SWT Design Blog Post Just south of one of the oldest districts in the city of St. Louis – cobble streets and all – is a gem of a bridge. Even if you’re not aware that it was the first to be constructed using only cantilever support methods, you can’t help but feel like you’re walking through history as you pass under its seven-story-tall arches. On the other side, east of the lawn where you sometimes bring your lunch, is a garden packed with native plants that Lewis and Clark wrote of discovering in their now famous journals. That’s where you’re headed today. To get there you walk along the edge of a mound, from which, through a curtain of trees and understory plantings, you can see the Gateway Arch.
Or, at least you will be able to, when the construction of the CityArchRiver 2015 project is complete.
SWT Design Blog Post Last week, the House Budget Committee introduced its Fiscal Year 2016 budget, “A Balanced Budget for a Stronger America.” Although the bill includes the highest margin of cuts ever proposed by the Committee, the proposed $3.8 trillion in spending represents one fifth of our country’s total economic output. With such large stakes, there is a growing movement in Washington to support funding practices with evidence that the programs being financed will achieve their goals. Evidence-based decision making at a policy level is a cause that is deeply related to the future work of all designers of living systems. Policy directs federal spending and without economic support, projects ranging from native restoration and trail development to the revitalization of downtown business districts may not be realized.
SWT Design Blog Post This past December, SWT Design participated in a PRORAGIS Inventory Workshop hosted by Great Rivers Greenway. In addition to an instructional webinar, the event included an opportunity for park and recreation providers to input their annual data and for consultant organizations, like ours, to become acclimated with the platform and its capabilities: comparative benchmarking, report generation, and evaluation of park impacts within communities.
I am thrilled to announce that the proposal Nicole Rebeck and I submitted to the Design for Life: Retrofitting Green Infrastructure Solutions for Neighborhoods competition has been recognized as one of five shortlisted entries. The jury recognized our submission with the Highly Commended award on the basis that we "proposed an innovative and distinct solution to the key issue of maintenance."