Gas Works Park is a park located in Seattle, WA. It was formerly a gasification plant that was purchased by the Seattle Gas Light Company from 1900-1909. By 1954 the plant served nearly 36,000 people yet in the next two years, gas production ceased. Over a decade later, the structures continued to remain. Thus, the City of Seattle began to purchase the remnants of the once vibrant park in order to transform it into something that the public can use. This park has a long history dating back to 1873. The founders of the Seattle Gas Light Company, Arthur Denny and Dexter Horton thought that the copious amounts of freshwater that surrounds the area as you can see, was a great place to begin their coal gasification processes. However, the project would soon be abandoned and the city of Seattle would turn to Richard Haag, an architect for advice. Now, the park is considered a radical piece as instead of simply being abandoned, it was transformed and reclaimed to serve the public. The waste was not made invisible to the public but instead became an integral part of defining what the park is which makes the park equally artistic as it is disturbing and perhaps rightfully so. It serves as a constant reminder of not only the negatives that humans can bring but the change they can create through community effort. Yet, even today many problems remain. Do you ever stop and wonder how although the park is beautiful, if you could be standing on flesh-eating grass? That was one of the concerns of a park visitor who had been unaware of what lies beneath the ground until they went to a focus group that was concerned about the pollution at Gas Works Park. Studies have shown concerning levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs for short in the ground water and this has spread throughout the shallow soil over the years. While efforts have been made to slow down this process through a system dubbed capping, where materials are layered over the contaminated areas, this is a temporary fix at best as it requires re-capping all the while the pollution continues to fester below the seemingly innocent lush green grass. Right now you might be thinking, is this really it? There has to be more to the story right? You’d be surprised to know that you’re half right. Currently there’s investigation being done towards using phytoremediation processes to clean the park. This would involve the use of plants to mediate phyto hydraulics which would soak up and transpire large amounts of water that could help remove a majority of the pollution present in the ground water over time. So why isn’t this being implemented? Well, it’s simple. The ecosystem is delicate. By introducing a foreign plant it could negatively impact the habitat, so several species of plants are being tested factoring in its ability to grow in polluted substrates, invasive species listings, cultivation needs, as well as the overall biomass of the plant. However, that’s not all. Park managers also wish to preserve the clean open fields that the park offers as they believe this is something the community enjoys so there’s been a lot of research on what the community would prefer. It’s an ongoing issue that holds the community as important stakeholders behind the future of the centerpiece of Seattle.