NOPS Team (clockwise from bottom left): Sarah Duckett, Laura Krok-Horton, Olivia Daddi, Flora Weil
2016-2017: In collaboration with the Northampton Office of Planning and Sustainability (NOPS), this student team focused on the siting, design, and evaluation of municipal parklets for the city of Northampton, as part of a local Pavement to Parks initiative. The project was a partnership between Engineering and Landscape Studies and was supported by a grant from Smith’s Design Thinking Initiative.
The team focused on the modification and transformation of a recently purchased parklet platform, manufactured by Dero, into a modular mobile parklet for Northampton. After reviewing existing parklet practices and defining key requirements, the team generated multiple parklet concepts, gathered feedback through a public exhibit, and selected and refined their recommended solution. The team’s final design included the fabrication and testing of custom-made wheels, a compilation of themed layout designs and modular furniture, and an interactive map of selected locations.
The team delivered their designs and documentation to their NOPS liaisons to inform future developments in Northampton’s Pavement to Parks initiative.