Dr. Geoffrey Buckley
Dr. Geoffrey Buckley, Professor of Geography, co-authored an article on “The Greening of Baltimore’s Asphalt Schoolyards” in Geographical Review.
This research was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research Program (DEB-1027188). The researchers also received a Baker Award from Ohio University.
The American Geological Society published an interview with Buckley on the research and its implications.
American Geographical Society: What are the practical, day to day implications of your study?
Geoff Buckley: One of the great “sustainability” challenges cities in the U.S. face today is managing stormwater. Runoff from impermeable surfaces is linked to flash flooding, channel instability, water quality impairment, and damage to aquatic habitats. Asphalt surfaces also contribute to the urban heat island effect. Given the cost of “end-of-pipe” solutions, such as the construction of new water treatment facilities, city officials must consider cheaper options that deal with problems on-site. Rather than repair and repave decaying asphalt playgrounds, Baltimore has come up with a novel way to fund the removal of these impermeable surfaces. The benefits are social as well as environmental.
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American Geographical Society: What are two or three interesting findings that come from your study?
Geoff Buckley: 1) Ironically, it was the Women’s Civic League – an organization known for its efforts to beautify the city by planting trees and flowers – that lobbied strenuously (and successfully) for the paving of vacant lots so they could be used for playgrounds.
2) Restoration is expensive. It costs between $125,000 and $150,000 to remove an acre of asphalt and plant grass. Because cities like Baltimore do not have the financial wherewithal to support such an effort, proponents of schoolyard greening had to find funds elsewhere. New stormwater regulations, cooperation across government agencies and with private developers, and a creative “banking” scheme solved the problem.
Read the rest of the AGS interview with Buckley.
Abstract: Asphalt was becoming an integral part of the urban American landscape by the end of the nineteenth century. Not only was it emerging as the preferred alternative for street paving, its promoters were endorsing it for other purposes as well. Although Baltimore was not in the vanguard when it came to adopting asphalt for road surfaces, it soon followed the trend. Like other cities, it too found other applications for this versatile petroleum product, including the paving of playgrounds and schoolyards. Despite low maintenance costs, widespread use of asphalt as a recreational surface started to meet resistance in Baltimore during the 1960s. Fifty years later, stringent storm-water runoff requirements are causing city officials to rethink how they deploy asphalt in an urban setting. In an effort to meet these new requirements, while at the same time improve recreational opportunities for school children, an alliance of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private developers has developed a strategy to remove asphalt from schoolyards—one that may serve as a model for other cities facing financial and sustainability challenges similar to those of Baltimore.
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