{"id":3528,"date":"2013-05-29T12:55:01","date_gmt":"2013-05-29T16:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/?p=3528"},"modified":"2015-06-01T15:06:08","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T19:06:08","slug":"size-doesnt-matter-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/2013\/05\/29\/size-doesnt-matter-really\/","title":{"rendered":"Size Doesn’t Matter\u2014Really!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I admit it, I\u2019m obsessed with a small created wetland in NW Portland\u2019s Pearl District<\/a>. When it comes to urban greenspaces size is often overrated, meaning even a small created 200 x 200 foot faux wetlands can be both biologically and socially meaningful in intensely development urban neighborhoods. Tanner Springs is one of those sites.<\/p>\n

In my last piece, Biodiversity Planning: Finally Getting It Right In the Portland-Vancouver Metro Region<\/a>, <\/i>I described The Intertwine Alliance\u2019s<\/a> newly released Regional Conservation Strategy<\/i> and Biodiversity Guide for the Greater Portland-Vancouver Region<\/i><\/a> that will allow our region to prioritize areas of high conservation value across the 3,000 square mile urban-rural continuum. These products are a vast improvement over past efforts to map fish and wildlife habitat and areas of special ecological concern. One of the most important features of the new mapping was its five meter pixel resolution that is intended to assist park and natural area planners and restoration ecologists to prioritize their work at every scale, from the 3,000-square mile landscape to individual neighborhoods and the streetscape.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Intertwine Region<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Powell
Powell Butte Nature Park. Photo: Mike Houck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the past thirty years we have made impressive strides in the city of Portland and the urbanizing Portland-Vancouver region with regard to protecting large natural areas such as 5,000-acre Forest Park<\/a>, 800-acre Powell Butte Nature Park and other large natural areas within and just outside the region\u2019s Urban Growth Boundary.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Aerial
Aerial photo of Forest Park. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the acquisition side, we have passed two bond measures totaling $363 million with which our regional government, Metro, and local park providers have added thousands of acres of natural areas to the public land base. Most of those acquisitions, however, have been sites of several hundred to more than 1,000 acres. Another significant recent success was the recent passage of the region\u2019s first ever natural areas management and restoration levy<\/a>, a $50 million five year funding source that will provide Metro with funds to manage is 16,000 acres of natural areas.<\/p>\n

While these accomplishments contribute mightily to the region\u2019s efforts to protect biodiversity across the regional landscape, what of the small, interstitial greenspaces, the left over bits of nature that play an oversized role in providing access to nature in the everyday lives of urban dwellers? They have historically been overlooked, undervalued, and viewed as throw away habitats, discarded in the name of \u201ccompact urban form.\u201d If we hope to create livable and lovable cities where urbanites have access to nature where they live, work and play our next big challenge is protecting, restoring and, where necessary, designing and creating, small but ecologically and socially significant patches of urban greenspace. Without diminishing the importance of large \u201canchor\u201d habitats in maintaining biodiversity, the scraps and threads of urban greenspaces that provide connectivity throughout the city and into the surrounding rural landscape are equally important. Size matters alright…at every scale, from the streetscape to large regionally significant nature preserves.<\/p>\n

\"Osprey
Osprey with fish. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What these small pieces, embedded in the urban matrix, lack in biodiversity they often matter most vis a vis<\/em> their proximity to the majority of urban residents and ensuring people have access to nature\u2014often in more dramatic ways than a wilderness experience. This is especially true in park and nature deficient neighborhoods. One expects<\/i><\/span> to see an osprey land a fish in the Columbia or Willamette River in Portland.<\/p>\n

But, when an osprey snags a koi ten feet away from a shallow pond or a great blue heron walks through a created wetland in one of the city\u2019s densest neighborhoods it\u2019s a transformational experience for a five-year old.\u00a0It\u2019s possible to design such experiences into the urban landscape, in even the smallest parks and natural areas.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Heron
Heron at Tanner Spring. Photo: Michael Abbate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Child
Child with Great Blue Heron at Tanner Springs. Photo: Mark Wheaton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Creating wild in the city: Portland\u2019s park triptych<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/i>A triptych is a work of art that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. Something composed or presented in three parts or sections; three canvases forming one image.<\/p>\n

With the recent dedication of The Fields<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>park a new work of art, a park triptych, was unveiled in Portland\u2019s Pearl District.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Fields Park. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The Pearl District. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Fields, an expansive greensward, is the third in a series of parks in one of Portland\u2019s densest neighborhoods, The Pearl District. The other two parks, the hardscaped water park at Jamison Square<\/a>\u00a0and the faux wetlands and spring of Tanner Springs Nature Park were dedicated in 2002 and 2005 respectively. Each park represents a unique urban design serving widely divergent, but complementary functions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Jamison
Jamison Square. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Tanner
Tanner Springs from the Sitka. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In June 1999, Peter Walker & Partners landscape architects provided Portland Parks and Recreation concepts for three new parks that have become critical to the success of what has been a dramatic transformation of an industrial and manufacturing center and transportation hub of rail yards to a new high density, mixed use neighborhood with multi-family residences, offices, and commercial development. What I admire most about these parks is that their designs reflect the philosophy espoused by landscape architect John Charles Olmsted<\/a> in his 1903 master plan for Portland<\/a>, which called for the creation of a comprehensive, interconnected park system.<\/p>\n

\"Olmsted's
Olmsted’s plan and map<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ipe
Ipe wood boardwalk. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Olmsted developed a park typology, from urban squares that would function as public gathering places to large scenic reservations like Forest Park. Walker\u2019s vision for the Pearl District included three parks that would serve specific functions and be knitted together with an ipe wood boardwalk.<\/p>\n

Jamison Square Park, the first to be developed, was named to honor William Jamison, art gallery owner and early advocate for the Pearl District. The park\u2019s main feature is a fountain with a shallow wading pool that ebbs and flows throughout the day. On a regular basis water flows between and over a rock wall, filling a shallow basin. What was conceived of as a neighborhood park has, in fact, become a regional attraction. On a hot summer day there may be several hundred children and their parents playing in the water or lounging under the birch trees.<\/p>\n

\"Jamison
Jamison Square Entrance. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Fields, a large grassy ellipse three blocks north of Jamison Square, was designed for kite flying, throwing Frisbees, sunbathing, and other informal recreation. The park features an off-lease dog area, rain garden, and children\u2019s play area.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Fields. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tanner Springs Park<\/strong><\/p>\n

A couple years ago I was driving north, adjacent to Tanner Springs Park, when a black and white blur flashed across my windshield. I looked to my right and a woman stood, mouth agape. She\u2019d clearly seen the same thing I had. As I jumped out of my car an Osprey arose from the park\u2019s shallow pond, a koi clutched in its talons.<\/p>\n

\"Osprey
Osprey in Tanner Springs Park. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It carried its prey to the roof of a nearby condominium and consumed the tiny koi after which it returned to its nest on the nearby Willamette River. I asked the woman whether this was unusual and she replied no, that it had become fairly common since someone in the surrounding condos had, illegally, started dumping koi in the pond. She provided me with a photo of the osprey which I immediately sent to Herbert Dreiseitl at Atelier Dreiseitl in Germany and Mike Faha, at Portland\u2019s GreenWorks landscape architects who collaborated on Tanner Springs design to inform them that they had just been paid the highest praise for their design work. Great blue herons, too, visit Tanner Springs Park, attracted by koi. Great Blue Herons also frequent the nearby Chinese Garden in old town Portland.<\/p>\n

\"Chinese
Chinese Gardens in Portland’s Old Town. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was once a stream, a natural wetland, and lake system in the Willamette River floodplain is now a native plant-dominated one-square block nature park. What\u2019s amazing about this small urban greenspaces is the wildlife it has attracted into the newly created Pearl District. The original plan for the park was to daylight Tanner Creek. That turned out to be impractical, given the stream now flows more than twenty feet below the park. The Dreiseitl\/GreenWorks design was developed from several charettes that were conducted in 2003 that revealed the public\u2019s desire to have a water feature and access to nature in the city.<\/p>\n

