Crafting Edmonston: A Comprehensive Design for a Safer, Healthier, Resilient and More Sustainable Community

Abstract

This studio, led by faculty and students from the University of Maryland’s Department of Landscape Architecture and supported by the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), partnered with the Town of Edmonston to explore opportunities for transformative change. The project examined the town’s landscape and human infrastructure to identify strategies that advance resilience, livability, and equity. Community engagement was central to the process. Through participatory listening and co-creation activities, students worked closely with residents to inform both strategic recommendations and site-specific designs. The first phase produced a compendium documenting community assets, challenges, and aspirations. The second phase developed design proposals for key sites—including a new park, pocket parks, streetscapes, and green/blue infrastructure corridors—each evaluated for impacts on stormwater management, climate adaptation, energy efficiency, economic vitality, and environmental justice, in alignment with Edmonston’s sustainability goals.