Living Landscape Adaptation Plan & Physical Design Framework

Two cross-causeway planning efforts lead by members of the Healthy UC Davis Physical Space Work Group and two Learning by Leading™ student interns.

Introduction:

Taking stock of our outdoor spaces on campus to understand where they are now, how we use them for healthy activities, and how we can improve access to healthy outdoor spaces for the campus community.
The Outdoor Space Inventory and Assessment is a process to define the types of outdoor spaces we have on campus and how they are used for health-promoting activities such as group or individual study, meditation and relaxation, and group exercise. Working with student employee leaders to create definitions for successful outdoor spaces and comparing our existing campus to the ideal definition, we'll be able to make recommendations for updates and new outdoor spaces in future campus planning and design efforts.

Outcomes:

The project will have two important outputs to help us make healthy decisions!

1. A publicly accessible online map that shows health-supportive outdoor spaces by type and use to help the campus community better know their options when looking for space for an activity.
2. A set of recommendations for campus planning about the gaps in our open space network, and how to provide more and better healthy outdoor spaces on campus

Opportunities for Involvement:

We are always looking for input from the campus community on favorite places, or missed opportunities for health-promoting space on campus. Please send us any ideas!

Recent Milestones:

Two undergraduate student employees joined the team in Fall 2019. These students completed a thorough background research of open space and use types, and have started to look at typologies on campus how physical characteristics of campus spaces can promote healthy uses, such as meeting, studying, and physical activity. As a result, they created an initial list of spatial and use qualities as well as a draft campus map. The students have completed their inventory, which has been compared to campus planning goals. This will help to inform and improve future planning efforts; their findings will be published in a as well as the gap analysis and a final report.

Project Leads: 

Stacey Parker
Director of Public Horticulture and Engagement
Arboretum and Public Garden
sparker@ucdavis.edu 

Lucas Griffith
Director of Campus Planning
Campus Planning & Environmental Design
lagriffith@ucdavis.edu