Room to Grow

Big urban parks sprouting across the U.S.

Posted at 4:47 PM on 14 Apr 2008

Four major cities are poised to create urban parks several times bigger than New York's iconic Central Park, itself a not-at-all-shabby 843 acres. In Orange County, Calif., a portion of a former air station will become a 1,347-acre park; in Memphis, a 4,500-acre former prison farm has been snatched from developers by a conservation easement; Atlanta is trying to add enough parkland to attach nearly every neighborhood to green space; and a Staten Island landfill will become a giant park with amenities to attract bikers, boaters, and fishers. (No word on whether the Staten Island park will maintain the unsettling moniker of the Fresh Kills Landfill.) The push for parks comes as industrial land lies vacant, property values rise near green space, and demand for urban parkland increases. Says Catherine Nagel of the City Parks Alliance, "There's a growing awareness of the importance of providing green space to cities around the country."

source: USA Today

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Comments: (5 comments)

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The Taxpayers Want It

As a member of the Kent Bicycle Advisory Board, I recently received a link to Washington State's "Bicycle Facilities and Pedestrian Walkways Plan".

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/PDF/FirstDraftPlan.pdf

Very interesting surveys on public sentiment.

Page 21

70 percent of Washington residents surveyed support an increase in speeding to improve bicycling if current funds are re-distributed, with 42 percent saying they strongly support this.

That means that bicycling should be favored over all other new construction activities. They taxpayers then go on to say they do not want to increase spending -- but reallocate it to bicycle and pedestrian facilities!

by jabailo at 6:26 PM on 14 Apr 2008

Discovery Green...

...Park just opened in downtown Houston yesterday. It's only 'bouyt 12 acres, but it has alotta really cool gardens and features that'll make it a central focus for the city.

It used to be a buncha surface parking lots, but they were moved underground and the park was built ontop of it.

by Tasermons Partner at 10:09 PM on 14 Apr 2008

Benefit of Urban Parks?

I am currently reading Jane Jacob's the Death and Life of Great American Cities. She seems to make a pretty compelling argument against urban parks, arguing that they are little more then grounds for muggings and perverts.

Green spots look pretty. But how much do they benefit urban life compared to building traditional communities?

by nycowboy at 8:50 AM on 15 Apr 2008

Why is this a good idea?

Shouldn't vacant land in urban areas be converted to low-cost housing so people don't move to suburban and exurban developments? Green areas surrounded by concrete are not necessarily the healthiest ecosystems. Isolating various populations of species from other populations reduces overall genetic diversity. Furthermore, a much larger amount of a space is required to sustain healthy breeding population of some of the most threatened organisms.

Instead of converting old industrial sites to green space, how about preserving existing green space outside urban areas, constructing a suitable light rail system, and encouraging people to spend time in such natural areas on the weekend?

We need more contiguous healthy natural habitat, not more and larger parks.

If people DO want more green space in urban areas, how about organic farms? Funded by government, food free for the picking.

by wiscidea at 9:41 AM on 15 Apr 2008

Blank canvasses

I love 'greened' cities: but they're often designed just now to be little more than urban savannahs. Amenities are one thing. But diversification is another, bigger issue. turn some of these spaces over to mixed use. farmland. playland. swimland. kissingland. livingland.

by mrdavidbarrie at 2:31 AM on 21 Apr 2008

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