Last updated: October 2024
A new park is being planned for the Cypress Shores area in Mobile (Ref 1). Five civil engineering students from the University of South Alabama contributed to the design of the park (Ref 1). This collaboration offers students practical experience while providing city designers with innovative ideas for the site (Ref 2). The design emphasizes sustainability and cost-effectiveness (Ref 3). The project will feature a small park and boat launch on a 5.6-acre plot (Ref 1) located within a residential neighbourhood (Ref 3). The park's societal goal is to improve public access to Halls Mill Creek, giving the community a new way to enjoy the waterway, and this focus aligns with the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) goals (Ref 3). Historically, the property was used as a shipyard with a nearby railroad crossing (Ref 1), marking its transition from an industrial site to a public park. Several amenities have been identified for the park’s development, including a boat ramp and kayak launch, a boardwalk adapted to sea-level rise, a pavilion and gazebo designed for flood resilience, a wetland nature trail with solar lighting and educational signage, and composting toilet restroom facilities (Ref 3). An armoured shoreline will be implemented to withstand medium water currents, and wave action will be constructed. Additionally, a living shoreline will be restored with local plants (Ref 3). While the project is still in its preliminary design phase, the timeline for completion is estimated at 12 to 18 months (Ref 1). The designers highlighted a potential trade-off, noting that an influx of visitors to the park could disturb the surrounding residential area (Ref 3).
Cypress Shores City Park Final Design
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1b5hx7CCL2zHv7oCacG4U3yY3m3scNb2tVE32dMoQHFI/edit#slide=id.g2cda493b165_2_0 accessed on 11/09/2024
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Coastlines
- Coastal wetland, mangroves and salt marshes
- Green areas for water management
- Sustainable urban drainage systems
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- Coastal defences / dikes
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
- Coastal protection / hazard mitigation
- Marine and coastal biodiversity protection
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Conversion of former industrial areas
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Flood protection
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Coastal flooding
- Urban flooding (stormwater)
- Sea level rise
- Other
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of any other green urban spaces, Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, Restoration of riparian vegetation, Coastal landscape management or protection, Coastal ecosystems restoration and maintenance (mangroves, dunes, saltplains, underwater meadows), Improving coastal resilience, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Restoration and protection of ecosystems (including water ecosystems), Protection of natural ecosystems, Protecton and enhancement of wetlands (other types than peatlands and mangroves, e.g. seagrass), Habitat restoration, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Post-industrial site regeneration
Project objectives
1. Enhancing public access to Halls Mill Creek by creating a dedicated access point for the local community to engage with the waterway (Ref 3).
2. Reclaiming and repurposing the former industrial site, transitioning from a shipyard to a public space that serves recreational and social needs (Ref 1).
3. Address sea-level rise and flood resilience by incorporating adaptive designs that can withstand environmental challenges, such as flood-resistant structures and armoured shoreline solutions (Ref 3).
4. Creating a community gathering space, with facilities like a pavilion and gazebo that encourage social interaction (Ref 3).
5. Promoting educational and recreational opportunities through features like a wetland nature trail and educational signage (Ref 3).
6. Restoring living shoreline by planting local species (Ref 3)
Implementation activities
1. Designing a boat ramp and kayak launch adapted to sea-level rise (Ref 3).
2. Constructing a boardwalk adapted to rising sea levels (Ref 3).
3. Building a pavilion and gazebo for social gatherings with designs that consider flood resilience (Ref 3).
4. Creating a wetland nature trail, equipped with solar lighting and educational signage (Ref 3).
5. Developing a parking lot and restroom facilities, including composting toilets (Ref 3).
6. Implementing an armoured shoreline design to withstand medium water currents and wave action (Ref 3).
7. Restoring a living shoreline using plant species like western wheatgrass, red canary grass, and switchgrass (Ref 3).
8. Addressing access improvements by working around challenges such as a railroad crossing to ensure better park accessibility (Ref 1).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Protect and restore coastal ecosystems, to address loss of land and livelihoods, due to rising sea levels
- Implement sustainable urban drainage schemes to manage stormwater
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
Yes
Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities
Coastal communities
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore native species
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Researchers/university
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
- Students in civil engineering from the University of South Alabama designed the project (Ref 1)
- The city of Mobile will implement the project (Ref 2)
- Funds come from GOMESA (Ref 2) (Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act): A portion of the revenue generated from oil and gas production offshore in the Gulf of Mexico is directed to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (national government)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)
Financing
Total cost
Less than €10,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public national budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Increased protection against sea level rise
- Expected increased protection against sea level rise
- Storm / wave induced erosion and flooding
- Expected storm / wave induced erosion and flooding
- Water management and blue areas
- Increased protection against flooding
- Expected increased protection against flooding
- Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Expected enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Expected increased green space area
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Expected increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Increased number of species present
- Expected increased number of species present
- Restoration of derelict areas
- Expected restoration of derelict areas
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Expected improved access to urban green space
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Expected improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Spears, A. (2024). South Alabama students worked with City of Mobile to design new Cypress Shores Park. Mobile, Al: NBC News 15, p. 1-3 Accessed on September 11, 0202, [Source link];
2.
Petri, C. (2024). USA Students help shape new park. Mobile, Al: WKRG news 5, p. 1-2 Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Blackmon, S., Kervin Jr., T., Kimrey, C., Moore, K., Pruden, K. (n.d.). Cypress Shores City Park Final Design. Mobile, Al: Jaguar Engineering, p. 1-42 Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
4.
City-Data.com (2021). Demographics Cypress Shore Mobile- City-Data.com. Mobile, Al: City-Data.com, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.