Inclusive Park Design
Ottawa, Canada
Can a park welcome everyone while resisting displacement and privatization?
We led a rigorous research process to surface what truly makes inner-city parks inclusive and welcoming. We curated and analyzed precedents from urban sites, drawing lessons that respond directly to Plouffe Park’s context and aspirations. The final package equips community partners with a shared language, compelling imagery, and concrete strategies to guide design conversations and strengthen funding applications.
Method
Precedent Compendium: a curated library of design projects that translate the client’s vision into clear, actionable design direction.
Context
Plouffe Park sits at the meeting point of a brand new neighbourhood to the south and long-standing communities on the other sides. The vision is bold and simple: a living, breathing centre where an intergenerational demographic can move, linger, play, and feel at home.
What We Explored
Inner-City Density: how parks thrive amid tight footprints, tall edges, and busy streets, maximizing utility without sacrificing calm.
Thresholds + Boundaries: turning edges into invitations through clear nightlines, porous entries, and ‘soft’ perimeters that welcome rather than exclude.
Multi-Use Spaces: rooms within the park that flex from morning tai chi to afternoon play to evening gatherings; lightweight infrastructure, durable finishes, intuitive layouts.
Inter-Generational Design: comfort and dignity for seniors alongside playful, social, and active zones; seating networks, gentle grades, accessible routes, and universal amenities.
Superkilen (Denmark, 2012) relates to the human scale and has a sense of activity, complexity, and visual richness, making it a highly walkable experience. BIG Architects + Superflex.
Manhattan's High Line (New York, 2009) bridges together multiple neighbourhoods into a dynamic pedestrian experience. Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf.
The park at the Juzna Dolina residential development (Slovakia, 2017) is a valley between various housing typologies. Effekt Architects.
The transition from built form to urban park is mediated through scaled pedestrian spaces and soft thresholds in Vinge (Denmark, 2013). Effekt Architects.
The basketball court doubles as a skate park at Superkilen (Denmark, 2012). Big Architects + Superflex.
The sensory park at Toa Payoh (Singapore) features playgrounds for children, adults, and seniors.
The Blake-Hobbs Play-za (New York, 2016) brings critical social infrastructure to East Harlem, creating flexible space for intergenerational exchange. SCAPE Landscape Architects.
Why It Matters
In dense urban neighbourhoods, parks do more than fill a block. They stitch communities together. By centring seniors, making edges welcoming, and designing spaces that flex, Plouffe Park can become the everyday commons where new and long-time residents share space, care for one another, and thrive.
Project Type: Research and Precedent Study
Year: 2022
Client: Confidential community activist
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Services: Research; Precedent Studies; Community-facing presentation package to inspire design dialogue and support grant proposals.