LOS ANGELES + URBAN HABITAT CONNECTIVITY
ELYSIAN VALLEY RECREATION CNETER
!
3 2 LOS FELIZ
+
DODGER STADIUM SILVERLAKE RESEVOIR
TE TA RS TE IN
*
VACANT LOT
!
+
5
5 INTERSTATE 5 110 FREEWAY 110 5 EDENDALE
FROGTOWN
1
GRIFFITH PARK
5
4
2 FREEWAY 2
DORIS PLACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MT. WASHINGTON
! !
3 TAYLOR YARD BOWTIE PARCEL
ELYSIAN PARK
4 TAYLOR YARD G-2 PARCEL
SILVERLAKE
5 RIO DE LOS ANGELES STATE PARK 110
* FROGTOWN CONTEXT 1 MILE 1 “ = 1/4 MILE
7
! !
6 CONFLUENCE PARK 7 LA YOUTH ATHLETIC CENTER
+ ED REYES RIVER GREENWAY
OSO PARK
6
STEELHEAD PARK
2 GLASSEL PARK
DEPENDENT ECOLOGICAL
Map of Chaparral / Coastal Sage Habitat in California Coastal Sage Habitat is found in a limited area of California, but is the most commonly found where larger population centers have been established. Today, much of this biome has been greatly reduced due to urbanization and development.
RELATIONSHIPS what type of habitat was formerly found in Los Angeles?
COASTAL SAGE SCRUB HABITAT
SANTA ANA
The coastal sage scrub ecosystem exists below an elevation of 3,000 feet and often grows alongside or into the chaparral ecosystem. However, it differs from chaparral in many ways. Chaparral vegetation grows from six to nine feet in height and is usually so dense that one can hardly walk through it. Coastal sage plants, on the other hand, are usually less than six feet in height and have more open canopies.
also known as soft chaparral habitat The coastal sage scrub ecosystem is a biological community of plants and animals that exists in natural areas of California’s coast line from the San FranciscoBay region southward to Baja California.
Map of Southern California Biomes
The coastal sage scrub ecosystem with its well adapted plants and diverse animal community is also the fastest disappearing ecosystem in the state. The tremendous amount of urban development that has occurred in southern California has reduced this ecosystem to between 10 and 30 percent of its former range. With more development planned, a better understanding of the ecosystem is needed so that measures can be taken to preserve it.
Los Angeles also has succumb to invasive and exotic species, many of which have been intentionally planted by homeowners attempting to beautify their properties through non-native landscaping.
Pine / Oak / Juniper Woodlands Mojave Desert Sonoran Desert
Southern California
where do designers and the community come in?
+
rainfall in LA in inches anually + average hours of sunshine per day
In an ideal undisturbed habitat, the relationships between species would be balanced and bountiful. However, due to issues such as deforestation, urbanization and densification, habitats including coastal sage scrub have been destroyed.
COMMUNITY
Side-blotched Lizard
SAN DIEGO
Chaparral / Coastal Sage Scrub
Unfortunately, much of this type of habitat has been destroyed in California due to urbanization.
DESIGNERS
LOS ANGELES
Black-bellied Slider Salamander
2-6 in annually
Designers and the community can work together to reprioritize the health of these ecologies, and re-establish them over time through design, advocacy, and policy. This work is not possible without the steady and equal efforts of both skilled and trained designers and passionate and involved locals community members.
Nuttal’s Woodpecker
Western Fence Lizard
American Crow
Mourning Dove
SOIL QUALITY
California King Snake
HYDROLOGY
Mason Bee
Bushtit
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
California Striped Racer
Red-Tailed Hawk
Goldfinch
Spotted Towhee
House Finch
Northern Mockingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
URBAN WILDLIFE
Black Phoebe
Mining Bee
California Thrasher
Moths
BIRDS
Brown Rat
Mule Deer
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Flies
Pallid-winged Grasshopper
POLLINATORS
Allen’s Hummingbird
Green Heron
Butterflies
Mammals Gray Fox
Mountain Lion
Oppossum
Coyote
Digger Bee
Bees
Reptiles Red-sided Garter Snake
+
California Towhee
California Ground Squirrel
Audobon Cottontail
Fox Squirrel
Raccoon
Bobcat
mapping relationships BETWEEN SPECIES
Western Scrubjay
Song Sparrow
Western Bluebird
White Marble Butterfly
White Alder
California Sage Bush
This diagram explores the complex interwoven network between speciesin this type of habitat. These species depicted are all native to the region and they rely and interact with each one another in a web of relationships.
Giant Skipper Butterfly
Hairstreak Butterfly
Southern California Walnut
California Lilac
Coreopsis
Chapparal Yucca
Monkeyflowers
California Aster
Mule Fat
Buckwheat
Black Sage Bush
Manzanita
Bush Sunflower
Laurel Sumac
California Mugwort
Swallowtail Butterfly
Monarch Butterfly
PLANT COMMUNITIES
Western Sycamore
prioritizing NATIVE RESTORATION This project takes a stance in support of prioritizing the restoration of native ecologies in Los Angeles in California. Although the habitat described in this diagram does not represent the current state of Los Angeles’ ecology, it presents a resilient and biodiverse habitat that once thrived in the region. This ecology can be adapted and brought back to thrive, creating a richer, more sustainable environment and landscape that is resilient to change with and especially without maintenance.
