Architecture critic Mark Lamster finally sees a proposal worth cheering for in Dallas' plans for a new park along the Trinity River.
"After more than two decades of infighting, foot-dragging, false starts, and recrimination, Dallas finally has a serious plan for a park between the Trinity levees," according to an editorial from Dallas Morning News architecture critic Mark Lamster.
After setting aside some of the "ill-conceived" fantasies of past iterations of the park plan, Lamster identifies the good stuff from the most recent proposal, which includes "a two-part scheme that brings a stepped riverine ecology to the Trinity flood plain, and places a series of overlook parks on the tops and sides of the levee walls."
New York-based landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates produced the new proposal. The firm's urban park résumé includes Hudson River Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park, in New York, and the landscape at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.
The proposal is still conceptual—the result of an action by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings "in response to public feedback to the so-called Dream Team’s proposals for the Trinity toll road." Lamster has been one of the toll road's most vocal critics, though certainly not its only critic.
FULL STORY: Dallas finally gets a serious plan for a park between Trinity River levees
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.