Louisville Builds a Green Ring Around the City

For the second time in its history, Louisville completed an ambitious and massive park planning and design process on its suburban fringe. The fringe today is just a bit farther out than it was in Olmsted's day.

1 minute read

May 13, 2016, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Floyds Fork Louisville

The scene on Floyds Fork. | Bryan Siders / Flickr

Jen Kinney writes that this month in Louisville, "nonprofit 21st Century Parks is celebrating the completion of a new greenway on Louisville’s now expanded limits, the city’s first major public-private partnership to construct new parks." All told, the Parklands of Floyds Fork cost $125 million, creating 2,000 acres and nearly 20 miles of continuous parkways.

As Kinney notes, the new park is an echo of the park planning of Louisville's past: over 100 years ago, "Frederick Law Olmsted designed a system of 18 parks linked by 14.5 miles of greenery-ed boulevards around the then-urban edges of Louisville…"

Now the suburban edge of the city is decidedly farther out from the urban core, on land requiring a very involved series of transactions to assemble. According to Kinney, "21st Century Parks engaged in 80 separate land transactions with a variety of owners to piece together the park over the course of eight years. None of the land was acquired by eminent domain or condemnation."

The article includes more details about the amenities and facilities included in the completed park. City officials are expecting 2 million visitors to the park this year.

Thursday, May 12, 2016 in Next City

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

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

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.

June 11, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Yellow single-seat Japanese electric vehicle drivign down road.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs

The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

June 6, 2025 - PC Magazine

Rendering of autonomous cargo train moving across bridge across river in wooded area between Texas and Mexico.

Trump Approves Futuristic Automated Texas-Mexico Cargo Corridor

The project could remove tens of thousands of commercial trucks from roadways.

4 hours ago - FreightWaves

Rendering of white three-story single-stair building in Austin, Texas with staircase in the middle.

Austin's First Single Stair Apartment Building is Officially Underway

Eliminating the requirement for two staircases in multi-story residential buildings lets developers use smaller lots and more flexible designs to create denser housing.

5 hours ago - Building Design & Construction

MARTA bus with Atlanta skyline in background

Atlanta Bus System Redesign Will Nearly Triple Access

MARTA's Next Gen Bus Network will retool over 100 bus routes, expand frequent service.

6 hours ago - Mass Transit