A movement may be picking up to replace aging freeways in core cities with boulevards that open up land for development of buildings, tree-lined corridors and reconnect urban centers to their most prized assets. The U.S. Department of Transportation is suggesting in its strategic plan that replacement of freeways with boulevards in some cities may [...]
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Denver’s cemeteries grow into the role of public parks with free concerts, art displays and elegant gardens (Denver Post). ASLA’s The Dirt provides a detailed summary of Peter Harnik’s Wednesday presentation of his new book, which discusses ways to incorporate parks into built-out cities (and guidance on how to plan for them). Earth Policy Institute’s [...]
Filed under: uncategorized | Tagged: denver, health, international, los angeles, parking, santa ana, washington dc | Leave a Comment »
The New York Times had an nice story over the weekend about Senator Chuck Schumer’s interest in music in a Brooklyn park. The Senator has fervently supported (and attended) the indie-music series popular among many of the city’s younger crowd in East River State Park. Interestingly, the part of this park home to the concerts [...]
Filed under: renewal | Tagged: brooklyn, brownfields | Leave a Comment »
We just read a recently released report by the American Public Health Association on public health costs associated with transportation. The report documents the costs of poor transport policies, including the $142 billion the country pays in costs from obesity, the $50 billion from traffic-related air pollution and $180 billion from traffic crashes. The report [...]
Filed under: health, planning, transportation | Tagged: research | 1 Comment »
The community garden movement, born in the 1970s, has gained momentum throughout the past decade. According to the Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence, there are at least 650 community gardens under park agency jurisdiction alone in major U.S. cites. Jeffrey Hou, Julie Johnson, and Laura Lawson provided insight on the movement [...]
Filed under: green infrastructure, planning, renewal | Tagged: community gardening, seattle | 1 Comment »
Richard Florida is skeptical of plans to clear neighborhoods in Detroit to create urban farms. In an Atlantic video interview, he suggests that the city capitalize on its strengths — building on the base of Wayne State University (and the other nearby state universities in Lansing and Ann Arbor) and working with the city’s remaining [...]
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The New York Times reports that budget problems are forcing many of the nation’s state parks to close their gates or cut services. The National Trust for Historic Preservation agrees, listing State Parks at the top of its “Endangered Places” list. New York City Economic Development gets creative to address unfunded park project, temporarily transforming [...]
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Active Living Research is out with a synthesis of research showing that communities economically benefit from parks and walkability. The report, entitled The Economic Benefits of Open Space, Recreation Facilities and Walkable Community Design was led by Lilly Shoup of the University of Maryland and Reid Ewing of the University of Utah. For any park [...]
Filed under: economics | Tagged: research | Leave a Comment »
Several cities have standards that call for parks to be a a set number of blocks from every resident or claim to have a certain percent of residents within blocks of a park. This can be a problem — as the below image David Nairn put together at Greater Greater Washington shows. As one can [...]
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