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

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Peter Harnik

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 [...]

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Urban Population Growth Creates New Demand for Parks

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Elissa Hoagland Izmailyan

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 [...]

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Creating and Financing Infill Parks in the Bay Area: Part I

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Ryan Donahue

San Francisco was just crowned the greenest city in the U.S. and Canada by one large study, a nod to its policies that require recycling, ban plastic shopping bags, and provide incentives for solar roofs. But the Bay Area is also thinking of sustainability in terms of smarter growth throughout the region as a whole. [...]

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Pedestrians and Park Planning: How Far Will People Walk?

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Ryan Donahue

As cities vie to attract talented college graduates and sustain population growth, they are focusing attention on parks to increase livability and support a strong economy. Since parks must be convenient if they are to provide their benefits, many places have set goals for the maximum distance any resident should be from the nearest park. [...]

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Of Parks, Podiums and Penumbras: How Density Changes Development

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Ryan Donahue

Cities that increase density by building skywards can inadvertently end up with impersonal streetscapes defined by monotonous walls of glass and concrete. Toronto has avoided the issue of dark, canyon-like streetscapes by mandating that buildings offer a human-scale street presence. Most large buildings are composed of a “podium” base, with towers receding from the street [...]

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More Evidence of Kids in Downtown Neighborhoods

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Ben Welle

More parents with children are living in downtown Minneapolis neighborhoods, says a recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We’ve reported on this trend in places such as Portland, and have made the case that cities need to provide the parks and playgrounds that parents want if they are to have truly diverse neighborhoods from [...]

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Smart Growth Means Intelligently Including Parks, Green Features

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Ben Welle

How can parks fit into the smart growth movement? Kaid Benfield, director of NRDC’s Smart Growth Program writes two nice posts about what he calls the environmental paradox of smart growth. He notes in his first post: Environmental impacts will occur with development; to limit them, we must concentrate them, and this can mean increasing [...]

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Rezoning for More Density Around Trails, Parks

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Ben Welle

There is a symbiotic relationship between parks and population density. For those living in compact housing around a park’s borders, there is respite, a place to recreate, a back yard where little private outdoor space exists and an amenity that increases property values. For the park, there’s the “eyes” that make it safer, more property [...]

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David Owen: City Living is Green Living

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Ben Welle

The greenest cities are the most compact cities, says David Owen in his recent book Green Metropolis, pointing to New York City’s urban form as a model for sustainability. For the most part, Owen is right on and the book is a good read. Citing high transit use, walkability and tightly packed buildings, he notes [...]

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Savannah’s Squares: a Model for Today’s Planners?

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Ben Welle

An AP reporter takes a trip to Savannah, Georgia, the historic city on the Atlantic coast and provides some background on the its famous network of public squares: But the reason for those public spaces might surprise modern visitors: British General James Oglethorpe designed them as part of a military grid so his troops could [...]

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