# Municipal & Public Spaces > Downtown planters, park beds, medians and rain gardens for townships, villages, downtown authorities and parks. **Summary:** Downtown planters, park beds, medians and rain gardens for townships, villages, downtown authorities and parks. ![Black-eyed Susans, coneflowers and pink petunias in a sunny pollinator garden](https://healingearthdesignbysarah.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6NDE1LCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--5a19257d932ada452faff3fb5d75759246237762/IMG_0591.webp) ## Greener public spaces raise values and handle stormwater. **Intro:** Homes beside parks sell for more, rain gardens hold water that would otherwise run to the storm drain, and greening neglected land has been linked to less crime. For a township, village or downtown authority, planted public spaces are a visible return on public money, and native plantings cost less to keep than mown turf. - Downtowns people want to visit — Planters and seasonal displays along main streets give visitors a reason to linger. - Stormwater handled where it falls — Rain gardens and bioswales soak up runoff from roofs, streets and lots. - Lower mowing bills — Native plantings on medians, ponds and park edges replace turf that has to be mown all season. - Habitat that's on view — Pollinator plantings in public places show residents what native gardens can be. - 8–10% — higher value for properties next to a passive park, the starting point recommended by a review of 33 U.S. studies. — - 96–100% — of rain and snowmelt events held and soaked in by rain gardens over four years in Madison, Wisconsin. — - 15–80% — lower capital costs when projects used low-impact stormwater design such as rain gardens instead of pipes and vaults. — - 29% — less gun violence around vacant lots that were cleaned and greened, in below-poverty Philadelphia neighborhoods. — **What we'd plant:** - Downtown planters and hanging-basket programs - Rain gardens and bioswales - Native plantings on medians, pond edges and park borders - Entrance and welcome-sign plantings - Pollinator demonstration gardens **Calculator: label for that figure:** Value of property next to it **Calculator: uplift, low (%):** 0.25 **Calculator: uplift, high (%):** 1 **Calculator: where the uplift comes from:** A one-time gain of 0.25% to 1% of the value of property beside it. Parks add 8–10% to adjacent values (Crompton & Nicholls) and greening vacant lots about 5.6% (Heckert & Mennis, 2012), but planting a frontage or median is a much smaller change, so we take a small fraction. Crime and stormwater benefits are left out of the money. **Planner choice:** Municipal or public space - Do you work with townships and downtown authorities? — Yes. We can provide a written plan and pricing for a board or council to review, and phase the work to fit a budget year. - Can a rain garden handle runoff from a parking lot? — Often, yes, when it's sized for the area that drains to it and planted with deep-rooted natives. In a USGS study, rain gardens held 96–100% of events over four years. - Do you build patios, walls or walkways? — No. Everything we do is plants: design, soil, planting, mulch and care. If your project needs hardscape, we can plan the planting around it and work alongside your contractor. --- Source: https://healingearthdesignbysarah.com/industries/municipal-public-spaces Updated: 2026-10-13