User:Calabrese.Andrew/sandbox

Testing paragraph, Article that i'm going to edit: Landscape Planning nesting birds need to build nests

History
Designed in 1957 by Robert Royston the square is a rooftop park located on the top level of a parking garage in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood. At the time, rooftop gardens were promoted in the city by real estate developers as a means to maximize build able areas, and were most often sited on two‐story, above‐ground parking structures. being one of the first below ground parking structures, the rooftop garden was put into the designs as an afterthought. the current existing park was redesigned from the historic park that occupied the space prior to the implementation of the underground parking.

Design
Royston's design used a system of grids and multiple tones of concrete to draw attention from the geometry of the space, imposed on it by the virtue of being above a parking garage. by implementing low seat walls and the curved nature of the planting beds, he divided up the pedestrian spaces, generating a feeling of nature within the space. The park has access to the street via a wide concrete staircase on one end and an at-grade entrance at the other. An existing row of poplar trees was retained as backdrop for the park, and a sculpture of Sun Yat-Sen by local artist Benny Bufano provides a focal point for the space. The park also includes a playground and refreshment stand.

Prominent Features
A gingko biloba tree planted in March 2017 honors Chinatown activist Rose Pak.

St. Mary's Square includes the former location of the Kong Chow Temple.

The “Women’s Column of Strength”
A privately funded statue that was placed in 2017 after being approved by the Board of Supervisors. The memorial is controversial as the sculpture honors the comfort women who were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied territories before and during World War II. The mayor of Osaka, Japan stated he would sever the sister-city relationship with San Francisco as "the relationship of trust has completely been destroyed".

The statue of Sun Yat-sen by Beniamino Bufano.
This 12 foot statutue stand in St. Mary's Square and is inscribed: Dr. Sun Yat Sen 1866-1925 Father of the Chinese Republic and First President Founder of the Kuo Min Tang Champion of Democracy Lover of mankind: Proponent of friendship and peace among the nations, based on equality, justice and goodwill

A dedication to the Americans of Chinese ancestry who gave their lives for America in World Wars I and II.
"We Salute these Americans of Chinese Ancestry who gave their lives for America in World Wars I and II"

Impacts & Implications
Results of proper implementations of landscape planning practices are not only limited to more functional landscapes. It can also influence for the better many aspects of the environment and community in which it is used to its potential. While the chief purpose of landscape planning is for ecological reasons it can impact so much more when used effectively as a tool.

Ecology
Landscape planning is mainly used for ecological purposes and functions best when the result of the planning process is the least amount of interruption of ecological factors from before the implementation ever went into place. In this practice landscape planning can be used to not only maintain the status of the existing environment, but also can be used to improve aspects of previously under performing ecosystems, for example, designing to increase biodiversity. For example Landscape planning could be used to create additional habitat for endangered species, and reclamation of previously used or depleted lands (e.g. old agricultural spaces) for expansion of natural ecosystems. This also includes planning in order to reduce the impact of the changes to the environment. with proper landscape planning, a greater speed of recovery for the ecosystems of interrupted spaces is achievable.

Health
similar to the impacts of healing gardens, the positive healing effects of proper implementations of planned landscapes are of great benefit. When people are exposed to nature, they would find that their overall mood had improved and that they recover from stress and illness at an accelerated rate. With the proper use of landscape planning, health within an urban leaning environment in regards to stress and recovery can be greatly improved above the unplanned alternative. When landscape planning is used to properly conserve ecological systems that may have been displaced, it makes it so recreational use of the environment is maintained while conserving the systems for people to enjoy.

Use of other technologies in context
The development of GIS technology such as those developed by ESRI, have great import to the practice of Landscape planning. Use of assisting technology allows for the conditions and factors existing in a landscape to be easily aggregated and analyzed. Through the use of GIS technology you are able to answer many of the questions about a landscape that is in question. such as, "how functional is this landscape?" or "to what extent do the factors outside of the site affect the planning that needs to be done?" The use of technology that is developing with greater and greater accuracy has the ability to make sustainable developments easier and more common across the globe.