http://cityparksblog.org A Chronicle of the Urban Parks Movement Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:49:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.png http://cityparksblog.org http://cityparksblog.org/2012/01/27/some-news-from-around-67/ http://cityparksblog.org/2012/01/27/some-news-from-around-67/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:37:13 +0000 Ryan Donahue http://cityparksblog.org/?p=3581 ]]>

“Parklets” are undeniably one of the hottest trends in urban parks, and the epicenter of the movement is San Francisco.  This article provides some insight into the design process, with profiles of the designers of some of the city’s notable parklets. (The Bold Italic)

This piece from Next American City details some of the changes that have been made in the plans to revamp the grounds of the Gateway Arch, and to create stronger connections with the surrounding cityscape. (Next American City)

Tulsa’s park director explains the political and economic context of the dramatic turnaround of that city’s park system. (Tulsa World)

The Washington Monument, closed since being extensively damaged in an August earthquake, just got a huge boost towards re-opening, in the form of a $7.5 million donation from a local philanthropist. (Washington Post)

Two stories of well-loved botanical gardens in Seattle and Vancouver, facing struggles with governance and funding. (King 5 Seattle) (Vancouver Sun)

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St. Louis has passed two bond measures for city parks totaling $64 million, along with a commitment of another $280 million in private matching funds. The repair and renovation of city parks is expected to create 580 construction jobs and generate $1 million in sales and income tax for the city. (The St. Louis American)

The Los Angeles Times documents an unfortunate miscommunication between city departments that resulted in a nearly-finished and highly anticipated new park being bulldozed and turned into a school. (Los Angeles Times)

The success of the High Line has rekindled hopes of turning a 3.5-mile section of unused city-owned railway tracks in Queens into an elevated trail. (ABC Local)

A utilities company will pay for the remediation of four highly contaminated acres alongside Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia River, a significant step in the ongoing work to transform the riverfront into an urban park and trail system. (The Washington Post)

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A partnership of agencies in Minneapolis are pushing for a greener downtown, highlighted by the Gateway, a project that would create a center-city park and a connection to the Mississippi River. (Star Tribune)

Dog parks have been exploding in popularity over the past several years, but a dog park planned for Hudson River Park in New York sets a new standard, with amenities such as a canine-operated water feature. (DNAinfo.com)

Los Angeles unveiled plans to build 50 new pocket parks throughout the city. Ten of the new parks will be on the lots of foreclosed homes, a product of a partnership with the city’s Housing Department. (Los Angeles Daily News)

Approved by voters in a 1998 bond election, Austin’s Butler Park, meant to be the city’s own Central Park, is finally headed towards completion. There is, however, continuing debate about how to fund the final phase of the project. (Austin American-Statesman)

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A record-setting $20 million donation to the High Line will fund the design of the third and final segment of the wildly popular park, and also help fund the considerable operating costs borne by Friends of the High Line. (The New York Times)

Though Chicago’s lakefront is packed with parks, much of the rest of the city suffers from a shortage of green space. Blair Kamin digs into the statistics and uncovers some of the city’s “park deserts.” (Chicago Tribune)

The American Planning Association recently released its annual “Great Places in America” list, highlighting ten of the nation’s most impressive urban parks. (American Planning Association)

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, a shrinking population and declining enrollment in public schools has led to plans to convert empty school buildings into apartments and repurpose school grounds as community parks. (The Grand Rapids Press)

For 25 years, San Francisco Bay Area parks leaders have been piecing together the Bay Area Ridge Trail, which will eventually form a 550-mile ring around the entire metro area. The largest addition in four years, a 5.2 mile segment in Silicon Valley, was just completed. (Silicon Valley Mercury News)

An aging U.S. Bureau of Mines property in Minneapolis is being converted to a 27-acre natural area on the Mississippi River. It will remove a number of blighted buildings and provide a mainland base for the 35-acre Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. (Star Tribune)

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The Central Park Conservancy just completed the final phase of the massive overhaul of Central Park that began with the Conservancy’s formation in 1980. Now they’re turning to maintenance and work on trail and drainage improvements. (The New York Times)

Georgetown Waterfront Park, a previously barren stretch of land beneath D.C.’s Whitehurst Freeway, opened last week, forming the final link in a stretch of greenways extending along the Potomac River from D.C. to Cumberland, MD and Mount Vernon, VA. (WTOP.com)

The success of the High Line has sparked a movement, with many other cities searching for their own reusable elevated  corridors. Meanwhile, a new plan to create a subterranean linear park in New York City has generated a lot of excitment. (The L Magazine)

Scores of  cities are considering banning smoking in public parks out of concern for public health. But with the outbreak of wildfires across Texas this summer, Houston has another reason to crack down on smokers in city parks. (My Fox Houston)

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Austin, Texas is embracing a plan that lays out a path towards smart growth and a more vibrant center city over the next decade. The City Council is considering a master plan that will guide $350 million in investment to downtown parks, transport, and moderately priced housing. (The Austin American-Statesman )

Jimi Hendrix, one of Seattle’s most recognizable music icons, has a park dedicated in his name, but it doesn’t do justice to his legacy. A group is raising money to carry out a redesign, to take place in 2012, that includes some remarkable music-themed installations. (The Seattle Times )

Though the garbage beneath New York City’s Freshkills Park is disappearing beneath switchgrass and wildflowers, the methane gas it produces, and the substantial income that the city gains from selling it, should be around for years to come. (Bloomberg)

