pond on the side of a road with a wooden dock
Landscape Typology & Open Space Management Planning
November 4, 2019
aerial rendering showing a wetland with lakes and a park
Woodbridge Waterfront Park Restoration
October 28, 2019

Quick Facts:

  • Total Acres Assessed: 4,095 acres
  • Total Parks Assessed: 59
  • Key Services: Landscape Typology, Management Planning

Project Summary:

Great Ecology was contracted by Denver Parks & Recreation (DPR) to develop a system to delineate different landscape types for the purpose of asset tracking and management. DPR wanted to understand the total acreage, landscape attributes, and maintenance costs of different landscape types on DPR properties to help inform management and restoration priorities. The system that Great Ecology helped develop covers a spectrum of landscape types from hardscaped anthropocentric areas to bluegrass lawns to natural plant communities. Great Ecology focused on the natural area side of the spectrum, which is not currently specified by DPR Planning, Design, and Construction Standards. The process begins with mapping the different landscape types at a 0.25-acre scale from aerial imagery. Each landscape type is then field-verified and site-specific information is collected to help inform DPR management of the plant community composition, ecological condition, and user experience.

Great Ecology developed a management manual to help inform Parks personnel of specific management techniques to best manage different landscape types, as well as fact sheets based on landscape type that will be used to help the public better understand natural systems and the benefits they provide. These fact sheets include cross-sections of various landscape types.

Denver, CO