Created so people could "experience nature in the midst of crowds," New York's Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge embodies the characteristics of all modern national parks: abundant, welcoming, and threatened.
Hidden in plain view, the Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Queens plays host to abundant waterfowl in a tidal marsh. Brandon Keim writes, "My cab drivers, most of them born and raised in Queens, often don't know where the refuge is. More New Yorkers have seen Jamaica Bay through an airplane window than from their feet. That's part of its beauty. There, still within a city of 8.4 million tightly packed people, is a place where you can not see anyone for long stretches of time. Or at least not anyone human."
This century's challenges will inevitably affect the refuge. "As Earth's carbon-choked climate continues to warm and its seas rise, the bay's beloved and ecologically vital features will be inundated, submerging marsh islands where bird colonies breed and tidal wetlands that shelter baby fish until they're ready for the open ocean."
On top of climate change, development near the park can erode the tidal buffer zone. Keim writes, "Too many people have already forgotten Hurricane Sandy's harsh lessons about the importance of wetlands and dunes for absorbing storms."
There's also the eternal paradox: how do you visit and enjoy a nature preserve when the best thing would be to leave it alone? "In a less-populated time, it might have seemed like the national parks didn't need our help, that they could thrive with benign neglect and the stewardship of a few people in uniform. If that was ever true before, it's certainly not true now."
FULL STORY: Our era’s iconic national park is hidden in New York City
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.