Patchwork

Local streets as landscapes

Joshua Fender

Cynthia Girling  Xenia Semeniuk  

This project investigates a new implementation strategy for reclaiming   the local neighbourhood streets of a downtown area in Kelowna, British Columbia. Local streets are public spaces that need to be re-examined from a multifunctional perspective that considers the social, ecological, and economic potential of these landscapes. 

By reimagining local streets as non-linear pedestrian priority “shared spaces” there is opportunity to design a series of enlarged boulevard pockets through a new zoning practice framed to support community based initiatives while incentivizing the development of these public spaces.

The design solution incorporates both “top down” and “bottom up”  strategies to bring shared value into these landscapes through the design of Low Impact Design (LID) or Green Infrastructure designed specifically for Kelowna’s semi-arid hot/cold climate. The street is reclaimed through a series of patches that subsequently over time form a new street mosaic.