Barnett receives Whitaker Foundation grant

Barnett

Rod Barnett, professor and chair of the Master of Landscape Architecture program in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, has received a $20,000 grant from the Whitaker Foundation to support the St. Louis Parks Project.

Though some of the city’s 109 parks, such as Forest Park and Tower Grove Park, are thriving, others include languishing sports fields, small neighborhood green spaces and underutilized historic areas. The St. Louis Parks Project aims to modernize and improve individual parks while also reimagining them as part of a larger aesthetic, cultural, environmental and recreational system.

The first phase of the project, which began last fall and continues through this spring, will: assess the current state of St. Louis parks; map connections with surrounding neighborhoods; examine relationships to local watersheds and natural systems; and develop both a park typology and a typology for the most common facility needs, such as restrooms and seating. The second phase, scheduled to commence in the summer, will focus on developing a competition framework and a schedule of parks to be addressed.

Leave a Comment

Comments and respectful dialogue are encouraged, but content will be moderated. Please, no personal attacks, obscenity or profanity, selling of commercial products, or endorsements of political candidates or positions. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate comments. We also cannot address individual medical concerns or provide medical advice in this forum.