The Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island is slowly being transformed into a major new park for New York. Eventually it will be three times the size of Central Park.
James L. Russell visits the site and looks at the plans, designed in part by James Corner Field Operations, the firm that worked most famously on The High Line. Work has begun on the project, particularly on turning the giant mounds of trash into safe parkland:
"Though a small part will open in 2011, the completion of the park, part of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, may be 30 years away.
Giant dump trucks rumble across an inlet at what will become The Confluence, with restaurants, picnic piers, sports fields, a kayak launch and floating barges turned to gardens."
Russell finds that a great deal of this site is actually wild and unpolluted, filled with birds and clean water.
Read the full story: Garbage Mountains Slowly Morph Into $160 Million New York Park
New York's Next Post-Industrial Success Story?
Michael Kimmelman tours Fresh Kills landfill, once the world's largest garbage dump, and now a model for landfill reclamation and, unexpectedly, climate change mitigation.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Trump is considering data centers on 6 states' public land — some state officials say they had no idea
If the administration approves the proposed projects, data center and data center-related developments will cover 17,600 acres of public land.
After decades of planning, Sacramento gains new light rail station
Trains will arrive every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes during non-peak hours.
Massive tunnel-boring machine breaks ground on Gateway Project
The Trump administration revoked funding for the project in October 2025, and then restored it earlier this year.
Airo trainsets begin service on Amtrak Cascades route
The trains feature panoramic windows, complementary wifi and over 300 seats per train set.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello