Spring Sprucing “America’s Front Yard”: Finalists Announced for National Mall Redesign

Eighteen months ago, the National Park Service (NPS) in conjunction with the Trust for the National Mall, created the 2010 National Mall Plan, a vision for the kinds of resource conditions, visitor experiences, and facilities that would best fulfill the purpose of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Stretching west from the U.S. Capitol to [...]

Park Conservancy Models Part II: Madison Square Park Conservancy and The Civic Center Conservancy

This is part two of a three-part series looking at the histories of six different city park conservancies.  Read part one here. Madison Square Park Conservancy, Madison Square Park, New York Madison Square Park was officially dedicated in 1847. In 1870, soon after the creation of New York City’s first Department of Public Parks, the 6.2-acre [...]

The Prescription for Health Lies in the Outdoors

Dr. Daphne Miller might appear, at first blush, to be one of the more unlikely speakers at the International Urban Parks Conference taking place this summer in New York City. But just scratch beneath the surface of her bio, and engage her in conversation for just a moment, and it’s perfectly clear why someone whose [...]

Cities Can Have Health Promoting Park Systems Through Proximity, Accessibility, and Co-Location

The closer the park and the easier to get to, the more likely it will be used. Conversely, people who live far from parks are apt to utilize them less. These obvious truths have implications for public health, but recognizing the problem does not automatically offer simple solutions for mayors, city councils, park directors, or [...]

Food Trucks Bring New Patrons to City Parks

The second season of the Prospect Park Food Truck Rally launched this Sunday in balmy spring weather.  On the third Sunday of each month from April through October, sixteen gourmet food trucks will greet crowds of eager New Yorkers at Grand Army Plaza, a paved area at the Park’s main entrance. Though the Food Truck Rally was initially designed to [...]

Park Conservancy Models Part I: Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Detroit 300 Conservancy

Conservancies are private, non-profit, park-benefit organizations that raise money independent of the city and spend it under a plan of action that is mutually agreed upon with the city.  Conservancies do not own any parkland nor do they hold easements on it; the land continues to remain in the ownership of the city, and the [...]

Urban Population Growth Creates New Demand for Parks

The Brookings Institution recently released a comprehensive report on metropolitan demographic changes over the past thirty years, which highlighted the increasing concentration of the U.S. population in major metropolitan areas.  Overall, metropolitan areas have grown consistently since 1980, and now over 80% of Americans live in metropolitan areas, i.e. cities and their suburbs.  Though suburban [...]

Brooklyn Bridge Park: New York’s Latest Innovative Harbor Attraction

One of New York’s newest parks, Brooklyn Bridge Park blends the historic with the latest in landscape innovation to create what the weblog Gothamist calls “the most spectacular and stunning addition to the city’s parks system in recent memory.” Located on the site of a former port that shuttered in the 1980s due to dramatic [...]

Bike with the Commish: Touring the Hudson River Greenway with NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation holds sway over 5,000 different properties encompassing 29,000 acres of land — nearly 15 percent of America’s largest city. The person who just passed the 10-year mark as NYC Parks Commissioner, Adrian Benepe, still lives with his wife and sons in the Upper West Side Manhattan [...]

A Tale of Two Trails: Designs Released for New York’s High Line Phase III and Chicago’s Bloomingdale Trail and Park

New York and Chicago are often pitted as rivals with regards to parkland acreage (38,060 acres vs. 11,959 acres, equating to 4.5 and 4.2 acres per 1,000 residents, respectively), and this month was no different.  Last week both cities released designs to the community for the next latest and greatest thing in the park world [...]

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