A24-BSLA-Project

Our project:

We are working with the Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) to develop a framework that assesses how well parks meet their intended purposes and contribute to the surrounding Boston metropolitan community and the environment. Our idea is to create a checklist-type framework consisting of a number of metrics to evaluate the “success” of multiple parks across the board. The metrics will be split up into main categories where each metric will be scored on a 1-5 point basis. This score will be formatted into a bar scale, where ranges of scores separate the green, yellow, and red sections of the bar for a visual representation to see how well the park is currently doing and give a more clear distinction between points.

A small introduction of our team members:

Victoria Turner, a junior, dual majoring in Biology/Biotechnology and Biochemistry with a minor in Business. Victoria has extensive research experience in allergies and immunology, focusing on urban and suburban areas. Her knowledge in cellular and molecular biology and biochemistry, combined with her leadership skills, promises to be invaluable for our project’s success.

Noah Ferreira, a junior in Chemical Engineering. Noah is eager to expand his understanding of Landscape Architecture and looks forward to contributing to our project with his engineering perspective.

Scott Nahoum, also a junior, is pursuing a degree in Business and Mechanical Engineering. Scott is keen on learning more about architectural biodiversity and the well-being of city wildlife, aiming to enhance his skills in these areas.

Talia Gardner, a junior majoring in Biology/Biotechnology. Talia’s background in biology and biodiversity, coupled with her research skills, will undoubtedly aid us in achieving our project goals. She is excited to delve deeper into the project and contribute her expertise.

Our Sponsor:

Throughout this project, we have worked with our sponsor Gretchen Rabinkin who is the Executive Director of the BSLA. In the past, Gretchen has helped organize many different community projects within the city of Boston along with helping create multiple design workshops. Gretchen has been a great guide for how to formulate this project along with helping us connect with other Landscape Architecture experts within her field.

Project Outcomes:

Our team developed the framework through an extensive literature review within the landscape architecture field. The metrics were drawn from academic sources, as well as established frameworks such as the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) and the Gehl Institute. In addition, we conducted several in-depth interviews with many different leading experts within the field of Landscape Architecture. We have also tested our framework during several different walkthroughs of parks within the Boston Metropolitan Area.