The Underline:  Innovative approaches to linear park planning and landscape architecture

Since its founding, Friends of The Underline has been committed to transforming underutilized land below Miami’s Metrorail—from the Miami River to Dadeland South Station—into a 10-mile linear park, urban trail and public art destination. The third phase, now under way, will encompass some of The Underline’s most innovative and ambitious design elements, including bioretention ponds and bioswales designed to collect and filter rainwater runoff in a garden setting and the Miyawaki method for urban afforestation.  Friends of The Underline Chief Operating Officer Patrice Gillespie Smith discusses the evolution of the public-private partnership to convert unused urban land into a major community asset, and Isabel Castilla, ASLA, and Alejandro Vazquez, ASLA, of James Corner Field Operations focus on innovative planting strategies, including the incorporation of micro-forests and bioswales in the landscape architecture.  The session concludes with questions and answers.