Landscaped parking refers to the integration of green space, natural elements, and sustainable design features into traditional parking areas.
Unlike conventional asphalt lots that prioritize function over form, landscaped parking combines vehicle accommodation with environmental stewardship—incorporating elements like trees, shrubs, permeable pavements, bioswales, and rain gardens.
This approach transforms parking lots from stark, heat-radiating spaces into multi-functional green zones that support both vehicles and nature.
Purpose and Benefits of Landscaped Parking
The core purpose of landscaped parking is to minimize the environmental impact of paved surfaces while enhancing the visual and functional quality of urban and suburban spaces. It strikes a balance between infrastructure and ecology.
Key purpose include:
- To provide shade to the parked vehicles.
- To divide the parking bays physically, generally after 9 cars
- To absorb air pollution
- To reduce noise pollution
- To add softness and aesthetic quality to otherwise paved areas
- To reduce the heat generated from the paved surfaces.
Key benefits include:
- 🌱 Environmental sustainability – Reduces stormwater runoff, improves air quality, and supports biodiversity.
- 🌳 Heat mitigation – Tree canopies and green buffers reduce the urban heat island effect.
- 💧 Improved drainage – Permeable surfaces and bioswales absorb and filter rainwater naturally.
- 🏙️ Enhanced aesthetics – Turns sterile parking areas into attractive, welcoming spaces.
- 💼 Economic value – Increases property value and can contribute to LEED or green building certifications.
If you want to know about the Types of slabs or Permeable concrete or Islamic architecture, please click the link.
1) Design Principles
Parking can be arranged in small units informally set amongst existing mature trees, preferably with loosely defined parking bays paved with gravel or grass-concrete.
Hedges and shrubs can be used to break up long lines of vehicles, and to provide windbreaks against dust and rubbish blowing across the area.
Parking bays can be grouped on different levels, separated by embankments planted with low cover. The trees should be planted between raised curbs or in elevated boxes to avoid hazards like vehicles backing into them and tree roots poisoned if fuel run-off gets into the water supply.
i) Plantation Criteria and Plant Characteristics
- The trees should be litter free.
- The trees should not be fruit bearing as fallen fruit can damage the surface of vehicles.
- The trees should be evergreen in nature so as to provide protection from sun rays causing discoloration of the painted surface of the vehicles.
- The plantation scheme should be efficient wherein required amount of shade can be achieved through minimum number of trees.
- The trees in parking areas should not be shallow-rooted or else the roots might come out on the paved surfaces.
- The trees should be fast-growing.
- The trees should cater to broad scale environmental aspects like being effective pollution sinks to absorb lead from vehicles etc.
- The trees should have dense foliage with large surface area and preferably fine-leaved trees to absorb pollutants.
- Cattle should not be able to feed on these trees.
ii) Suggested Plant Material
- Ceiba pentandra
- Chorisia speciosa
- Cassia fistula
- Chukrassia tabularis
- Gmelina arborea
2) Turf Pave: A New Age Solution for Landscaped Parking
At the time of emerging demand for more and more car parking space in or around project premises and increased quantum of hard concrete and road to facilitate such parking, plastic Turf Pave has brought in some sense of sigh and relief.
Turf Pave is a light weight robust plastic grid structure, specially designed to stabilise and support turf, grass or decorative gravels used for landscape. It provides an environment friendly and practical alternative to impermeable surfaces like concrete and asphalt.
Positioned under a grass landscape, Turf Pave distributes load from pedestrian and vehicular traffic to the base course below, minimizing grass and root compaction. The interconnected plastic cells allow roots to develop with minimal restriction, resulting in a durable and stable grass surface.
i) Characteristics
- Stabilize turf/ grass surfaces and protects soil against erosion.
- Pleasant alternative to asphalt and concrete surfaces.
- Enhances site appearance through green vegetation.
- Reduces need for storm water conveyances and treatment systems.
- Minimizes storm water run- off.
- Slope stabilization and erosion control.
- High water permeability.
- Distributes vehicle weight. Depending up on the manufacture, high compressive strength can withstand load up to 200T/Sq.m.
- Rapid installation with minimal trained manpower and tools.
- Off site preassembling of modules.
ii) Application
- Vehicle parking lots.
- Sports complexes.
- Street shoulder parking on unstable ground.
- River banks and canals for soil stabilization on slopes.
ii) Climatic Strength
- Rot and insect resistant.
- Ozone resistant.
- Solar UV resistant.
- Corrosion resistant.
iii) Environmental impact
- Recycling potential.
- Renewability.
- Warranty up to 20 years (varies from product to product)
- Light weight.
- Manufactured from 100% recycled plastics.
iv) Installation Procedures
- Excavate and/ or level the area.
- Install drainage systems and utility lines in the sub grade, as required.
- Lay and compact sand gravel to provide support for estimated weight bearing load.
- Position turf pave cell modules on compacted sand and gravel base.
- Cover turf pave with recommended sand soil mix for turf establishment.
- Apply recommended moisture, water retention agents and fertilizers.
- Place rolled turf or hydro- seed onto the filled turf pave modules.
Many international and local manufacturers are now producing Turf Pave. The users need to check the quality beforehand for the best results. The CPWD first used Turf Pave in the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan Project in New Delhi. After seeing its performance the product is now being used in the other CPWD projects.
