An Interconnected Park Web: How Greenways Create Healthy Communities

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Coleen Gentles

We recently came across an article by Randall Arendt discussing how greenway networks are the “useful bridge between ‘new urbanism’ and conservation design.”  His article talks about using greenways as the connector to parks, neighborhoods, schools and mixed-use centers, allowing for urban and rural ideas to merge and produce a superior hybrid community form.  He argues that [...]

Filed under: green infrastructure, health, planning, transportation | 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 »

Cahuenga Peak Nominated for “2011 Heart of Green” Award

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Ryan Donahue

The famous Hollywood sign has stood for decades in regal solitude on Cahuenga Peak, gazing out over Los Angeles. When the land surrounding the “H” was threatened by a luxury housing development in 2009, The Trust for Public Land stepped forward to lead the effort to purchase the 138 acres surrounding the iconic letters. The [...]

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

Moving Traffic to the Trail: Boulder’s Multipurpose Greenway

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Ryan Donahue

Can a greenway park help a city solve its transportation problems? Definitely! That’s the finding from Boulder, Colorado (pop. 100,000), the conservation-minded home of the University of Colorado and a national leader in combating auto traffic, energy waste and sprawl. Back in 1990 Boulder rejected the concept of widening roads and constructing interchanges in order [...]

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

Videos: Engaging Communities Around Urban Pathways

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Ben Welle

Post by Stephen Miller, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Last month, more than one hundred advocates of urban pathways, greenways and trails from the private and public sectors met in New Orleans for the first in a series of meetings to discuss best practices that encourage physical activity on shared-use pathways in urban neighborhoods. Topics of discussion included [...]

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

Healthy Cities Have Ped/Bike Bridges

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Ben Welle

We’ve been looking into what can make healthy cities, and how park systems can better be a part of this. One feature that’s come up in several cities is the pedestrian/bike bridge. Cities across the country are adding these bridges as part of their trail and park networks – including the Stone Arch Bridge in [...]

Filed under: facilities, transportation | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

A Greenway in the Heart of New Orleans

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Ben Welle

We nearly missed mentioning a new greenway emerging in New Orleans that will run from City Park to the edge of the French Quarter. The project has a lot of potential in terms of economic development and creating a separate bike and walking trail right in the heart of the city. The city is moving [...]

Filed under: renewal, transportation | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

A Green City: Parks in Curitiba, Brazil

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Ben Welle

One of the most well regarded world cities in terms of urban planning is Curitiba, Brazil — a place known for its efficient and innovative bus rapid transit system. But the city is also known for its parks, in particular using them to increase quality of life and act as green infrastructure to protect against [...]

Filed under: green infrastructure, international | Tagged: , , | 4 Comments »

Healthy Cities Have Bike Stations

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Ben Welle

Last week a new bike station opened in Washington, D.C. on prime public space – next to the city’s Union Station. Bike centers are popping up in other cities, with some of the most successful being co-located with parks and trails. We visited the Midtown Bike Center in Minneapolis last month, and biked away incredibly [...]

Filed under: planning, transportation | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 34 other followers