Beyond Turf

Reinterpreting the Ecological Management of Vacant Landscapes

ROLE

Lead Designer (Research + Design)

TEAM

Louisiana State University

TIMELINE

Senior Capstone Project

TOOLS

AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Photoshop, Illustrator, Photography

New Orleans East, the loosely defined suburban neighborhood of Orleans Parish, has been battling increasing residential vacancies scattered throughout the area and continues to worsen. Currently, all publicly owned vacant lots in the parish are homogeneously turfed with scheduled mows. Beyond Turf seeks to maximize the ecological benefits of the lots by a native plant palette that will improve the on-site ecosystems of these dispersed lots and create a new framework for managing vacancy.

2014 American Society of Landscape Architects Student Honor Award

Site Context

New Orleans East is the vast neighborhood on the east side of the Industrial Canal from New Orleans. Accounting for over half of the land area of Orleans Parish, the characteristics of New Orleans East share more in common with nearby suburban parishes than the city of New Orleans. In 2014, 20% of the parish’s population was residing in New Orleans East. The neighborhood is neglected in many ways, local residents make 25% less than residents living in New Orleans proper, 40% of the neighborhood received over 10 feet of water during Hurricane Katrina, and many of the residents are more than a third of a mile from a park/green space.

Orleans Parish Population

Orleans Parish peaked in population in the 1960s and has been declining since then. The landmass of New Orleans has nearly doubled since the 1930s with population numbers consistent with the 1930s. Orleans Parish has lost many of its residents to surrounding parishes after segregation, the 1970s oil crisis, and Hurricane Katrina in 2009. The population has mostly stabilized following Hurricane Katrina.

Vacancies in Orleans Parish

Vacancy in Orleans Parish has been an issue since the time following the oil crisis of the 1970s. Orleans Parish has seen fluctuations in vacancy throughout the parish even as the housing stock continued to grow. Following the Hurricane Katrina, vacancy accounted for 50% of all houses, but has stabilized at 25% with a smaller housing stock in the parish.

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) currently manages 1,460 lots spread throughout Orleans Parish.

The equivalent of 176 acres...

Problem

New Orleans East (NOE) experienced declining populations before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, and the amount of vacancies increasing in the aftermath. Accounting for over half of the land area of Orleans Parish, the characteristics of NOE share more in common with the suburban parishes. With 20% of the parish’s population living in NOE there is a need to address the issue of what to do with the 403 vacant lots in NOE that impact the community.

In Orleans Parish, 25% of all residential lots are currently vacated. Having some of the highest rates of vacancy in the country, the need to reevaluate how to manage the lots is necessary. With multiple ecological and social problems plaguing New Orleans East, it is necessary to consider how to deal with the issue of illegal dumping, poor drainage, and proximity to blighted properties for a successful implementation.

Current Practices

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority’s (NORA) current management plan for publicly-owned lots includes sodding cleared lots and mowing the lots eighteen times a year at the price of $400 per lot annually. With over 1,400 uncommitted lots in the parish, this ends up costing the city over half a million dollars annually. Besides the financial burden, there are the impacts that these lots have on the local ecology. Most lots suffer from high sun exposure with minimal tree coverage. There is also poor on-site drainage that overwhelms the city’s canals and drainage system during high periods of rain. Lacking a diverse plant selection on these lots hinders plant and animal biodiversity with continual mows suppressing habitats for native species, as well. The community has a strong misunderstanding of meadows for the fact that many people mistake native species as weeds due to the lack of education on these plants.

Integrating Nature into a Suburban Landscape

Reade West Boulevard Case Study

The Reade West Boulevard block was chosen for a few the following reasons:

High percentage of the houses received more than 10 feet of water during Hurricane Katrina
High percentage of vacant lots that border with two or more vacant lots
Lack of parks/green space in the neighborhood
The average house price is $105,000 compared to $290,000 in New Orleans proper (based on 2014 values)
The average salary is $30,000 compared to $40,000 (based on 2014 earnings) in New Orleans proper.

Reade West Boulevard Vacant Lot Typologies

Research

Choosing the most appropriate planting range suited for specific lot conditions as well as creating a setback can help ease people’s perceptions and will yield successful results for a meadow. The first three years of the meadow implementation will be time consuming, but new growth will be noticeable as early as the next spring. Based on preferences for the lot, the implementation schedule can be adapted for certain factors. To prevent a lot from looking unruly it is important to maintain a meadow setback that preserves a 15 foot groundcover strip.

Wildflower + Grass Options

Solution

Implementing a meadow into New Orleans East (NOE) involves a higher time commitment at first but as the meadow matures the maintenance decreases. The heaviest time commitment is within the first year, which involves the site preparation as well as plant installation on the lot. Preparing the site includes clearing the site of all lawn, solarisation in the summer months to eliminate weed growth, and then broadcasting wildflower seed in the fall and grasses are to be planted in late spring/early summer. To prevent a lot from looking unruly it is important to maintain a meadow setback that preserves a 15’ groundcover strip. The lots will need an annual mow, cut on the lowest setting, in early spring, which will allow seeds to come in contact with the soil and aid the germination process. Establishing an involved volunteer program will help support community enhancement. Clear signage will show ownership of the lot and inform residents of the project. Additionally, once the meadows become mature there is the option of including site furnishings that promote observation.

Ultimately, the planning and analysis for Beyond Turf is meant to be a solution for vacancy that could be applied throughout NOE and into the rest of New Orleans. Redirecting already established landscaping funds for NORA would help maintain and implement this project and create a volunteer program. There is great freedom to vary plant selection based on site conditions, lot typology, and plant preferences. Eventually, the vacant landscapes could become a productive and beautiful installation that moves beyond a turf landscape.

NORA can administer meadow installations in vacant lots with assistance from created volunteer groups. The process of an early spring cutback will be repeated every year to help foster forbs in the spring and keep grasses at a manageable height.