East Side Park, located in Birmingham, AL, is a 6.5-acre planned civic space with the highest aspirations for inclusive design thinking to guide the planning, engagement, programming, and design of the park. Led by Hoerr Schaudt and managed by the Jefferson County Greenways and Ruffner Mountain Nature Coalition, the park aims to connect people of all abilities to nature and ecology, play, and sensory engagement.
While construction of the park is not yet underway, the team has created a truly unique park space. Throughout the next five weeks, we’re going to take you through some of the special ways that the team was able to transform a once dilapidated space into one of the most inclusive and accessible parks in the country.
In 2024, Hoerr Schaudt began working on the new vision of the park, guided by the expertise of the Jefferson County Greenways Coalition. Alongside the coalition, the team began the work of synthesizing all of the hope and concern regarding the park, starting first by engaging 10 local non-profits with the intention of incorporating as much of their feedback as possible. Hoerr Schaudt enlisted the help of long-time collaborator Ingrid Kanics of Kanics Inclusive Design Services, to assist on the inclusive design of the park and engaging local community stakeholders through the community engagement process.
The rest of the team was chosen for their unique expertise and proximity to Birmingham, AL. Local firm Thompson Engineering brought their civil engineering experience and helped conduct site surveys and cost estimation. Local architecture firm ArchitectureWorks were enlisted to design any built structures in the park. Studio Ummo, a woman-owned, multidisciplinary branding studio, were selected to create the park’s signage and wayfinding.
