Determination of tree type selection in park and garden construction by the value engineering method: Sinanoba Beach Park Example

Abstract

City parks are of great importance to people living in cities, and the presence of trees in the parks increases the value of the parks. There are many types of trees that can be planted in parks. However, it is not possible for every tree to adapt to every natural environment. In addition, the initial investment costs of the trees, the characteristics that may affect the life cycle costs, and the expectations of managers and park users from the trees also affect this choice. All these criteria should be evaluated together, and the ideal selection should be made. Value Engineering is a method that can be applied to make the most appropriate choice by taking into account the wishes of all stakeholders. Value engineering (DM) can be defined as an organized effort to analyze product features, functions and material selections; is designed to solve problems and/or reduce costs while maintaining or improving performance and quality requirements; and performs essential functions at the required quality, reliability, and life-cycle cost. In this study firstly a value engineering team was formed. The value engineering team decided that the trees should be coniferous with the prerequisite that they can remain green without shedding their summer-winter leaves and determined which criteria the coniferous trees required to be located in the park should meet. The team members conducted value engineering after determining which trees met these criteria and were subsequently purchased. In this study, since an existing project and a new project are not compared, it does not include a result on how much the cost gain is. As a result, the team determined the most appropriate optimum cost solution with the value engineering method to meet all the criteria among the determined alternative tree species.