DESIGN OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PRACTICES ON SCHOOL PLAYGROUNDS

The Trust for Public Land commissioned SiteWorks Landscape Architecture and eDesign Dynamics to generate designs for the reconstruction of over twenty New York City Public School playgrounds.

The schools were selected based on their locations within the NYCDEP’s Combined Sewer Priority Watersheds and on individual school need. Green infrastructure components are integrated with playground amenities: rain gardens, augmented tree pits, planters, and an innovative use of synthetic turf fields to filter and infiltrate runoff. After reconstruction, each playground will self-mitigate the first one inch of rainfall, with zero discharge to the City’s combined sewers. The playground designs were made in collaboration with the children attending each school under the instruction and guidance of SiteWorks. Students learned about combined sewer overflows, the hydrological cycle, natural water filtration and groundwater recharge, in addition to participating in the layout and design of playground features.