City Of Knoxville Research Articles

Environmental Assessment Of Public Recreation Spaces Of Public Parks In The City Of Knoxville, TN

Public parks provide places and amenities encouraging people to be physically active (PA). The City of Knoxville, TN, a mid-sized city in the Appalachian region, maintains 94 public parks, ranging from pocket parks to larger community parks, in which people can be active. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to profile the physical environmental attributes of this park system relative to infrastructure, aesthetics, and amenities. METHODS: An abbreviated version of the Environmental Assessment of Public Recreation Spaces (EAPRS) tool was used to measure three elements of each park (N = 94). An overall ParkScore (PS), with a possible total of 65 points, was composed of ‘Physical Activity Infrastructure’ in the park across 7 categories: trails, open spaces, pools, beaches, sidewalks, playsets, and athletic fields/courts; ‘Amenities’ captured data on quality items related to seating, restrooms, eating/drinking facilities, bike racks, parking, and signage, etc.; and ‘Aesthetics’ based on items such as the presence of meadows, streams, landscaping. EAPRS scores were compared across the types of parks and access (e.g. greenway links, WalkScore) using SAS 9.4. RESULTS: The overall PS was 15.4 (SD = 7.0). The PA infrastructure score was 5.2 (2.7), aesthetics was 2.9 (1.9), and amenities was 7.3 (3.7). Larger community parks, compared to all other parks, scored significantly higher across all EAPRS elements (p < .0001), but had the lowest access by walking or via public transportation. Natural park areas had significantly fewer elements of PA infrastructure. Amenity scores were significantly higher for community and special use parks. 25.8% of the parks were connected to greenways. These greenway-linked parks had significantly higher PS (20.9 vs. 13.4; p < .0001), PA infrastructure (6.6 vs. 4.7; p < .0039), aesthetics (4.5 vs. 2.3; p < .0001), and amenity (9.9 vs. 6.3; p < .0001) scores. CONCLUSIONS: The attributes of larger community parks are much more likely to attract people for active visits. However, as parks increase in size, fewer people may be able to access them through active transport or public transportation. Smaller neighborhood parks, which are more accessible through active transportation, could be excellent targets for park enhancement, including increases in the physical activity infrastructure.

Planning green infrastructure placement based on projected precipitation data

Continued urbanization has led to tremendous changes on the landscape. These changes have exacerbated the effects of extreme climatic events such as flooding because of constrained water infiltration and increased surface flow. Typical runoff control measures involve sophisticated gray infrastructure that guide excess surface flow into storage and disposal sites. In a dynamic climate system, these measures are not sustainable since they cannot be easily modified to accommodate large volumes of runoff. Green Infrastructure (GI) is an adaptable technique that can be used to minimize runoff, in addition to offering an array of additional benefits (urban heat regulation, aesthetics, improved air quality etc.). Strategic placement of GI is key to achieving maximum utility. While physical site characteristics play a major role in determining suitable GI placement sites, knowledge of future precipitation patterns is crucial to ensure successful flood mitigation. In this paper, suitable GI sites within the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, were determined based on potential impact of an extreme flood event as indicated by site characteristics. Then, the relative potential likelihood of a flood event was determined based on projected precipitation data and knowledge of existing flood zones. By combining potential impact with likelihood information, low, medium, and high priority GI implementation sites were established. Results indicate that high priority sites are in the central parts of the city with priority decreasing outward. The GI prioritization scheme presented here, offers valuable guidance to city planners and policy makers who wish to exploit the GI approach for flood mitigation.

Woody Vegetation and Soil Characteristics of Residential Forest Patches and Open Spaces along an Urban-to-Rural Gradient

As the process of urbanization advances across the country, so does the importance of urban forests, which include both trees and the soils in which they grow. Soil microbial biomass, which plays a critical role in nutrient transformation in urban ecosystems, is affected by factors such as soil type and the availability of water, carbon, and nitrogen. The aim of this study was to characterize residual forest patches and open fields in residential areas in the City of Knoxville. A field study was conducted to investigate tree species diversity and determine spatial and temporal soil characteristics along an urban-to-rural gradient. Tree diversity did not differ significantly for residential urban and rural plots in Knoxville, Tennessee. Biologically, there was no indication that soils were affected by tree diversity, in terms of soil microbial biomass C/N along an urban-to-rural gradient in Knoxville residential plots. Rural soils did differ physically from urban soils, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and soil moisture content (GSM). Similarly, physical soil properties such as bulk density, both urban and rural sites were negatively correlated with tree diversity. Results indicate that although the urban-rural gradient is subject to urban environmental stressors, the urban ecosystem is resilient in maintaining the ecosystem functions of more natural systems.

Knox Heritage’s Real Estate Program: From Modest Start to Powerful Preservation Tool

