Sunday marked the beginning of the first-ever National Urban Biodiversity Week, a seven-city collaboration to bring urban dwellers into contact with local flora and fauna, from fungi to salamanders to old growth forests. The week-long series boasts dozens of events including lectures, nature walks, art projects, and children’s programs, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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A thirteenth excerpt from the recently released book published by Island Press called Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities. In this post, we look at some cities who have added parkland by closing streets and roads to automobile traffic. In every city there are hundreds of acres of streets and roadways potentially available as park and recreational facilities. While parks [...]
Filed under: planning, programming, transportation | Tagged: atlanta, houston, new york city, portland, road closures, washington dc | 1 Comment »
At 527 acres, Franklin Park is the largest greenspace in Boston, boasting a 220-acre forest, an 18-hole golf course, the regional zoo, tennis and basketball courts, baseball diamonds, a cricket pitch, miles of woodland trails, picnic areas, and playgrounds. It is the only park in Boston where one can bicycle and barbecue. Designed by Frederick [...]
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Registration has now opened for this summer’s International Urban Parks Conference! Join us July 14-17 in New York City for Greater & Greener: Re-Imagining Parks for 21st Century Cities. Presented by City Parks Alliance in partnership with NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, Greater & Greener will take place in the city that pioneered the [...]
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An excerpt from The Trust for Public Land’s report From Fitness Zones to the Medical Mile: How Urban Park Systems Can Best Promote Health and Wellness. We wrote a preview of this report in an earlier post. In this post, we look at a mixture of uses and a maximum amount of programming. Mixing uses in parks [...]
Filed under: facilities, green infrastructure, health, partnerships, planning, programming | Tagged: cincinnati, design, fitness zones, health, los angeles, mental health, research | Leave a Comment »
“FRONTLINE PARKS” highlights urban parks that are creating economic, environmental and social capital through new kinds of partnerships. This feature on CPA’s website (www.cityparksalliance.org) promotes inspiring examples of urban park excellence, innovation, and stewardship across the country. Twelve parks – one each month – will be featured on CPA’s website home page in 2012. Each [...]
Filed under: crime & safety, economics, employment, funding, green infrastructure, health, maintenance/management, partnerships, planning, programming, transportation | Tagged: City Parks Alliance, Frontline Parks | Leave a Comment »
