Successful Places

The continuing success of a place ensues if it's sustainable in six different ways. That's the lesson that Alexander Garvin shares in the final chapter of his 2011 book, Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities. If you're working on a design project of any scale, from a small domestic garden to a massive corporate headquarters, Garvin's comments on sustainability will be useful to you.

Garvin discusses six different types of sustainability: social, functional, environmental, financial, political, and aesthetic. His comments are focused on Central Park, but they are generally applicable.

The various types of sustainability are clearly explained by Garvin. A space is socially sustainable "if, throughout its existence, people of every age ethnicity, and income want to be there." Spaces that are multi-purpose fit the bill here - in Central Park this means that "the landscape is so flexible that it can be adapted to their [user] needs and used simultaneously by others." Functional sustainability results when a space can evolve to meet users' changing needs. Environmental sustainability is what is generally referred to as "green design." Financial sustainability requires careful considerations of the benefits that accrue from a space and the resources required to generate them, all of which can be difficult to monetize. Political sustainability follows when there is popular support for a space, and the size of that public varies from project to project. Spaces are aesthetically sustainable when it is a pleasure to experience them, for example, because they have been designed appropriately for the activities that will take place there or because of the range of experiences that ensue as someone moves them.

Are you creating sustainable spaces?