Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

Before & After: In Somerville, MA, Depaving (and Rewilding) a Parking Lot

Search

Start typing to search...

Search
Before & AfterIssue — Before & After

Before & After: In Somerville, MA, Depaving (and Rewilding) a Parking Lot

October 30, 2025

The depaving movement has become something of a national sport in the Netherlands, with municipalities competing to see who can remove the most paving from their town each year. Stateside the crusade to replace concrete and asphalt with permeable landscapes (ideally: gardens) may be slower to take hold, but it’s been around for nearly two decades, starting with Depave Portland in Oregon and spreading to communities across the country.

In Somerville, Massachusetts, Depave Somerville organizes “depaving parties” for homeowners. Landscape architect Sara Brunelle, one of the founders Lu La Studio, was selected for one of these volunteer-run events. So, one April day, an asphalt recycling dumpster and a crew of about 10 volunteers showed up to tear up the parking lot behind Brunelle’s house with crowbar and sledge hammers. 

Brunelle and her business partner, landscape designer Katie Smith, had dreamed up a new permeable landscape for the yard, but they didn’t anticipate how gratifying the actual depaving would be. “It was truly joyful—like the best of a CrossFit gym and an awesome wild community,” says Brunelle. “It really was electric. Katie and I both have a background in urban gardening. This was an awesome moment of direct action.” It was also a little emotional: It began to rain right after the depaving was complete, and they realized the soil had not felt rain for at least 70 years. “That smell of rain on earth was so poignant,” Smith says. “That’s our responsibility as landscape architects to rehabilitate.”

Brunelle and Smith’s goal was to create a multi-functional, re-wilded garden for all the residents of the multi-family building. They managed to fit in an eating area, a play lawn, a permeable parking space, and a vegetable garden on the 30 feet by 40 feet lot. 

Photography by Haley Dando, courtesy of Lu La Studio.

Before

The gray-on-gray view of the parking lot from the street.
Above: The gray-on-gray view of the parking lot from the street.
The yard behind Brunelle’s home was nothing but asphalt and a few conifers.
Above: The yard behind Brunelle’s home was nothing but asphalt and a few conifers.

After

The yard is now a thriving landscape that supports both wildlife and residents—adults and children alike (peep the almost camouflaged playhouse at center).
Above: The yard is now a thriving landscape that supports both wildlife and residents—adults and children alike (peep the almost camouflaged playhouse at center).
Lu La Studio creaed a “ribbon” driveway. A car can park on the square pavers if needed; Carex albicans grows in the gap between the two ribbons.
Above: Lu La Studio creaed a “ribbon” driveway. A car can park on the square pavers if needed; Carex albicans grows in the gap between the two ribbons.
Lu La Design relied on texture and materials to “define spaces and create a flow between them.” Reclaimed granite pavers appear on the front walkway, the ribbon driveway, and the threshold between the side and back yards, while irregular flagstone offer contrast in other areas.
Above: Lu La Design relied on texture and materials to “define spaces and create a flow between them.” Reclaimed granite pavers appear on the front walkway, the ribbon driveway, and the threshold between the side and back yards, while irregular flagstone offer contrast in other areas.
The flagstone, including three extra large pieces of petrified sea bed under the picnic table, came from a local stone yard. The rock mulch has warm and cool tones that marries all the stones together.
Above: The flagstone, including three extra large pieces of petrified sea bed under the picnic table, came from a local stone yard. The rock mulch has warm and cool tones that marries all the stones together.
The dominant longer grass-like plant is the sedge Carex albicans and under the amelanchier tree (at left) is Deschampsia cespitosa &#8\2\16;Goldtau&#8\2\17;—both are easygoing plants that can tolerate full sun and full shade conditions. Brunelle adds that sedges are one of the most ecologically powerful things you can grow because they have so much food for nesting birds.
Above: The dominant longer grass-like plant is the sedge Carex albicans and under the amelanchier tree (at left) is Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldtau’—both are easygoing plants that can tolerate full sun and full shade conditions. Brunelle adds that sedges are one of the most ecologically powerful things you can grow because they have so much food for nesting birds.
Both the turf grass “play lawn” and the raised vegetable bed are relatively small in size, but they get lots of use from residents.
Above: Both the turf grass “play lawn” and the raised vegetable bed are relatively small in size, but they get lots of use from residents.
“If you choose the right trees and design it right, you can put so much in,” says Brunelle, who fit eight trees onto this small lot. The whole site is graded \1-percent toward the Kousa dogwood in the center (and there’s another dogwood opposite along the fence). In addition, they planted three multi-stem Amelanchier along the side fence and three Royal oaks, a columnar tree that will create a screen when they grow in.
Above: “If you choose the right trees and design it right, you can put so much in,” says Brunelle, who fit eight trees onto this small lot. The whole site is graded 1-percent toward the Kousa dogwood in the center (and there’s another dogwood opposite along the fence). In addition, they planted three multi-stem Amelanchier along the side fence and three Royal oaks, a columnar tree that will create a screen when they grow in.
The 4-x-7 foot slatted playhouse echoes Lu La Design’s Nest structures in New York City, which first brought the firm to our attention. Smith notes that the slats “invite children to collect ‘loose parts’ and engage in a rich play.” Made from the same wood as the fence, the structure recedes visually.
Above: The 4-x-7 foot slatted playhouse echoes Lu La Design’s Nest structures in New York City, which first brought the firm to our attention. Smith notes that the slats “invite children to collect ‘loose parts’ and engage in a rich play.” Made from the same wood as the fence, the structure recedes visually.
The side yard is the only space with true hardscape, because so much water passes by during rain events. The concrete blocks are pitched down at \2-percent toward the backyard, where the water hits the rock mulch and percolates into the ground. Residents park their bikes here in the summer.
Above: The side yard is the only space with true hardscape, because so much water passes by during rain events. The concrete blocks are pitched down at 2-percent toward the backyard, where the water hits the rock mulch and percolates into the ground. Residents park their bikes here in the summer.

See also:

(Visited 7,043 times, 5 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.
Add to Collection
New Collection

Explore Deeper Into These Areas

Previous Post

Cues to Care: How to Design an Ecological Garden That Still Looks Cultivated

October 29, 2025
Next Post

DIY Halloween Decorations, Understated Edition

October 31, 2025

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation

Related Stories

Read all recent posts

join us on Instagram Logo

v5.0

×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.

Full Access Individual Subscription

Benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99


×
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.

Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

My Account

Your member profile is powered by memberstack