Two different ways to design and program public space: 1) “Street Pianos” are coming to New York, and will be prominently placed in a number of parks. The pianos have been successful in London, São Paulo and other cities. (Village Voice); and 2) from Toronto, color and art comes in the form of painted “nature-inspired [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: downtown, new york city, philadelphia, public art, st. louis, washington dc | Leave a Comment »
In Boston, the iconic Christian Science Center and Plaza plans for redesign on a human scale, adding a pedestrian bridge to the massive reflecting pool and adding trees and benches (Boston Globe). The Urbanophile covers People for Urban Progress (PUP), an Indianapolis nonprofit which is repurposing city materials to repair and improve the park system. [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: boston, Indianapolis, new york city, san francisco, waterfronts | Leave a Comment »
New plans for a greenway along the Allegheny Riverfront in Pittsburgh. Next American City has the story, along with a fantastic picture of Point State Park. Kaid Benfield at NRDC reviews Peter Harnik’s “Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities.” Jonathan Lerner at Miller-McCune discusses the connections between urban planning and public health, highlighting the [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: health, new york city, parkways/boulevards, philadelphia, pittsburgh, waterfronts | Leave a Comment »
Students in the Bronx celebrate their new playground, one of 42 vacant lots that the Trust for Public Land has transformed into playgrounds and community spaces in New York City. (NY1) Proof parks are brought to life by their communities — Youngstown, Ohio residents set up a temporary “pop-up park” in a downtown parking space. [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: bikes, new york city, playgrounds, streets | Leave a Comment »
Bryant Park is a success story in its turn around from a drug haven in the early 1980s to a gem of New York City today. It is also a place has become a model for how to create uses and increase usage of urban parks through different features. One feature often not mentioned is [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: libraries, new york city | Leave a Comment »
Between efforts to make bicycling better and improve the public realm in Manhattan, New York City has been making some steps to upgrade boulevard streets for more users — making the center medians of these facilities into usable and attractive public spaces rather than just an area between two directions of traffic. Case in point: [...]
Filed under: facilities, transportation | Tagged: new york city, parkways/boulevards | 2 Comments »
The New York Times reports on a program in New York City to get more kids golfing. The City Parks Foundation expanded this program to include a new kid-oriented golf course in Brooklyn but the article also offers some insight into how programming ball fields as driving ranges can get kids playing where courses are [...]
Filed under: partnerships, programming | Tagged: golf, new york city | 2 Comments »
MaryAlice Lee of TPL’s New York City playgrounds program appears on the NY1 television morning news to describe a new playground in an otherwise underserved neighborhood of the Bronx. Lee notes that the new space will “add a little bit of greenery, and also a great space for the students to enjoy during the school [...]
Filed under: facilities, renewal | Tagged: new york city, playgrounds | Leave a Comment »
The Sundance Channel has produced a series of short films profiling those involved with the creation of the High Line, an elevated rail line being turned into a linear park-in-the-sky. Not only are the videos well-produced and informative, they provide some great thoughts on the value of parks from the interviewees. Adam Gopnik, the New [...]
Filed under: planning, renewal, transportation | Tagged: elevated trails, new york city | 2 Comments »
The New York City Department of Transportation is undertaking an experiment to close parts of Broadway that traverse Times Square, and started this on Memorial Day. So far, lots of people out on the new public spaces and no significant traffic problems. (See article and video) For cities looking to create more space for the [...]
Filed under: planning, transportation | Tagged: new york city, streets | 1 Comment »
