Southwest Park sets new standards for integrating urban public space with storm protection. In a chronically flooding lowland district, the park weaves social spaces over layers of flood infrastructure. Rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavement are the visible, teachable expression of the park’s environmental mission, while subsurface chambers detain the 200,000-gallon ten-year storm. Community... Continue Reading
Southwest Park sets new standards for integrating urban public space with storm protection. In a chronically flooding lowland district, the park weaves social spaces over layers of flood infrastructure. Rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavement are the visible, teachable expression of the park’s environmental mission, while subsurface chambers detain the 200,000-gallon ten-year storm. Community visioning sessions set every component of the park’s program, including an open lawn and playful elements to engage children, a granite amphitheater and pedestrian mall to support festivals and informal gatherings, and a dog run for year-round social activation. Starr Whitehouse developed every component of the park’s design, including visioning, grant applications, and management of the full design team. Proven in several large-scale storm events, Southwest Park is the first project in New Jersey and one of the earliest projects nationally to implement recommendations from Rebuild By Design. Simultaneously catalyzing civic life and protecting the neighborhood from flooding, the park provides a replicable model for more resilient urban communities.
Starr Whitehouse is currently leading design and implementation on the expansion of Southwest Park across Harrison Street. Extending the amenity and resilience benefits Starr Whitehouse created at Southwest Resiliency Park in Hoboken, Southwest Park Expansion integrates a wide range of community programming and stormwater management into a 0.8-acre urban footprint. Programming will include a new playground and pickleball courts.
Photos: Francine Fleischer
