Project was commissioned through the landscaping dept. as they were responsible for planning and detailing a combined park, and a preexisting secondary school's schoolyard. The developer was concerned the (future) residents in this area would be unhappy with this common area connecting the residential areas. The main focus was showing the park, and how it would separate them from the schoolyard (the rear area) and noisy kids.
As seen, they planned on a wide variety of trees and other greenery, but as usual the end result was a lot cheaper and simple.