ABSTRACT
The Theory and Practice of Softness ................................................................ 514 Where to Use SPS ............................................................................................ 516 Safety and Accessibility of Loose-Fill Surfaces .............................................. 517 SPS Installation ................................................................................................ 518 Considerations for Use of Organic Materials .................................................... 519 Wood and Bark Materials .................................................................................. 520
Examples of Wood and Bark Mulch Installations ................................ 523 Engineered Wood Fiber .................................................................................... 525 Organic Crop By-Products ................................................................................ 528 Mollusk Shells .................................................................................................. 529 Granular Recycled Rubber ................................................................................ 529 Trademarks ........................................................................................................ 535 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................ 535 References ........................................................................................................ 535
“Paved” usually means hard-surfaced — yet soft alternatives also exist. Soft porous paving materials are so unobtrusive and simple that they go virtually unrecorded in the literature of site construction. Soft porous paths can be found at the Rockefellers’ Kykuit estate in Pocantico, New York, between public allotments at Melvin Hazen Community Garden in Washington DC, and on trails in Alaska’s Sitka National Forest.
