Clemson’s resilient urban design students work to restore Charleston’s salt marsh ecosystems

Students from the Master of Resilient Urban Design (MRUD) program recently teamed up with The Marsh Appreciation and Restoration Society for Happiness project (M.A.R.S.H.), a grassroots and community-based nonprofit located in Charleston, to develop designs for an urban ecological corridor that creates community spaces and recreation and restores and reconnects Charleston's remaining salt marsh ecosystems, specifically focused on Halsey's Creek.

On October 2, MRUD students and The M.A.R.S.H. Project held the Design Charrette: Ecological Corridor, which included city planners, architects, City of Charleston staff, community members and students as they worked to gather information from the Charleston community that will inform students' designs of the ecological corridor.

"The students worked to create activities that would collect the data needed to drive their design and balanced that with open-ended sketching activities to allow for community input without bias or input from the studio," explained Schuyler Clogston, a lecturer in the MRUD program and leader of the studio.

According to Clogston, the participants were led through a series of activities where they mapped their current transit routes, looked at how water could become more accessible and dreamed up a path for the ecological corridor.

"The way we structured the activities gave each community member the chance to get their own ideas out there as well as work together with other members at their table," explained Master of Architecture student Anna Rowell. "It was very exciting to see all of the ideas and insights the community had and how they might design the ecological corridor."

The students also led the charrette participants in another activity, which, according to Clogston, allowed for more concrete data collection.

"After sketching, we walked back into the main charrette space, where there were maps and questions that the participants answered with pins and stickers," Clogston said.

According to Blake Suarez, one of the three co-founders of The M.A.R.S.H. Project, seeing the community come together for the charrette was inspiring.

"To be honest, I didn't know what to expect, but Skye and her students organized an afternoon for community-driven problem-solving," explained Suarez. "Every M.A.R.S.H. Project event is incredibly collaborative … this was no exception, and it really gave us a lot of hope for the future of the project."

According to Clogston, working with The M.A.R.S.H. Project is an incredible opportunity for the City of Charleston and the MRUD students.

"This is such an incredible opportunity for Charleston to see how the restoration of the salt marsh ecosystem can create a more resilient city," Clogston explained. "It is also an incredible immersive learning opportunity for the students to see how grassroots efforts and design thinking can impact and mold their communities and cities."

For Rowell, the research accomplished will directly impact her designs throughout the rest of the semester.

"The outcome of the charrette will be crucial in our designs," said Rowell. "It provided direct feedback from the people who will be impacted by the project, allowing us to align our design choices with the real-world needs of the community."

Rowell explained that this work helps create designs that reflect the needs and wants of Charleston community members.

"I hope that putting our designs and ideas out into the world will inspire people to take action and become part of this ecological corridor," Rowell said. "This project is going to be a huge effort by the City of Charleston, and I hope by seeing the potential the community will be excited by all the possibilities!"

For The M.A.R.S.H. Project, the work is still ongoing.

"We had the pleasure of sharing this vision with Mayor Cogswell and his team, who were incredibly supportive of the project," explained Suarez. "I truly believe that continuing to spread the word will make a huge impact-especially with private homeowners. The more we can inspire people to take action on their own properties, the easier it will be to achieve our broader goals."

Suarez believes that the corridor won't just benefit wildlife and plant life, but it has the ability to transform the quality of life for the entire Charleston community.

"We can talk all day about habitat connectivity, boosting biodiversity, improving water quality by filtering pollutants, reducing runoff, enhancing climate resilience and flood management, cooling urban temps and storing carbon, but the corridor is also going to provide us with spaces for gathering, reflection, and education," Suarez said. "It will create a shared space for the community."

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