Planning Roundtable: What Makes a Good Urban Park?

Are there too many urban parks and plazas? If not, why do some fail? In this collaborative article, several urban planning gurus from different cities respond to these questions. They provide both shared and unique perspectives.

1 minute read

October 27, 2015, 1:00 PM PDT

By wadams92101


Jane Jacobs preferred the "ballet of the good city sidewalk" over urban parks. In fact, she was critical of many parks, as they existed in 1950s Robert Moses shaped New York City. Much has changed in park design since Jane Jacobs wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and yet many of her prescriptions and warnings are as relevant as ever. In this article, five urban planning gurus—three from San Diego, one from NYC, and one from Portland OR—give their views about what makes a good urban park, both in general and in their particular city. The article concludes:

Design, location, context, programming, maintenance, unified planning, and other factors mean everything. . . Much has been learned from and since Jane Jacobs’ milestone of urban understanding about park design and location but urban parks do still on occasion fail. Jacobs warned against planning on the basis of statistics or metrics (“disorganized complexity”), e.g., one park per so many people or per so many square miles. A successful park depends on understanding the many interrelated elements in a neighborhood and successfully planning for them – including funding for maintenance and operation.

Monday, October 26, 2015 in UrbDeZine

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Close-up of 10 mph speed limit sign.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law

Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.

15 minutes ago - The Urbanist

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

1 hour ago - CBC

Traffic and old buildings in Manhattan, New York City.

USDOT Could Pull Federal Funding for New York

The federal government gave the state until May 21 to end new York City’s congestion pricing program or risk losing federal funding and project approvals.

2 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive