Remediation in Urban Ecology: How Remediative Park Design in Montgomery, AL can influence its Future Development

Abstract

This design research project explores the possibility of connection between the riverfront and the downtown of Montgomery, Alabama by means of a remediative park system that encourages movement through the city. Currently the site chosen for this investigation does not acknowledge any remediative factors, movement from the downtown to the riverfront, or connectivity to its surroundings. Establishing connections between the downtown and riverfront could make an immediate impact on the city by providing many new infrastructure services. For example: walking systems, year around entertainment, visual and physical connections to surrounding neighborhoods, and educating citizens about remediation which can give them an opportunity to observe remediation processes which may then encourage them to make better decisions not only on their own behalf but also the city in general. After all, a site can make a city, but a city can also make a site. The project objective is a design that improves the city’s image and wellbeing by drawing on and extending the image of the city. One cannot exist without the other and together they can form something special.