Knox Heritage’s Real Estate Program:From Modest Start to Powerful Preservation Tool Kim Trent (bio) In our profession, life frequently serves up lemons. Devastating losses of one-of-a-kind places after hard-fought battles or time-intensive negotiations. But at times like that, it’s empowering to remember an old cliché and find a way to mix up some lemonade. That is how Knox Heritage’s J. Allen Smith Endangered Properties Fund was created in 2004. Knox Heritage’s initial foray into real estate began in 1999 with the help of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Inner City Ventures Program. We knew we wanted to make a difference in the historic low- to moderate-income neighborhoods surrounding downtown Knoxville and needed to put our money where our mouth was to have a meaningful impact. Even though we had no staff at the time, we gathered together a group of volunteers with the skills we needed—real estate agents, contractors, city community development staffers, architects and neighborhood residents—to craft a business plan and apply for funding. At the time, the National Trust required that we raise local dollars to match a portion of the line of credit it committed to provide. We had no track record in real estate and little credibility with most funders, so the Trust’s endorsement of our efforts enabled us to approach a local community foundation and obtain a $100,000 line of credit as well as a small grant to create our business plan. We launched our Vintage Properties program with $350,000 in lines of credit and $35,000 in reserves to absorb any losses. But now what? Knox Heritage had never managed a construction project before and we had no staff to do it. Our solution was to contract with a local nonprofit affordable housing provider, Knox Housing Partnership, to manage the general contractor we hired for the job. That partnership worked well for both organizations. We learned the ropes of construction management and our partner organization earned a reasonable fee while learning how to do a [End Page 3] preservation-based rehabilitation project. Knox Heritage went on to manage its own construction projects and Knox Housing Partnership went on to do preservation rehabs in the historic neighborhoods where it works. Click for larger view View full resolution 1300 Kenyon was vacant for 13 years before Knox Heritage stepped in to restore the house in 2005 using its preservation revolving fund. PHOTOS COURTESY KNOX HERITAGE FIRST FORAY The little house we started with was seen as a lost cause by many neighborhood residents after it was abandoned, suffered a fire, and became the site of criminal activity. Plus the economics made no sense for a private developer since there would be no margin in the budget for a profit, and there was more structural deterioration than the average homebuyer would want to tackle. That’s where our nonprofit organization came in—we only needed to break even and were able to purchase the house for $1 through the City of Knoxville’s blighted properties program. Our goals were to save an endangered historic structure, prime the pump of the real estate market in the neighborhood by eliminating a drag on redevelopment efforts, and help revitalize a historic neighborhood. At the end of the day, we achieved all three goals and walked away with a profit of $125 after the house sold almost immediately. [End Page 4] Click for larger view View full resolution In spite of a major setback (a contractor mistakenly stripped the original wood siding from the wrong property) Knox Heritage regrouped and restored 321 Oklahoma in the Old North Knoxville Historic District in 2005. PHOTOS COURTESY HISTORIC KNOX NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART That initial win gave us the confidence to move forward, but then we began to realize that this type of work is not for the faint of heart or the impatient. We next bought two foreclosed houses in a neighborhood that was still in the beginning stages of being revitalized. That is where we learned the impact that carrying costs can have on any project. It took longer than expected to...

Planners Coming to the Table

Planners Coming to the Table

Drawing the Stories of Two Cultures

ARTIST PROFILE—DAVID WHITE Drawing the Stories of Two Cultures Lee Ann Woods At first glance artist David White seems a study in dichotomy. He has no formal training in art, yet adeptly depicts rural mountain settings in pencil and ballpoint. He grew up in the city of Knoxville, but draws farm animals as though he has known their every curve and nuance since childhood. Even his name suggests a departure from the expected, for Mr. White is a Black man. Mr. White's art, however, is not about polarities. His works represent a blending, a hope for harmony between two cultures. David White is a large, talkative man with a friendly smile and graying, cropped hair. He lives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with his family, which he calls his strength, and works in industrial painting and computer graphics at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Since elementary school he has been interested in drawing, but it wasn't until he was well into adulthood that Mr. White began creating images with pen and pencil. He first embarked upon his passion by fashioning cartoons, and later moved to drawing images from photographs, making calendars, and finally creating and selling prints. David White grew up in the 1960s f*. ~'..^¡^'¦'Jr——iin the mixed-race community of Mechanicsville in Knoxville, Tennessee. "We went to separate schools," Mr. White says of the children in his neighborhood, "but that didn't stop us from being friends." A white couple —, ..... , ,is^tr.wju. named Mr. and ™^^'*: **í¿ Mrs· Bel1 lived¦*?!/«-' behind Mr. White's family. "Mr. Bell taught my grandmother how to drive when she was 59," Mr. White recalls with a smile. 52«¿ÍS2S 1H The young David, his grandmother, and Mr. Bell would take drives together. Those experiences on the backcountry roads of East Tennessee, and his feelings of kinship with white friends influenced Mr. White's choice of subject matter. "I want to tell stories about [the two cultures] working together," he says, "stories that reflect community, and learning to help each other all along the way."'-fais— From an early age David White'/'JpW^* took an interest in Appalachia"_ —»¦'V«*^' culture, admiring the way that people created things from scratch.T^^^-^MW^^ * He tellshow'-¿^^4^r\ :-i [ y i ^g&lÈ-r he, as a young ,, 'Ml· '., >-\ V^' ??]\1 I]-T1*. 55 ...

Municipal Ordinances for Industrial Wastes

Ordinances and regulations set up by City of Knoxville, Tenn concerning reception of industrial wastes into system and treatment plants; system of charges and collections, features of ordinance that protect entire system and employees from toxic and other types of harmful wastes, and number of case histories of specific types of liquid wastes.

Municipal Ordinances for Industrial Wastes

Ordinances and regulations set up by City of Knoxville, Tenn concerning reception of industrial wastes into system and treatment plants; system of charges and collections, features of ordinance that protect entire system and employees from toxic and other types of harmful wastes, and number of case histories of specific types of liquid wastes.

Constitutional Law. Impairment of Obligation of Contract. Knoxville Water Company v. Mayer of City of Knoxville, 26 Supreme Court Rep. 224

Constitutional Law. Impairment of Obligation of Contract. Knoxville Water Company v. Mayer of City of Knoxville, 26 Supreme Court Rep. 224