Public Green Spaces At The Mouth Of Mill Creek - 1528 Words

[Introduction] Cincinnati s riverfront is misused and neglected. Once the backbone of the city s economic activity, much of it now lies vacant and abandoned. Scarred by the derelict remains of its industrial past and cut-off from the city by roads and railways, these sites are largely forgotten by the public and show little signs of their untapped potential. The landscape is in clear need of repair. In some other locations, sections of the waterfront have been converted into riverfront parks. While such public green spaces are an important factor in the success of a city, we should not be content with merely building a standard park. Cities should use the elements given to them in their landscape to create placemaking spaces unique to†¦show more content†¦In reality, there is no evidence of residential or recreational activities taking place in the area. In some places the riverfront was used as a construction material dump site, with evidence of the waste being burned on site. Non-commercial use is hampered by a lack of accessible and legal ways into the site. The site is currently almost completely blocked off by railroads and raised roadways, with the exception of a private road entrance on the east end, making trespassing required to access the riverfront. In addition, the banks along the river are steep and highly susceptible to erosion. No access to the water is possible with these conditions. The site is completely within the flood zone and temporary flood protection only exists a fourth of a mile beyond the site. The area along the river and mill creek is in the floodway, meaning even minor flooding affects the area. The rest of the site is within the 100-year floodplain, meaning it has annual flood probability of 1%. [Proposal] The landscape itself can serve as protection from flooding. By raising the elevation along the riverfront, water is held back from the city. This can be done with a series of berms. When looking at FEMA’s flood maps we can see that already there are two natural exceptions to the floodplain. On the site there are two existing berms excluded from the floodplain zone providing protection to the area beyond them. Innately, the landscape can be employed as