Connection & Circulation

Photo Diary: shared city 
Rao Fu, Tianshi Guo

Hi, great. here is the Harbor Steps. 

Located in the central downtown Seattle, Harbor steps is the popular residential area. Many apartments and companies settle down around the area. Our group went to there at Sunday morning; it is not a typical busy time as weekdays. But we still see and feel a quiet urban “corner garden” in busy Seattle.
Boundaries and connections
There is no clear boundary to define the open space, except the steps. Besides the Seattle historical area, facing to the Pike Market Place, Harbor steps stands as a symbol of modern Seattle. We started the observation from the high points, took stairs all the way down to waterfront.
Circulation and sharing city
The steps itself is the main path networking with the other part of the city. all kinds of people walking through the steps with all the purposes.


The white collars views this steps as the relax space besides their working places.
Visitors come to the steps as a scenic point in Seattle. Residents living there view the steps as their home. Based on our observation, children like this steps because the falling water go along the steps. Mosaic material and lovely water sounds not only attract children to play within it, but also attract adults to enjoy the rhythm of the water.

According to our experience, The Harbor steps worked as an “escape-garden”. Along the change of the stairs, the view of city changes. Down to the stairs, close view of the ferry station and Waterfront Park, it seems you standing at the lower part of the downtown. However, when you climb up to the high point of the steps, it is totally different view and experience of the city.

Art in the Open

Our group focused on the topic of art and nature in the city, and for two different views, we looked at Gas Works Park and Olympic Sculpture Park. The concept of the shared city applies to these two sites in multiple ways. As open public spaces, they provide dedicated spaces for enjoying the outdoors, and they are both situated on waterfront locations that allow for picturesque views of the surrounding city. Unlike traditional parks that cater to recreational or sports activities, these parks give free access to art and seem more like outdoor museums that encourage contemplation, inspiring or challenging the visitor to reconsider how we interact with art and what counts as art. Both parks exemplify a generous ideal for public spaces, whether allowing a public space for the Seattle Art Museum to share some of their sculptural holdings with the public or transforming what was once a utilitarian space into an open space, redefining the idea of the public park in the process. While the newer, dynamically designed Olympic Sculpture Park displays its various sponsors and patronage in several locations throughout the park, as well as warning signs for restricted actions, Gas Works Park evokes a more natural and historical image.

Gas Works Park has blurry boundaries in terms of nature and art, combining characteristics of man-made and natural entities. As we entered the park, we saw a colorful playground, decayed pipes, sculpture and huge mound. Since Gas Works Park is surrounded by dense conifers, grass and other plants, we felt like we were in nature. That huge mound, though natural-looking, is artificial, with a constructed pathway and decorative sundial on the top. Looking at the whole view from the top of the mound, we noticed that the pipes act as a symbol of the park, sharing its identity and history. The colorful building offers a recreation space for children while providing shelter for the homeless and behind the building are picnic tables. Gas Works Park is a good place for families, couples, students, bicyclers, photographers, dogs, birds, and plants since it provides beautiful views and connects both artwork and visitors to nature.

By: Eyun Jennifer Kim & Michelle Kang

Park Communities

Looking at Discovery Park, located in the neighborhood of Magnolia, the idea of “city sharing” works with not only surrounding neighborhoods, but also living organisms. Discovery Park serves as a place for city-goers to escape the hustle and bustle of city life to relax in nature. Due to its dynamic incorporation of meadows, forest groves, bluffs, and tidal beaches; Discovery Park attracts many different types of wildlife, which is shared with the public patrons of Seattle. A more formal approach is taken to incorporate nature and public at Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle. The Seattle Art Museum wanted to create an urban beach that would not only attract peoples, but also change the quality of water to attract wildlife.


Westlake Park sits in the middle of downtown Seattle shopping district. A variety of uses compromise the concrete paved park. This area houses year-round art installations, the monorail station, retail stores, a fountain, community benches, and overall a lot of open land for the community within greater Seattle to congregate. The parks “sharing” success is most likely due to its central location within the city and the layout of the features within the space. Harbor Steps Park works as a set of stairs that connect the higher grade Seattle to the lower grade land. It is sandwiched between mixed-use buildings, offices, and apartments and thus the site context enforces the need to “share”. Occupants of this area usually gather on the steps’ landings that act as platforms for resting. Tables are temporary decorations that can be manipulated according to the usage of the shared space.

By Ann Tseng & Keri Woltz

Shared Spaces to Connect Spaces

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One challenge faced by landscape architects is how to connect green spaces within a city. This issue can be especially difficult in dense urban areas such as city centers, or for example, the area near the University of Washington in University District, Seattle. The greenway that connects Green Lake Park with Ravenna Park along NE Ravenna Boulevard is one such space that achieves this goal. Fredrick Law Olmsted designed the greenway in 1903 as part of the grand plan of Seattle's city parks. The thirty-plus foot green lawn that divides the roadway provides an aesthetically appealing connection for the two parks and has evolved over time to be an important space within the neighborhood.

Observations of the greenway on a chilly January day reveal that this is indeed a shared space even in the middle of winter. Drivers on the roadway, bikers, walkers, runners, area residents and business-owners all use it for different purposes. As such, the greenway is certainly an example of city sharing in Seattle. Business owners use the open space to place advertisements in plain sight of passers by. Runners have worn a path in the grass along the tree line from many years of use. The thirty-plus feet of green lawn is wide enough to play with dogs or pass a Frisbee between friends; and bikers, drivers and walkers all use the roadway as well. This greenway along with other shared spaces throughout the city help to create a flow of users from park to park; and therefore increase the functionality of the green spaces within the city as a whole.

By: Darcy Akers and Kenna Patrick

Flowing Cityscape

Flowing Cityscapes

Our group chose the Burke Gilman Trail to explore the idea of city sharing. On the day we walked the trail, it was overcast and bitterly cold. We started out at the corner of 15^th Ave and Pacific Street and walked to Gasworks Park. The trail offered different views, people’s activities, buildings, animals and vegetation all coalescing and intersecting along the sequence.

Generally the trail has blurry boundaries, fusing the natural environment and people, with an indistinct line between public and private land. The trail abuts apartment homes, street intersections, public art, views of the city and pocket parks. There was a portion of the trail where the boundary was not blurred, and compressed as we passed a construction site, and under a bridge next to the Wall of Death.

The trail also incorporates a multi-sensory experience. Overall the path offers beautiful views and a connection to the environment, which is both psychologically healing and visually pleasing. The site encourages people who are out exercising and experiencing the beauty that the city and the trail have to offer. The views of the city and green vegetation are relaxing. Everyone who passed the construction site shared the overwhelming acrid odor. People hear the noise of traffic passing under the bridge. The space compresses under a blanket in shadows, the art suggests a darker side to the sequence.

For us the Burke Gilman trail connects the diverse character of the city with the people in the city. At the end of our sequence, Gasworks Park stood as a landmark connecting the trail with culture, history, ecology and cityscape.

By: Gabriel Cash, Guanyi Gao, Zhehang Lin