I chose materials, waste, and climate change as my course thematic. I wanted to volunteer to clean parks and think about plant trees to reduce climate change. In addition, the pictures from the book Urban Wilderness: Nature in New York City by Joel Greenberg and Jean Gardner helped me to decide to do my field action in the parks. Since parks strongly influence cities and need maintenance, they are influential and vulnerable at the same time. I have felt peaceful in the parks every time I visit there, so what can I give back to them?
On a chilly Saturday and Sunday, I went to Westerleigh Park in Staten Island and Corlears Hook Park in Manhattan for my field action. There have been severe hurricanes and storms due to climate change and parks are places that are more easily harmed by those natural disasters. I chose to visit Westerleigh park because it has a long history[1] and many parts of Staten Island were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Corlears Hook Park, which is a waterfront park in the east side of Manhattan, also lost many trees by hurricane Sandy.[2] My purpose was not only to volunteer to clean the parks but also that I, as a designer, try to see how people deal with crises in design and plan for flood resiliency.
[1] “Westerleigh Park, Staten Island past and present,” Blog RSS, accessed November 30, 2017, http://www.realestatesiny.com/blog/westerleigh-park-Staten-island-past-and-present.html.
[2] “Two Years After Sandy, Another Dozen Trees Lost at Corlears Hook Park,” The LoDown News from the Lower East Side, accessed November 30, 2017, http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2014/11/two-years-after-sandy-another-dozen-trees-lost-at-corlears-hook-park.html.
When I visited Corlears Hook Park, I watched NYC Parks employees use a forklift to reach tall trees and cut the branches. I asked them why they cut the branches and one of the workers answered that they cut the branches to ensure the safety of visitors because the branches could fall down and hurt people. Another way to ensure safety in the park addresses the waterfronts: The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) was founded to reduce coastal flooding and protect the approximately 2.4 mile stretch of Manhattan’s East River waterfront. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the City of New York. People started to think about how the coastal areas are vulnerable and the city has since been proposing an integrated flood protection system with various planning approaches, design styles, and constructions, such as the Capital Project Tracker, which redesigns and rebuilds parks and facilities.[1] Individuals clean up, rake leaves, or garden at the park through It’s My Park events. These activities are not only to improve the quality of life, but also sustainability; in other words, the assurance of our lifestyles. I thought about the relationship between safety and sustainability while I was watching the NYC Park workers cut the branches, and reading about all those events and flood resiliency projects. Protecting our nature is protecting ourselves. People tend to spend so much time and money on their short-term safety but not long-term sustainability, even though environmental issues are actually directly related to human survival.
[1] “East Side Coastal Resiliency,” East Side Coastal Resiliency: NYC Parks, accessed November 30, 2017, https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/planning/neighborhood-development/east-side-coastal-resiliency.
I have considered what we could design with long-lasting materials and plants that we sufficiently maintain, how we can conserve and restore natural areas to protect biodiversity, how we can reduce carbon emissions by being more energy efficient, and how we can reduce the impacts of climate change by ensuring our parks can withstand flooding and capture stormwater. The presenter of our field trip in the UN said, “Design is an act.” I liked what he said. All those questions need answers or solutions, and design can offer answers to our environmental concern.
On the other hand, I have also considered fashion and sustainability. According to the documentary The True Cost, there are 82 pounds of textile waste each year in America. It will take more than 200 years to dispose of this waste. Even worse, it creates dangerous gases. I also watched Can Fashion Save the Planet? and I was shocked at how irresponsible some manufactures polluting water by disposing of toxic clothing waste. Making clothing needs a huge amount of water. We need to use eco-friendly materials, zero-waste design, consider constructing efficient sewer infrastructures for fashion manufacturers, and implement serious regulations to enforce sustainable production. This is not only about the environment, but also about human rights. Many people in those areas are suffering because of water pollution. Jacob A. Riis said, “Long ago it was said that one half of the world does not know how the other half lives.”[1] Some people think that although the working conditions are not safe, fashion manufacturing is a better job for the people who live in undeveloped countries. However, this pollution can kill people.
[1] Stuart Walker, Sustainable by design: explorations in theory and practice (London: Earthscan, 2006).
I am attaching a poem that was impressive.
Start Where You are
Glance at the sun.
See the moon and the stars.
Gaze at the beauty of earth’s grennings.
Now,
Think.
-Hildergard of Bingen[1]
[1] McDonough, The Upcycle. Beyond sustainability – Designing for abundance (North Point Press, 2013).
Bibliography
- “East Side Coastal Resiliency.” East Side Coastal Resiliency : NYC Parks. Accessed December 01, 2017. https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/planning/neighborhood-development/east-side-coastal-resiliency.
- The Upcycle. Beyond sustainability – Designing for abundance. North Point Press, 2013.
- “Two Years After Sandy, Another Dozen Trees Lost at Corlears Hook Park.” The LoDown News from the Lower East Side. Accessed December 01, 2017. http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2014/11/two-years-after-sandy-another-dozen-trees-lost-at-corlears-hook-park.html.
- Walker, Stuart. Sustainable by design: explorations in theory and practice. London: Earthscan, 2006
- “Westerleigh Park, Staten Island past and present.” Blog RSS. Accessed December 01, 2017. http://www.realestatesiny.com/blog/westerleigh-park-staten-island-past-and-present.html.
