From Bluebelts to Greenbelts: Converting Wetlands and Stormwater Storage Ponds to Parkland

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Peter Harnik

An eleventh 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 created parkland from wetlands and stormwater storage ponds. For environmental, financial, and legal reasons, urban stormwater management is getting much more attention – and the result is helping to [...]

Filed under: green infrastructure, planning, renewal | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Creating Parkland via Rail Trails

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Peter Harnik

A ninth 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 created parkland by converting abandoned railroad corridors into rail trails. In 1963 famed Morton Arboretum naturalist May Theilgaard Watts wrote a letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune. [...]

Filed under: green infrastructure, planning, renewal, transportation | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Smoking Bans in Public Parks

Posted on July 8, 2011 by John Crotty

In early February, the New York City Council (36-12) approved, and Mayor Bloomberg signed, a ban on smoking in the city’s parks, beaches, pedestrian malls and plazas. Effective as of May 23rd, the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation can now impose $50 fines on rule breakers. Given what we know about the health value [...]

Filed under: health | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Bringing Life to Cemeteries

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Aric Merolli

Older private cemeteries, where plots are mostly full and burials are too infrequent to provide adequate income, often wind up as public land managed by city park departments. A recent article, published in Landscape Architecture Magazine and American Cemetery, explores how public cemeteries can offer more to a community than a final resting place – [...]

Filed under: green infrastructure, planning | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Pavement in the Park: How Removing Parking Adds Acreage

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Peter Harnik

A seventh 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 created parkland by removing excess parking spaces. Do you park in your park? Does it seem to be a parking lot more than a park, a lot? Urban park [...]

Filed under: green infrastructure, planning, renewal | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Learning to Share: Designing Schoolyards for More Than Just Recess

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Peter Harnik

A sixth 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 created parkland by sharing schoolyards with their parks departments. Schoolyards are large, flat, centrally located open spaces with a mandate to serve the recreational needs of schoolchildren. Great schoolyards–the rare [...]

Filed under: green infrastructure, partnerships, renewal | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Ask the Expert: Are Artificial Turf Fields Safe?

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Jordan Thaler

After a damp, cold winter that morphed into a damp, cold spring, Portland was recently forced to close all of its grass play fields for several weekends in order to prevent irreparable damage (see right photo). On a typical weekend, the fields are replete with soccer players, kickball tournaments, and pick-up Frisbee games. Should Portland follow [...]

Filed under: facilities, green infrastructure | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

Award-Winning Parks Projects From Hollywood to New York

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Ryan Donahue

At first glance, Cahuenga Peak, the backdrop to the Hollywood sign, might seem more like a supporting actor than a bona fide star. But it got its moment in the spotlight last year as The Trust for Public Land helped save it from becoming a luxury housing development. Now it has been named “Best New [...]

Filed under: green infrastructure, planning, renewal | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Velociraptors in Prospect Park?

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Coleen Gentles

Unicorns, saber-toothed tigers and velociraptors, oh my! Last summer, the self-appointed “Non-Traditional Park Preservation Task Force” posted signs in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park warning users to stay on the paths or risk becoming prey to some unexpected four-legged creatures. The signs were posted to discourage vandals from breaking the fences, traipsing around the ravine and disturbing the newly replanted top soil. [...]

Filed under: crime & safety, green infrastructure, maintenance/management | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

The Greenbelt and Gilbert Lindsay Park Selected as “Frontline Parks”

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Angelina

Each month, City Parks Alliance recognizes two “Frontline Parks“ to promote inspiring examples of urban park excellence, innovation and stewardship across the country in the face of shrinking municipal budgets, land use pressures and urban neighborhood decay. February’s selections highlight the importance of recreation in urban areas. One of the primary functions of urban parks [...]

Filed under: partnerships, planning, renewal | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.