Design Concepts Unveils ‘One Million Served’ Study in Celebration of GO Day 2015
Lafayette, Colorado . . . June 10, 2015 - Design Concepts, an advocate for all things outdoors, and supporter of 2015 National Get Outdoors Day on Saturday, June 13, 2015, unveils a new study using the firm’s unique GIS capabilities.
Using census data from ESRI and advanced GIS capabilities, the firm’s team of planners and GIS technicians looked at 118 park locations, designed by the firm, and found the following:
- 303,174 people live within a 15-minute walk to a park designed by the firm
- 1,264,323 potential users live within 1 mile of a park designed by the firm
That means 303,174 people can walk out their door and within 15 minutes they can enjoy fresh air, exercise, and interaction with their neighbors at a park that Design Concepts had a hand in providing. “That’s a statistic the firm is profoundly proud to share,” states Robby Layton, FASLA, PLA, CPRP, co-founder of the firm, and Ph.D. candidate adjunct professor at the College of Design at North Carolina State University.
“We’re honored to work with clients who appreciate the physical and aesthetic value of parks as places of recreation, active living, natural settings, gathering spaces, and visual assets in our neighborhoods and cities. It’s a compelling time to understand the extent of parks projects we have completed over the firm’s 34 year history as we advocate and celebrate this year’s GO Day,” said firm president Carol Henry.
New Parks Projects
While the firm completed over 118 park projects at the time of the study, there are a variety of forward-thinking park design projects just completed and currently on the boards including:
- Ballfield Complex Feasibility Study and Meeker Town Park, Meeker, CO
- Bellevue Downtown Park Inspiration Playground, Bellevue, Washington
- City of Pueblo’s El Centro Del Quinto Sol Park and Trails Project – Park Redevelopment, Pueblo, CO
- Highline Lake and Stagecoach State Parks Redevelopment Plans for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado’s Western Slope
- Level of Service Assessment Study (in partnership with GreenPlay, LLC), Plainfield, IL
- Meadow Crest Playground, Renton, WA
- Parks and Recreation Master Plan (in partnership with GreenPlay, LLC), Meridian, ID
- Recreation Facilities Feasibility Study (in partnership with GreenPlay, LLC), Loveland, CO
- Town of Windsor Legacy Plan Update (in partnership with GreenPlay, LLC), Windsor, CO
- Widefield School District – Community Center Parks, Recreation, Facilities & Trails Master Plan (in partnership with GreenPlay, LLC), Colorado Springs, CO
About National Get Outdoors Day
National Get Outdoors Day is an annual event to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun. Prime goals of the day are reaching first-time visitors to public lands and reconnecting youth to the great outdoors. The pilot effort of National Get Outdoors Day (GO Day) was launched on June 14, 2008 and has grown every year. GO Day is an outgrowth of the Get Outdoors USA! campaign, which encourages Americans, especially our youth, to seek out healthy, active outdoor lives and embrace parks, forests, refuges and other public lands and waters. Building on the success of More Kids in the Woods and other important efforts to connect Americans – and especially children – with nature and active lifestyles, the USDA Forest Service (FS) and the American Recreation Coalition (ARC) led an inclusive, nationwide effort focusing on a single day when people would be inspired and motivated to get outdoors.
About Design Concepts
Founded in 1981, Design Concepts is in its third decade providing thoughtful, innovative and dynamic designs for public and private spaces. Design Concepts is nationally recognized as a leader in creating and re-imagining spaces that embrace community gathering, recreation and play, connections to nature, and a focus on the environment. They continue to innovate healthy learning landscapes, and entertaining outdoor community places from shopping centers, to Main Street, to new parklands. The firm’s current work includes a variety of learning landscapes, destination parks, projects plugging ‘nature into play,’ inclusive playgrounds, new recreation amenities, and planning for communities.