Muskogee, Oklahoma, in search of a “brand” and an edge over similar-sized cities in attracting businesses, is committing $2.5 million over five years for improvements to its city parks. (Muskogee Phoenix )

14-acre Dolores Park in San Francisco has $7.9 million left to spend from its share of the city’s Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond, and a wide array of users have come forward to express their preferences for improvements and additions. (The New York Times )

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Los Angeles is working to expand the successful Summer Night Lights program, which leaves lights on until midnight and provides supervised activities at public parks in an effort to provide a safe haven from gang activity. (WPRI.com)

The completion of the Scioto Mile, a centerpiece riverfront park in Columbus, Ohio, has highlighted the need for measures to control sewer overflows and improve water quality. (The Columbus Dispatch)

A proposal to allow cyclists to share pedestrian paths crossing Central Park has bicycling advocates, residents, and park leaders thinking about the relationship between parks and different modes of transportation. (The New York Times)

Santa Monica, like other areas of Southern California that have long under-emphasized the public realm, is seeking to reverse its course in dramatic fashion, with two new downtown parks designed by James Corner of High Line fame. (Los Angeles Times)

A pier currently being used as a parking lot, and previously as an industrial site, is set to be converted into a park in an area of New York City with the lowest ratio of parks to residents and office workers. (The New York Times)

San Diego, where discussions surrounding park planning have traditionally been muted, is in the midst of some contentious debates about the future of its signature parks. (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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It seems like a no-brainer: dismantling Philadelphia’s abandoned Reading Viaduct would cost much more than transforming it into a three-quarter mile elevated park that could spur residential development in the Center City neighborhood. Advocates are starting to gather the political and financial support to get the project moving. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

In Milwaukee, a business group and Juneau Park Friends are offering to establish a local tax district to fund a major upgrade of two downtown parks and take over the daily maintenance of all county parks. While this management model has been used successfully in other cities, it would be a first for Milwaukee. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar hopes to make Floyd Bennett Field, a 1930s airfield in New York City, part of the next generation of urban parks by building 90 campsites in the next two years and starting an outreach campaign aimed at low-income communities. (The Christian Science Monitor)

After two failed attempts, New York City has successfully found a partner in AT&T to bring wireless hotspots to 19 New York City parks, more than doubling the number of parks with wireless access. (The New York Times)

Residents of Wilmington, a district in south Los Angeles, were going to be “buffered” from the industrial port by a 20-foot wall – but the community dug in and insisted on something better. The 30-acre Wilmington Waterfront Park, which recently opened, is the result. (Torrance Daily Breeze)

Austin, Texas is beginning to plan a park-focused revitalization of Waller Creek, and is drawing inspiration from Houston, where public-private partnerships enabled the construction of the transformative downtown Discovery Green.  (The Austin American-Statesman)

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This week’s opening of Columbus Commons, a downtown park on the site of an old mall, already has people anticipating a strong residential and commercial market response (The Columbus Dispatch)

In Seattle, landscape architect James Corner unveiled “big ideas” for a more accessible, walkable waterfront with numerous parks jutting out into Elliott Bay (The Seattle Times)

St. Louis looks to keep up with the trend of elevated parks, and is moving forward slowly with plans to turn an abandoned railroad trestle into a 1.5 mile linear park (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

In a photo tour of Seattle, Lawrence Cheek analyzes the successes and failures of public spaces, many of which he finds “dreary and uninviting” (Crosscut Seattle)

The upcoming arrival of a light rail line and the space shuttle Endeavour at Los Angeles’ Exposition Park is prompting many to rethink how the park fits into, and is shaped by, the city’s complex urban fabric (Los Angeles Times)

The long-awaited summer has finally reached even the most northern climes, and now urban thinkers are evaluating downtown parks with fresh eyes. Robert Campbell asks how the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway could be improved and better used (The Boston Globe)

The Minnesota Orchestra’s renovation of Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis could help vault Peavey Plaza to new heights – possibly becoming the city’s signature park (Finance and Commerce)

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New York City’s green infrastructure plan, which will rely on parks to control stormwater runoff, is certainly forward looking, but its roots can be traced back two hundred years (The New York Times)

With tighter budgets, parks departments are looking for ways to maintain parks for less. Enter what might be described as the “Ziptrailer” model, a program in Omaha, Nebraska that will allow local volunteer groups to rent trailers full of tools to help with park upkeep (KETV Omaha)

In another example of volunteer-led park stewardship, the “Detroit Mower Gang” is leading an effort to replace broken swingsets in Detroit parks (The Detroit Regional News Hub)

Madrid has completed a far-reaching project to reconnect with the Manzanares River by replacing a freeway with a six-kilometer linear park. Though the product is beautiful, the process has been arduous and has contributed to Madrid’s monumental public debt (Sustainable Cities Collective)

On the other end of the freeway park spectrum, Seattle has made clever use of space under an interstate for an urban mountain bike course, as illustrated in this new series of photos (Free Association Design)

Connectivity makes a park system more than the sum of its parts, and elevated parks are all the rage since the High Line came into being. An innovative, 240-foot pedestrian bridge is being constructed in New York City to connect Squibb Park to the new Brooklyn Bridge Park, providing access for a neighborhood which would otherwise be cut off by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (Popular Mechanics)

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