UdallParkCoolerFuture

PROJECT NARRATIVE

The design directive of this re-envisionment is to create more shaded areas that will continue to grow more shaded and cool as time progresses and our climate increases.

Keeping Udall Park cool while also catering to the needs and wants of the park users is an important piece to my initiative.

This design emphasizes the importance of adaptation and call-to-action when it comes to the imminent hotter climates. This space is built off of adding (mostly) native vegetation that will contribute to shadier areas as time wisps by, creating a cooler park for future generations.

Creating cooler microclimates by using shade, vegetation, and limited amounts of water is an important component of combating the effects of imminent climate change.

Eman Tamimi
LAR301
emant@arizona.edu

INSPIRATION

CLIMATE CHANGE AND TUCSON

The earth is getting hotter.

This is a fact every human should know that is backed up by mountain loads of data showcasing how each year we are reaching record breaking temperatures in our climate.

Tucson is a desert, which means that we already have very high temperatures to begin with, with our highest temperature recorded being 118 degrees fahrenheit in 1990. But as our planet’s climate has been rising more than three times as fast since 1982, and 2024 was our planet’s warmest year since global records began in 1850, we must adapt (Dahlman).

We as individuals must do as much as we can to combat climate change while also adapting to the hotter weather that will most likely greet us in the future.

The graphs below demonstrate the change in Tucson’s climate throughout the months of 1980 and 2020 (”Tucson”). Temperatures have increased and appear to stay high throughout more of the year in 2024, with more heat anomalies.

1980

2020

The peak temperature in 1980 was 105 degrees fahrenheit compared to the peak temperature in 2020 which was 115 degrees fahrenheit.

Parti

As time progresses, temperatures will rise. But cooler microlimates will be created in the park to combat this, primarily through the use of trees.

Dahlman, Rebecca Lindsey AND LuAnn. “Climate Change: Global Temperature.” NOAA Climate.Gov, 29 May 2025, www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature.

“Tucson Climate, Weather by Month (Arizona, United States).” Weather Spark, weatherspark.com/y/2857/Average-Weather-in-Tucson-Arizona-United-States-Year-Round. Accessed 7 Dec. 2025.

UDALL PARK - REVISITED - A COOLER FUTURE

Keeping Tucson cool as time wisps by.

Site Inventory / Analysis

Site Photos taken by Eman T

Udall Park is located on the east side of Tucson on North Sabino Canyon Road and East Tanque Verde Road.

1- There are several soccer fields that don’t seem to be used very much.

2- The overflow parking is very run down. This area could be fixed and expanded to create more parking for any amenities I decide to add.

3- This is small cholla forest. It would be a good idea to keep this area left alone as the native vegetation is an important part of Tucson.

4-There are slight dirt paths that go into the empty space south of the park. This is good grounds to create a hiking/walking trail. Many park users expressed how they’d appreciate one so it would be a good idea to implement one.

5- South of the park is very empty. This is a good area to design many new amenities that park users have expressed they’d appreciate such as a skate park, basketball court, and walking path.

6- There is lots of sun hitting this park, and there are not many areas of shade. The shade trees aren’t giving much shade for the existing gathering areas. Creating more shaded areas using vegetation that grows and creates more shade as time passes would be beneficial. I’d also consider more ramadas/shade structures.

7- There are a lot of small plants everywhere but not many areas dedicated to vegetation. This also means that there are not many plants dedicated to shading areas. It’s important to implement more areas for planting.

8- There are only entrances north and east of the site. Designing the south area of this park would mean that a cohesive south entrance should exist. Creating easier ways to access different aspects of the park would be helpful.

Simplified Shade Study

This shade study portrays the shade that exists on the site during the summer, the hottest time of the year in Tucson. It is evident that there is barely any shade on the site, especially in the baren land south of the park. It was, therefore, my initiative to create more shaded areas for park users to be comfortable in now and in the future.

Planting more trees tolerant of high climate with the purpose of creating bigger shade canopies will only lead to greater shaded areas around the park. As time passes, these trees will grow bigger and create more shade, inevitably creating a cooler microclimate in the park.

MasterPlan

1- Splash Pad

2- Gathering area heavily shaded by ramadas and vegetation

3- Cholla Forest

4- Parking

5- Shaded basketball courts

6- Skate Park

7- Renovated overflow parking

8- Hiking/walking path with added vegetation such as shade trees. Contains 1 mile loop with shorter loops within.

9- South Entrance

10- South parking

According to the Udall Park masterplan update of 2011, current users of the park explained that they wanted some more amenities such as a covered basketball court, a more refined walking path, more parking, and a skate park. The majority of park users use Udall park for walking/running, which led me to design a better refined, 1 mile loop trail for park users. This loop has smaller loops within it, creating different distanced paths.

Plant List

These are some plants that would be used in my design to revegetate and shade the park.

Hiking / Walking Loop

The visual on the very top displays what the proposed area would look like with the planted trees in 5 years. The vegetation is slightly growing and beginning to create shade for visitors. The graphic below that shows what the area would look like in 20 years, with fully mature trees that provide an abundance of shade over the trail. The canopies are full and create a cooler microclimate in the area for park users.

An important piece of my design is the vegetation that would be planted along this loop. Most of these plants would be native shade trees which will grow larger and provide more shade as time goes on which would create a nice walking area for park users that will only get cooler as time progresses.

Shaded Gathering Space

The visual on the very top shows the recreational and gathering area 5 years after the trees were planted. There is some shade being created but the young trees don’t provide much shade. The visual below it shows the space after 20 years have passed, with fully mature trees that shade most of the area with full canopies. The area would be used more as it gets progressively shadier and, therefore, cooler.

Section (1’= 1/16”)

This section shows the difference in the space in five years compared to twenty years. The vegetation has visibly grown more which offers more shade and comfort for the visitors to use.

The space shown is the splash pad on the east side of the park with the gathering areas surrounding it. It exhibits the basins that the shade trees would be planted in as it would allow more water from the splash pad to irrigate the trees that need it.

Building more splash pads throughout the park will give more opportunities for children and adults alike to cool off in water during the hot season while also adding to the irrigation of the added vegetation.