| Choosing a Location |

Finding the Space |
At the corner of Willow Street and Elm Street in Meadville PA lies an empty lot where a home once stood. It is now covered with grass and vegetation and is closed by a newly constructed wooden fence on two sides. This lot is located in a low income neighborhood, close to an elementary school, and sits next to the Liberty House. The Liberty House is Crawford County's first and only transitional housing project for homeless families. This location was chosen for The Greenspace Project because it lends itself well to potential community enrichment.

The site was first discovered on a Monday afternoon as I was driving past the Liberty House and saw a large patch of grass with an enclosed fence. I then began to envision the possibilities. Before committing time and effort into the site, I visited other empty lots, some grass and some constructed. However, I felt no site would be more useful than the Liberty House location. The neighborhood could benefit from the space and I envisioned great potential for community programming.

The Space Potential |
1. The space could be used by the neighborhood, children walking to and from school, and the women and children of the Liberty House.
2. The site is located on a side street, has development potential, is out of any high traffic areas, and is the only space available for outdoor recreation and leisure within almost one mile of the neighborhood.

Interviews |
I spent some time interviewing residents to get their impression of my concept for greenspace. I chose to interview at 3:00 PM on a September afternoon, when school was letting out. Interviewing residents was an excellent experience in terms of knowing whether or not this was a good location for greenspace development. Mothers and children from the Liberty House explained vibrantly that the closest space for outdoor recreation and leisure is almost a mile away if they did not trespass through backyards. Mothers were nervous and unwilling to allow their children to play such a distance away from home. "If something should happen," one father said, "it would take them too long to get to me." I interviewed a mother living at the Liberty House who suggested a space near her home would be excellent for reading and grilling. "Social Services bring my two youngest ones to visit me 2 times a week. It would be nice to swing them on a swing-set and barbecue with them instead of the Social Service guy watching me read a book to my kids; it's uncomfortable."

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Getting Approval |
Once it was determined that this site was the one I wanted to develop, the first steps were to find who owned it, if there were any future plans, and most importantly, could I recommend and implement changes! My first step involved going to the Crawford County Courthouse in order to find the owner and their contact information.

The lot is currently owned by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Meadville. I contacted Andy Walker, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority, for information. I learned there are no current plans for the space. Andy explained that since the house previously on that lot had been torn down, zoning codes have changed and the space is now too small to re-build a structure. I was given approval to formulate and present a proposal of greenspace to the Redevelopment Authority.

I made a second trip to the Crawford County Courthouse in order to get official measurements of the lot for future use in designing the space. From these measurements I plotted the lot perimeter to scale.

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Research |
Andy Walker of the Redevelopment Authority suggested I speak with the Zoning Director of the City of Meadville, Rick Williams to get a handle on any restrictions or guidelines for developing space in that area. Once I spoke with Rick, he gave me several pieces of material to look over in terms of city and county goals for development and zoning regulations. Greenspace in Meadville is specifically noted in all materials which support my suggestion for the increase of developed and managed greenspace.

Meadville Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan |
The purpose of this long range planning effort is to provide a feasible strategy for improving the quality and distribution of Meadville's city parks. The planning process of the Meadville Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan involved the following seven objectives:

1. Prepare an inventory of existing parks.
2. Evaluate the distribution of existing parks.
3. Evaluate existing public land for park use.
4. Provide unified mapping for city parks.
5. Locate new play equipment purchased by the city.
6. Evaluate access and parking at park sites.
7. Develop unified landscape elements.
[Meadville Park System Master Plan | 2000]

Results |

The plan contained relevant information pertaining specifically to the lot at Willow Street and Elm Street. Page ten of the document says "The City of Meadville has an abundance of publicly owned parcels and parks. Not all of these parcels are contributing significantly to improving the quality of life for the citizens of Meadville." Included in the 'questionable' parcels is the lot at Willow Street and Elm Street; however it was determined on page fifteen of the document that it should be retained as an empty space (empty space referring to no built structures) for "future small use development or a sign or monument."
Crawford County Comprehensive Plan |
This comprehensive plan for Crawford County has supporting evidence for why greenspace is so important, especially in a city like Meadville. On page forty-six of the document, it is stated that "In a County with so many large-scale recreational sources, it is often easy to overlook the importance of smaller, community-centered recreational organizations and facilities. Although the County has no direct role in the Meadville Area Recreation and Parks Board, the Titusville Recreation Commission, and other municipally-based organizations, it should encourage, coordinate, and support these groups when this would be helpful."

Results |
Chapter seven of the plan states the County's environmental objectives and policies. An environmental task force of sorts was brought together in order to plan such objectives and policies. Their philosophy is to "improve citizen awareness of environmental issues through education initiatives, provide sufficient quantity and quality of water for consumption, recreation and wildlife, manage forests levels, and insure safe solid waste disposal practices." Two policies were enacted at the beginning of this task force which support the relevancy of greenspace in Meadville:

1. Preserve desirable existing open space by concentrating development and promoting greenways, common greenspace and watersheds.
2. The County Planning Commission should explore the adoption of a conservation of open spaces land use and development stance through assisting municipalities with information concerning cluster development, areas for greenways conservation and important watersheds.
[Comprehensive Plan | Crawford County | 2000]

Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code |
Under article VII of the Municipalities Code for the Commonwealth, it states there should be encouragement of "innovations in residential and nonresidential development and renewal so that the growing demand for housing and other development may be met by greater variety in type, design, and layout of dwellings and other buildings and structures and by the conservation and more efficient use of open space ancillary to said dwellings and uses; so that greater opportunities for better housing and recreation may extend to all citizens and residents of this Commonwealth."

Section 701-A|B of Article VII has objectives relevant to greenspace in Meadville:
A | 2. Encourage the design and layout of dwellings and other buildings and structures which will thereby conserve and use open space more efficiently.
A | 3. To extend greater opportunities for better housing, recreation and access to goods, services and employment opportunities to all citizens and residents of the Commonwealth.
A | 4. To encourage a more efficient use of land and of public services to reflect changes in the technology of land development so that economies secured may benefit those who need homes and for other uses.
A | 5. To allow for the development of fully integrated, mixed-use pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods.
B | 1. To establish a community which is pedestrian-oriented with a number of parks, a centrally located public commons, square, plaza, or prominent intersection of two or more major streets, commercial enterprises and civic and other public buildings and facilities for social activity, recreation and community functions.
B | 5. To foster the ability of citizens to come to know each other and to watch over their mutual security by providing public spaces such as streets, parks and squares and mixed use which maximizes the proximity to neighbors at almost all times of the day.
B | 6. To foster a sense of place and community by providing a setting that encourages the natural intermingling of everyday uses and activities within a recognizable neighborhood.
[Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code| Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 249 as reenacted and amended | 2005]

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Panoramas |

[Space location looking east on Willow Street | Space is located behind children]


[Space Location looking south on Elm Street | Space is located behind white sign]


[Space location looking east on Willow Street | Space is located behind vines on fence]