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Placemaking Project Part 5 - Reflections

Reflections Throughout this course we have discussed many characteristics of building sustainable places. The three E’s, in particular, economy, environment and equity (“What is Sustainability?”). The Washington Quad has a unique sustainable aspect that promotes its environment, the first E. Environment refers to “preserving and restoring the health of living systems.” The Washington Quad underwent environmental renovation in 2008. This renovation focused largely transforming the area into a place for residents’ relaxation and enjoyment while utilizing the space for environmental friendly improvements. In example, the renovation built the campus’ first storm water irrigation system in the Washington Quad. The sustainable UMD website notes a 10,000 gallon cistern collect water from the roofs of the surrounding buildings that is then distributed to a drip irrigation system to nearby plants. Additionally, this renovation added a lot of trees and plants to this area along with recyc
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Sustainable Placemaking Project Part 5 - Final Vision & Images, Video and Plan for Implementation

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Final Vision While the Washington Quad serves as a great example of community place-making here on campus, I believe that there can be so much more done with it to further develop its surrounding community. As I’ve written previously, I think that there are several things that could be done to make this area more communal and homely - a place where students choose to spend their leisure time in. This place is inherently serene and is surrounded by a lot of residents who do frequently spend their leisure time here. However, I think a further renovation could be done to further sustain the community that is  already present due to the surrounding residents. Clean Barbecue grill I envision renovations that improve the area both aesthetically and functionally so much that there is an increased frequency of surrounding residents who choose to spend their leisure time outside in the quad with their whole community rather than inside separated by their halls. First and foremos
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