Coyote Brush
Lemonade Berry
Scrub Oak
BIODIVERSITY TOOLBOX
SCENARIOS
how is this toolbox resilient? PLANT COMMUNITIES
HYDROLOGY
COMMUNITY
ie : structural species that form tight-knit communities and depend on each other for survival, native plant companion species
ie : surface and subsurface water flows, water waste, stormwater, runoff
ie : passoionate local residents, organizations, groups that participate in the process
BIRDS ie : songbirds, predator species, and all in between that feed on other species like insects and small mammals
what is a biodiversity toolbox? A biodiversity toolbox is a collection of small-scale but environmentally catalytic interventions.
SOIL QUALITY
DESIGNERS Each toolkit item, though general in conecpt, is tailored for the particular environment and community for which they are created and designed to solve local issues thatmay cause positive ripple effects.
SCENARIO 1
ie : equally passoionate and skilled designers who lead the community through the design and planning process
ie : nutrients in the soil that provide for healthy plants which in turn feeds the wildlife, polluted by wastewater, trash, and urban development
URBAN WILDLIFE ie : diverse in size and species, all valuable to maintaining balance in the ecosystem and reliant on one another in a complex web of relationships
POLLINATORS ie : butterflies, bees, moths, grasshoppers, and all other insects that feed on flowers and help cross-pollinate species across an entire area
In any ecosystem there are ecological switches that exist that spin the ecosystem with a cascading effect into succession or collapse. Natural plant community succession moves the plant community towards a fungal-based system (ie : succession). Catastrophic plant community collapse is a fungal-based system going to a bacterial-based system quickly. Native animals, plants and soil organisms work to keep the system stable and moving through succession. These toolbox items contibute to a greater network of native, biodiverse, and resilient flora and fauna relationships that support one another. They provide a stable base in face of change or collapse.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
PRESERVE EXISITING VEGETATIVE PATCHES
XERISCAPE PLANTING
STREET MURALS + SIDEWALK PAINTING
NATIVE PLANTING WORKSHOPS
NESTING BOXES FOR BIRDS AND INSECTS
DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE + INFORMATION
NATIVE GARDENING COMMUNITY GROUPS
DEAD-END STREET ACTIVATION
BACKYARD HABITAT INITATIVES
VACANT LOT COMMUNITY GARDENS
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP TRAINING
HEDGEROW FENCE HABITAT
FRONT YARD HABITAT CORRIDORS
VEGETATED HIGHWAY BUFFERS
RAINWATER HARVESTING
GREEN STREETS + GREEN ALLEY DESIGN
DESIGNED RIVER ACCESS POINTS
ROOFTOP GARDENS
BACKYARD HABITAT CORRIDORS
STORMWATER CATCHMENT SYSTEMS
VEGETATIVE EXTENTION INTO RIVER CORRIDOR
GREEN LINK CORRIDORS BETWEEN PARKS + RIVER
re-CONSIDERING SPACE through education
SCENARIO 2 re-CLAIMING SPACE through bottom-up stewardship
SCENARIO 3 TRANSFORMING SPACE through design and management
NEW PLANT COMMUNITIES + PATCHES
BIODIVERSITY TOOLBOX
BIODIVERSITY TOOLBOX
BIODIVERSITY TOOLBOX
re-CONSIDERING SPACE through education
re-CLAIMING SPACE through bottom-up stewardship
TRANSFORMING SPACE through design and management
This scenario includes schemes that require no continued maintenance over time, through direct support from the city government or through continuous funding.
This scenario is focused on direct engagement with the community and its residents. The toolbox strategies included in this scenario aim to engage and support the community, and to establish mechanisms for bottom-up stewardship : where residents to continue change in the neighborhood through their own organization and motivation after inital financial and organizational support from designers or the city.
This scenario is the most intensive and design-based of the three scenarios. These toolbox items require a heavy touch, and need a continued source of funding and maintenance for them to be successful. Direct communication between the community, designers, sources of funding, city government, and organizers is required for the successful implementation and management.
SCENARIO 1
SCENARIO 2
EDUCATE CONNECT
These schemes may require an initial, front-loaded investment but are designed and selected to increase use value, promote stability, and increase local character in the community through neighborhood-resident focused actions and programs. At the forefront of the intent behind each of these toolbox items is education and increased awareness of biodiversity in this urban setting.
This scenario requires limited continued maintenance after the initial establishment of the schemes, and are designed to generate momentum and change throughout the entire community. Engaged dialog between community members, designers, and organizers is important to the success and widespread adoption.
DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE + INFORMATION
ie : maps, trail paths, distances between parks, species information, directions, nearby attractions and stops
NATIVE GARDENING COMMUNITY GROUPS
STREET MURALS + SIDEWALK PAINTING
+
DEAD-END STREET ACTIVATION
RAINWATER HARVESTING
These schemes are designed and given a managment plan as per the direction of the designer. Though more rigorous in their establishment and maintenance, these schemes are the most immeadiately impactful within the community, and have immeadiate, direct influence on the lives of the community members and on the health of the neighborhood’s ecology.
ie : harvesting rainwater and runoff throughout the year to prevent waste, reuse of grey water for local irrigation support and maintenance
DESIGNED RIVER ACCESS POINTS
GREEN LINK CORRIDORS BETWEEN PARKS + RIVER
HEDGEROW FENCE HABITAT ie : designed points of access from streets that connect back into neighborhood to promote flow between river edge and community
ie : reclaimation and redesign of dead-end streets and cul-de-sacs for community use and activation
ie : community-designed art, school yard murals, building beautification and reclaimation, local artists and art, expression of heritage and culture of community
ie : designed corridors running between the river and parks that act as connecting paths for the movement of people and for local species
ie : utilization of dense hedgerow plantings as an alternative of fencing that provides both privacy and ecological benefit
+
+
XERISCAPE PLANTING
FRONT YARD HABITAT CORRIDORS
VEGETATIVE EXTENTION INTO RIVER CORRIDOR
ie : minimal or no-water plants, no lawns, use of gravel or hardy groundcover, sturdy and resilient plantings that can survive without water or maintenance
ie : implentation of biodiverse, sustainable, and resilient front yard plantings that provide habitat and reduce need for watering and heavy maintenance
ie : design of river edge to accommodate pathes of vegetation that connect up into the neighborhood from the river
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP TRAINING
BACKYARD HABITAT CORRIDORS
ie : implentation of biodiverse, sustainable, and resilient backyard habitats and corridors that provide habitat and reduce need for heavy maintenance
ie : leadership exercises, information sessions about organizing, tools for working toward community advocacy and equity
+
NATIVE PLANTING WORKSHOPS
NESTING BOXES FOR BIRDS AND INSECTS
BACKYARD HABITAT INITATIVES
VACANT LOT COMMUNITY GARDENS
NEW PLANT COMMUNITIES + PATCHES
GREEN STREETS + GREEN ALLEY DESIGN
ie : hands-on learning opportunities for children, students, and adults about gardening and planting for resilient and diverse habitats
ie : nesting boxes to provide habitat and sanctuary for species in neighborhood, encouraging inhbaitation and adaptation
ie : neighborhood or citysponsored initiatives to encourage native backyard habitats and plantings on private property
ie : community-organized crop production for food, food equity and accessibility within the neighborhood
ie : planting of new areas of habitat and green patches connecting into greater green network through community to support biodiversity and resiliency
ie : redesign, repurpose and reclaimation of alleys and underused streets as green corridors for public, community use
PRESERVE EXISITING VEGETATIVE PATCHES
VEGETATED HIGHWAY BUFFERS
+
COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
CREATE ENGAGE
+
ie : organizations centered around promoting native planting, education for local residents of best practices, community maintenance of native habitats
+
SCENARIO 3
ENHANCE PROTECT
ROOFTOP GARDENS
+
ie : maintaining healthy habitat patches throughout the community that connect to greater corridors
ie : direct education for local residents about ecology, biodiversity, and habitat in urban communities, opportunities for children, students, and adults
ie : preservation and enhancement of vegetative buffers between community and highway, planting that reduces noise pollution and provides habitat
1,000 FT 1 “ = 500 FT
STORMWATER CATCHMENT SYSTEMS
1,000 FT 1 “ = 500 FT
ie : rooftop habitats designed to reduce heat islands, provide rainwater capture and reduce runoff, and new habitat for species and pollinators
ie : systems designed and integrated into neighborhood planning to capture runoff headed to river, mitigating pollution and retaining water in the neighborhood
1,000 FT 1 “ = 500 FT
PHASES
These phases explore the implementation of the toolboxes over time,working in coordination with one another, through design and bottom-up stewardship in the community. They are cyclical and overlapto create change that continues over time, rather than to an end goal or end product. Through these Phases, the Scenarios evolve and adapt to their local neighborhood and the needs of the community.
ARBOR STUDY STRETCH
! VERDUGO WASH GRIFFITH PARK
!
CITY OF GLENDALE
FROGTOWN
YEAR 1
! G-2 PARCEL
CITY OF LOS ANGELES
YEAR 5
In Year One, Scenario One is implemented in the community, by the community. It is focused along the stretch of river directly adjact to Frogtown and the G-2 Taylor Yard site.
YEAR 15
By Year Five, Scenario One has been fully implemented by the community, and Scenario Two has begun. A dialog between designers and the community begins and new toolbox strategies are being implemented.
YEAR 30
By Year 15, Scenario Two has been implemented fully in Frogtown through collaboration between designers and the community. Toolbox schemes from Scenario Two are being implemented down along the stretch of the river and into neighborhoods adjacent.
By Year 30, Scenario Two toolbox schemes are implemented through the Elysian Valley and into Glendale. Scenario Three designs are beginning.
!