Next City surveys the most ambitious examples of park design from a year of ambitious projects.
Rachel Dovey takes a look back at what was a big year for parks in 2015 by presenting a list of the "most ambitious public spaces of 2015." The list surveys locations as far apart on geographic and cultural spectrums as Los Angeles, Texas, and Beirut. Each of the parks listed are supplemented with explainer text and links to access more information:
- The Yanaguana Garden, San Antonio
- 50 Parks Initiative, Los Angeles
- First Ward Park, Charlotte
- Horsh Beirut, Beirut
- Bayou Greenways, Houston
- Magical Bridge Playground, Palo Alto
- Luther Ely Smith Square, St. Louis
FULL STORY: City Park Design Is Getting More Ambitious
First Look: Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan Adopted in L.A.
The Los Angeles City Council approved environmental review documents for the long-awaited Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan, clearing the way to remake a defunct reservoir into active green and park space.
Trends in Community Park Landscape Design and Planning
Urban park planning and design needs to deliver a lot of community benefit from a small amount of space. The lessons that emerge
Programming Over Serenity Favored in 21st Century Park Design
The new urban public realm in the United States is highly programmed—some of that design approach reflects the trends of culture and some reflects a history of violence and bad for PR for parks at the end of the 20th century.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association