Concrete abatement is the gorilla in the room. Only it weighs a lot more than 800 lbs. Environmental organizations encourage concrete abatement with urban greening initatives; it will help with runoff, which helps with water quality in watersheds. Serious amounts of overgrown, cracked and hazardous concrete surface the Bethel Street lot, each small in scale but cumulatively problematic. Parking pads, curbs, garden pathways, sidewalks, fenceposts, all held together in a wretched maze of crumbling masonry. Demo work began Saturday with the awesome (and I don't use that lightly) muscle and enthusiasm particular to Marines, Army Rangers and their friends. Operation Oliver showed up with pickaxes, sledges, demo hammers and more and made an impressive impact on the issue. We've got a lot more to clear, but its a start.
In order to further the goals of creating a playscape for local kids, "greening" the adopted lot and engaging in sustainable and responsible space development, we opted to use the rubble as the filler for a large, crescent shaped landform, (inspired by Space2Place's Terrain For Play guide).