Two different ways to design and program public space: 1) “Street Pianos” are coming to New York, and will be prominently placed in a number of parks. The pianos have been successful in London, São Paulo and other cities. (Village Voice); and 2) from Toronto, color and art comes in the form of painted “nature-inspired [...]
Filed under: uncategorized | Tagged: downtown, new york city, philadelphia, public art, st. louis, washington dc | Leave a Comment »
Contrary to conventional wisdom, in the United States there are very few big cities that are actually shrinking. In fact, they have grown very much in land area and in only a few cases have these regions actually lost population (and only slightly when they do). Both Kaid Benfield of NRDC and Aaron Renn of [...]
Filed under: renewal | Leave a Comment »
ASLA’s The Dirt recently covered the 2010 Dumbarton Oaks Garden and Landscape Study Symposium. This year’s focus was “Designing Wildlife Habitats,” which looked at ways to preserve biodiversity in rural and urban environments. America’s cities are an appropriate laboratory for such a movement, given that many city-dwellers’ encounters with wildlife are limited to rats, raccoons [...]
Filed under: green infrastructure, planning, uncategorized | Tagged: connectivity, mental health, sustainability | Leave a Comment »
The American College of Sports Medicine is out with its annual list of the United States’ fittest cities. The top five are: 1) Washington, D.C.; 2) Boston; 3) Minneapolis; 4) Seattle and 5) Portland, Oregon. The ratings are based on 30 factors ranging from disease rates, mortality, physical attributes and lifestyle, fruit and vegetable consumption [...]
Filed under: health | Tagged: rankings | 1 Comment »
In Boston, the iconic Christian Science Center and Plaza plans for redesign on a human scale, adding a pedestrian bridge to the massive reflecting pool and adding trees and benches (Boston Globe). The Urbanophile covers People for Urban Progress (PUP), an Indianapolis nonprofit which is repurposing city materials to repair and improve the park system. [...]
Filed under: uncategorized | Tagged: boston, Indianapolis, new york city, san francisco, waterfronts | Leave a Comment »
Last week, the Childhood Obesity Task Force released the action plan for the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” initiative. The plan contains 70 recommendations, including greater availability of healthy food, clearer nutritional information, and increased recreational opportunities for children, including improved access to safe parks, playgrounds, and indoor and outdoor recreational facilities. The Washington Post reported [...]
Filed under: health, partnerships | Tagged: federal policy, health, michelle obama | Leave a Comment »
Revitalization of compact urban neighborhoods often means — and can even be centered on — renewing the urban parks within them. Patterson Park in Baltimore is a great example of this. Recent news out of Cincinnati from the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is further evidence of this trend, where local economic development officials believe an over [...]
Filed under: renewal | 4 Comments »
New plans for a greenway along the Allegheny Riverfront in Pittsburgh. Next American City has the story, along with a fantastic picture of Point State Park. Kaid Benfield at NRDC reviews Peter Harnik’s “Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities.” Jonathan Lerner at Miller-McCune discusses the connections between urban planning and public health, highlighting the [...]
Filed under: uncategorized | Tagged: health, new york city, parkways/boulevards, philadelphia, pittsburgh, waterfronts | Leave a Comment »
The Mayor of Paris announced recently that the city is closing an expressway along the River Seine in a project that could have a major impact on public space in the city. Time magazine describes the current one-day-a-week closure and how this may spread to 365 days per year: On a recent Sunday in Paris, [...]
Filed under: transportation | Tagged: freeways, paris, waterfronts | Leave a Comment »
Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move task force is out with its “action plan” that includes 70 recommendations, with some very encouraging words related to the provision of and access to urban parks. The report is extensive and covers nearly all of the issues related to childhood obesity, grouping them into five categories as follows: Getting children [...]
Filed under: health | Tagged: federal policy | 1 Comment »
