[RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENT]

Public Spaces | Public Life
The GFL is working with Gehl Architects to develop pedestrian plans and recommendations for several Seattle districts. Each year, students from the Lab are trained by Gehl Architects to collect data on existing pedestrian use of public open space, and work with the firm to develop design solutions to enhance urban pedestrian environments.

Waterfront Stormwater Solutions
The GFL is proposing collaborative research and design projects designed to develop holistic solutions to filter, clean, and recycle stormwater in the urban environment, with an initial focus on the central waterfront area.

Green Roof Performance Studies
In partnership with Snyder Roofing of Washington, LLC, the Green Futures Lab from the University of Washington and its associates are in the beginning stages of a long-term study being developed to examine effectiveness of four (4) vendor-prescribed green (garden) roof systems. The initial phase of this study will establish a baseline for their ability to reduce, detain, and clean storm water runoff, determining their effect on temperatures associated with urban heat island effects, the long-term durability of green (garden) roof materials and their required maintenance. A fifth experimental plot will use a growing media and plant palette reflecting Puget Sound | Georgia Basin PS|GB native conditions that will be hydrologically and biologically compared with the four commercial plots. The findings and methodology developed in this project will be used to create a green (garden) roof performance evaluation protocol tailored to the PS|GB region, as well as a standardized evaluation process for comparative analysis. In future projects, this evaluation process will be applied to other regions and climatic settings, furthering contemporary discourse on available green (garden) roof technologies.
check out the project webpage, Establishing Green Roof Performance

Measuring Values of Green Infrastructure
Through studios and scholarly research the GFL will assess values of urban green infrastructure, including cost-benefits and best practices in other cities. One current direction is development of a tool to measure the contribution of green infrastructure to protect climate and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Green Infrastructure Consulting Team
The GFL can provide design phase evaluation and advice on green infrastructure and urban design projects for the UW and region, and is seeking capacity-building funding to provide assistance to local communities.

Seattle Green Guide
In collaboration with the Integrated Design Lab the GFL is seeking funding to develop a user-friendly guide to sustainable, high performance architecture, infrastructure, and landscapes in Seattle.

Plotting P-Patch Potential
Students from the Department of Geography and Professor Sarah Elwood worked together with the Green Futures Lab to develop this research as capstone to their GIS (Geographic Information Systems) curriculum. This research is an effort to identify and map existing pea patches, feasible public sites for future pea patches in the city of Seattle, and to analyze the current demographics of the population surrounding existing pea patches.

Linking Open Space and Housing Affordability: Strategies and Funding Mechanisms
In alliance with the UW Evans School of Public Policy, this research documents the literature examining relationships between open space and property values, anticipates typical revenues generated through open space acquisition and development, and presents mechanisms for allying funding mechanisms with provision of affordable housing. Although the report focuses on Seattle it also contains valuable information for all metropolitan regions.

Open Space System Case Studies
Case studies illustrating open space systems from the US and abroad. developed by students as part of the Open Space Seattle 2100 project.

Open Space Typologies
Typology studies include urban parks, public art, play areas, urban plazas, green structures, gardens, waterfronts, institutional spaces, streets and trails and other types of urban open space systems.

Open Space Implementation Mechanisms
Select mechanisms are briefly described such as legislation, public financing, private funding, public/private strategies, economic incentives, and institutional structures for green networks.

Student Research
Research addresses questions related to open space planning for the Pacific Northwest such as climate change, urban agriculture, forestry, impacts to public health, transportation, population scenarios, urban ecosystems, earthquake impacts, interactions of cultural groups, and the role of schools in developing green networks.