Grounded GSI: Marshall-Shadeland

Community Context

Providence Connections, Inc. is a community support center that functions to strengthen families and enrich lives through comprehensive education and developmental opportunities for parents and children on Pittsburgh’s North Side. As a family and youth-oriented neighborhood landmark in one of our target communities for green stormwater infrastructure, partnering with Providence Connections meant re-framing the GSI message for younger ears. Grounded Strategies hosted an adult design charrette as well as a charrette with students to identify how green stormwater management could come to life on campus in a fun and interesting way.

Project Overview

Until now, the green space in front of Providence Connections has been utilized primarily for Providence Connections programming. Following our design charrettes, Providence Connections staff and families created a plan calling for the construction of a pathway, a planted rain swale, and seating to welcome passersby from the adjacent bus stop into the space. Stormwater management amenities include the excavation and planting of a linear rain garden fronting Brighton Rd. and tree planting. The excavated swale was backfilled with a sand-gravel mixture to retain stormwater and slowly release it into the ground below. The extra fill from the excavation was used to create a seating area around a newly installed educational gnome home feature.

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