RDG in the Media: Parks for People & the Planet
In an interview with Recreation Management Magazine, RDG’s Colt McDermott, ASLA, LEED® GA discusses how landscape design can align with nature’s needs and community wants.
Riding a bicycle down a trail, hosting a gathering at a picnic shelter, lying on the lawn listening to live music and resting on a park bench while eating lunch. These scenes all happen in parks and outdoor public spaces, whether in urban centers or smaller communities. Each scene described above highlights the importance of planning and maintaining these spaces so communities to recreate and enjoy nature. RDG’s Parks Studio Leader Colt McDermott spoke with Recreation Management Magazine to discuss what it is like to design public landscapes.
Blending function, comfort and safety matched with bolstering and preserving natural resources gives landscape architects and designers an opportunity to explore unique ways to get users outside. With input from the local communities, designers work to create spaces that will thrive in the community and with the environment. How the space is used is a key factor in public space design.
McDermott says it’s important to ask clients, stakeholders and community members early on what success looks like to them. He recommends starting with the end in mind to understand what it is they’re excited about and what will make their lives better on a daily basis.
Click to read the full article featuring McDermott’s interview on community-based landscape design.