\"Dreiseitl
Dreiseitl Plan for Tanner Springs Nature Park. Image: Atelier Dreiseitl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Visitors
Visitors with Great Blue Heron, Tanner Springs Park. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Great
Great Blue Heron and its reflection in Tanner Springs. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mother
Mother and daughter at Tanner Springs. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Camas,
Camas, Tanner Springs Park. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Railroad
Railroad Track art wall, Tanner Springs. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An \u201cartwall\u201d runs along the east edge of the park consisting of 368 railroad tracks set on end with almost one-hundred blue \u201cBulls Eye<\/i>\u201d fused glass which was produced by a Portland glass art company. Each of the rectangular glass panels has images of dragonflies, and other aquatic invertebrates native to local wetlands. The images were hand-painted by Herbert Dreiseitl directly onto the glass panel, which was then fused and melted and inset into the tracks.\u00a0One of Dreisitl\u2019s panels is dedicated to the \u201clost wetlands\u201d\u00a0the park is intended to evoke. The New York Times<\/i><\/a> ran a piece on Tanner Springs, describing it as “a sort of cross between an Italian piazza and a weedy urban wetland with lots of benches perched besides gently running streams.” Tanner Springs also provides a quiet, contemplative space for tenant in the nearby Sitka Apartments, an affordable housing project that sits catty-corner to the park.<\/p>\n

\"Aquatic
Aquatic Insect art. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"In
In Remembrance of Lost Wetland. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The Sitka from Tanner Springs Park. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heron Pointe Wetlands<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Tanner Springs represents an example of created nature, a second small wetland is a case study in the preservation and restoration of a less than one-acre wetland on the west banks of the Willamette River. In 1984 the Heron Pointe condominium development proposal would have filled the postage stamp wetland.<\/p>\n

\"Heron
Heron Pointe Wetlands. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Heron
Heron Pointe Wetlands view downstream. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The argument used to request the wetland fill was one all too often invoked when developers seek wetland fill permits\u2014the site was so small that it had little ecological value and that nearby Ross Island<\/a> complex\u00a0was more significant. After a protracted fight the wetland was retained as an amenity to the adjacent condominiums.<\/p>\n

\"Ross
Ross Island. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, not only has the wetland been restored in a cooperative effort with the home owners association and city\u2019s Bureau of Environmental Services and Park Bureau, but it is one of very few refugia for Chinook salmon and steelhead trout, both of which are now listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. While it\u2019s true that, compared with nearby 350-acre Ross Island complex the wetland is comparatively unimportant from a region\u2019s biodiversity perspective, it serves as one of only two sites for the local neighborhood.<\/p>\n

In the end, small seemingly unimportant areas like Heron Pointe are treasured by local residents not for their contribution to the city\u2019s biodiversity, but because they bring wildlife to their very doorstep. We installed an interpretive sign twenty years ago which we situated next to the Willamette Greenway Trail<\/a> that sees hundreds of people daily on their commute or walking and cycling the greenway on weekend outings.<\/p>\n

\"Heron
Heron Pointe Interpretive Sign. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Anna's
Anna’s Hummingbird female on nest. Photo: Mike Houck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Downy
Downy woodpecker. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"White
White crowned sparrow at Heron Pointe. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nothing represents the neighborhood\u2019s attachment to this small scrap of wetland more than the tiny bronze beaver that was installed by a local resident in memory of her husband who succumbed to Alzheimer\u2019s. More often than not passersby leave a little memento with the beaver, sometimes a beaver-chewed stick others a more whimsical gift of flowers or other memorabilia. The beaver\u2019s head is worn smooth from the many pats on the head it receives from walkers on the adjacent Willamette River Greenway path.<\/p>\n

Mike Houck<\/strong>
\nPortland, Oregon USA<\/p>\n

\"Heron
Heron Pointe Beaver. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I admit it, I\u2019m obsessed with a small created wetland in NW Portland\u2019s Pearl District. When it comes to urban greenspaces size is often overrated, meaning even a small created 200 x 200 foot faux wetlands can be both biologically and socially meaningful in intensely development urban neighborhoods. Tanner Springs is one of those sites. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[300,273,297],"tags":[44,401,49,28,92,34,84],"coauthors":[183],"class_list":["post-3528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay-art-and-awareness","category-essay","category-essay-science-and-tools","tag-art","tag-biodiversity","tag-communities","tag-design","tag-development","tag-experiencing-nature","tag-livability"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3528"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}