Last updated: October 2024
The Republic Services Garden is a one-acre garden created and located in Hance Park, a large urban park located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. As part of the larger revitalization of the park, the garden was created to showcase native desert plants, recycled materials, and shaded seating, serving as a model for eco-friendly urban landscaping. Its key goals are to enhance the park's appeal, create a welcoming community space, and demonstrate the potential of sustainable design in cities. By blending nature with urban infrastructure, the garden helps mitigate the urban heat island effect, addresses water scarcity, and supports habitat restoration. The project is a collaboration between the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, with financial backing from Republic Services, the second-largest waste disposal company in the U.S. (Refs. 1, 5, 7, 12, 15).
Downtown Phoenix's Margaret T. Hance Park is receiving a major addition this summer thanks to a sponsorship from Republic Services, Inc.
City of Phoenix
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Environmental quality
- Soil quality improvement
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social justice and equity
- Social interaction
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Drought
- Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
- Environmental Degradation
- Biodiversity loss
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
- Poor community engagement
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of any other green urban spaces, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Maintenance or upgrade of exisiting green spaces (e.g. parks), Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Remediation activities of sites with very poor environmental quality
Project objectives
To demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of sustainable landscaping in an arid climate through the use of native plants known to thrive in desert climates with low-water usage by addressing biodiversity loss and building a A one-acre sustainable oasis featuring 33 species of native desert plants
To address climate change challenges such as the urban heat island effect and desertification by creating a microclimate consisting of several shade structures and shrubs
To create a public space that improves the quality of life for residents and visitors to Phoenix and address the lack of green spaces in the city
To promote community well being as the garden aims to offer a place for relaxation, recreation, and social interaction, contributing to the overall well-being of the community (8, 10, 13, 14, 15)
Implementation activities
To realize the objectives and targets the project involved:
-Funding acquisition: Securing a $2 million sponsorship from Republic Services, Inc. to finance the project (8).
-Project planning and design: Developing a plan for a sustainable oasis featuring native desert plants and shaded areas (8).
-Plant selection and procurement: Choosing native desert plant species suitable for the Phoenix climate and acquiring the necessary plants (14, 15).
-Garden construction: Installing irrigation systems, pathways, seating areas, and other infrastructure (13, 14, 15).
-Plant installation: Planting more than 30 desert plants, almost 60 trees, and 4,000 plants and various shrubbery – known to thrive in desert climates with low-water usage
Recycled steel canopies along seating areas were erected, and walking paths and energy-efficient LED security lighting installed to ensure safe daily usage for all (15)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
- Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
Yes
Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities
Urban heat islands
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore valued species
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
- Marginalized groups: Children, young people or youth groups , Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed), Disadvantaged ethnic or racial groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Private sector/corporate actor/company
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
- Dissemination of information and education
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Government Actors: The City of Phoenix and Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department were responsible for the management and overall project oversight (8, 10, 13, 14, 15).
Non-Government Actors: Republic Services (waste disposal utility company) is part of the private sector and is the primary financial sponsor of the park, Phoenix Community Alliance is an NGO that played a crucial role in fundraising, community engagement, and project management, and The Hance Park Conservancy which is a non-profit dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of Hance Park, serving as a partner in the revitalization project (8, 13, 14, 15).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
( Hance Park Master Plan adopted by the City of Phoenix in 2014 & Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative Program (3PI) (9, 10). )
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships), Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
€2,000,000 - €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Corporate investment
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Expected enhanced support of pollination
Economic impacts
- More sustainable tourism
- Expected more sustainable tourism
- Stimulate development in deprived areas
- Expected stimulate development in deprived areas
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Expected improved social cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Expected improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Health and wellbeing
- Improved physical health
- Expected improved physical health
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Expected improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Safety
- Increased perception of safety
- Expected increased perception of safety
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
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.
City of Phoenix (n.d.). Hance Park . [Source link];
2.
Barney, C. (2024). Margaret T. Hance Park - The search for the soul of Phoenix. Salt River Stories, [Source link];
3.
Boehm, J. (n.d.). Hance Park could be Phoenix's equivalent of Central Park, advocates say. Is the money there?. azcentral. , [Source link];
4.
City of Phoenix (n.d.). Hance Park Revitalization Project Updates. Phoenix: [Source link];
5.
City of Phoenix (n.d.). Site Plan. [Source link];
6.
City of Phoenix (2022). Hance Park Newsletter - March 2022 . [Source link];
7.
Hance Park Conservancy (n.d.). THE PARK OF THE FUTURE. [Source link];
8.
City of Phoenix (2022). Community Garden Oasis to be Built from $2 Million Republic Services Sponsorship. [Source link];
9.
DPJ Staff (2015). Wire | Hance Park Redesign Plans Move Forward. DPJ, [Source link];
10.
City of Phoenix (2016). Hance Park Masterplan . Phoenix : [Source link];
11.
Maricopa Association of Governments (2022). Selected Block Groups Demographic Report. [Source link];
12.
The Nature Conservancy (2024 ). Addressing Heat and Air Quality in Phoenix Equitably building cool, healthy and climate-resilient cities.. [Source link];
13.
Republic Services (2023). City and Community Leaders Unveil the Republic Services Sustainable Garden in Downtown Phoenix. [Source link];
14.
Costello, T. (2022). Hance Park Revitalization Project: Republic Services Funds $2M Garden. [Source link];
15.
Downtown Phoenix Inc. (2023). One-of-a-Kind Community Garden Unveiled at Margaret T. Hance Park. [Source link];
Park view
https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2022/04/28/republic-services-gives-2-million-to-hance-park.html
ans of Super Bowl LVII, visitors and Phoenix residents will be able to enjoy the garden, the latest component of the Hance Park Revitalization Project.
City of Phoenix
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.