natural Infrastructure

Natural infrastructure is our nature-powered life support system.  It is nature made visible and functional in all environments.  Natural infrastructure extends from city gardens to rural agricultural lands, urban tree canopy to forest preserves, urban bio-swales to dynamic river systems.  Nature’s working systems—water, air, plants, and soils—support life, promote health, and shape culture.  With communities looking to new ways to partner with nature, engaging nature’s processes in design is at the heart of sustainability.  The vitality of our communities depends on how well we bring together our human and natural systems.     

Practice Areas

Parks
Greenways
Community revitalization
Place-based restoration
Rural and wild places

Mercer Slough Nature Park

Bellevue, Washington
City of Bellevue, Department of Parks and Recreation

Within view of high-rise office towers, the Mercer Slough Nature Park is home to more than 100 bird species and several dozen mammal species. more

Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area

Cedar Falls, Washington

Seattle Water Department: Watersheds and Environmental Services

Located on the edge of the 90,000-acre Cedar River Watershed preserve, Rattlesnake Lake is the primary public recreation area provided by Seattle’s water utility. more

Paynes Prairie Preserve

Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville Regional Utilities and the City of Gainesville

A constructed wetland is being installed to treat wastewater and to help restore a wet prairie within this 21,000-acre prairie preserve at the southern edge of Gainesville, Florida. more

Washington Parks Sound-Friendly Vision Plan

Des Moines, Belfair, and Coupeville, Washington
Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission

Burgeoning development around the Puget Sound has put a strain on the estuary’s ecosystems and habitats. As part of the Governor’s Puget Sound Initiative, state parks were identified as ideal places to showcase how to care for the Sound.  more

Denver Commons Park

Denver, Colorado
City of Denver, Department of Parks

Denver Commons Park is the centerpiece of Denver’s riverfront park system, and a key link in a 10.5-mile river greenway. more

Cedar Lake Park and Trail

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

This non-motorized commuter parkway and prairie restoration along a converted rail line links residential neighborhoods with the heart of downtown Minneapolis and the Mississippi waterfront. more

Jefferson Memorial Forest

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government

This nature preserve on the southern fringe of greater metropolitan Louisville encompasses one of the largest urban forests in the United States. Jones & Jones prepared a comprehensive master plan to guide the forest's future improvements and stewardship.more

Cesar Chavez Park

Seattle, Washington

Sea-Mar Community Health Center

Located in the heart of South Park, a predominately Hispanic neighborhood, Cesar Chavez Park is dedicated to its namesake -a champion of human rights and environmental justice. more

Lake Forest Park—The Legacy 100-Year Vision

Lake Forest Park, Washington
City of Lake Forest Park

Natural infrastructure is the foundation of this 100-year vision for the city’s parks and open space. It is the first municipal "green infrastructure" plan in Washington State.  more

Ice Age Floods Interpretive Plan

Columbia River Basin and the Willamette Valley

National Park Service and the United States Congress

The Ice Age Floods Interpretive Plan explored several approaches to telling the story of the cataclysmic floods that formed much of the Pacific Northwest as we know it today. more

Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park

Renton, Washington

City of Renton Parks Division

This popular legacy waterfront park reclaims a mile-long stretch of industry-degraded shoreline at the south end of Lake Washington for nature and public enjoyment. more

Newcastle Beach Park

Bellevue, Washington

City of Bellevue Parks and Recreation Department

This popular beach park was created on one of the last undeveloped stretches of Bellevue’s Lake Washington shoreline. An elegant and rhythmic design blends public recreation areas within preserved and restored natural shoreline and uplands. more