Parks
The American Parks Database
A new report from the Trust for Public Lands provides detailed and comprehensive data on city park systems in the U.S.
Five Plans for Reviving the St. Louis Gateway Arch Park
Five finalists have been announced in a design competition to rethink the park near St. Louis' iconic Gateway Arch. Fast Co. Design takes a look at the contenders.
Finalists Chosen in Redesign Bid for Decommissioned Airport
Six finalists have been chosen in a bid to redesign Berlin's decommissioned Tempelhof Airport. The airport is currently open as a park, but the city wants a more formal redesign.
Reviving Struggling Urban Areas with Parks
Three cities -- St. Louis, Houston and Detroit -- have gained new urban parks that are playing big roles in reviving parts of town.
Berlin's Former Airport Opens As Park
Decommissioned Tempelhof Airport in Berlin had been the subject of grand plans for reusing the massive space for the last two years. But with little money in city coffers, officials decided to simply open it to the public as-is.
Peter Harnik Talks About Innovative Parks for Built-Out Cities
City Parks Blog asked Peter Harnik to answer questions about his new book, Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities, that covers how cities can plan for parks as well as how to create them in 'all built-out' settings.
Joseph Stalin Out, Michael Jackson In?
Michael Jackson fans in Prague want to build a statue commemorating the musician in the same park that once housed the world's biggest bust of Joseph Stalin. Some locals aren't happy about the plan.
L.A.'s High Line West
A new linear park project near L.A.'s port seeks to ride the success of New York City's High Line park.
Detroit to Close 77 City Parks
The City of Detroit has announced plans to close 77 city parks this summer in an effort to cut costs.
Behind the Design of the Brooklyn Bridge Park
The new Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York is opening bit by bit. Places talks with Matthew Urbanski, one of the principal designers behind the park about its design and impact.
New York's Expensive Parks
Patrick Arden reports that "No other parks system in America relies as much on other people's money" as New York. Arden examines the public-private partnership, and problems inherent in relying on donations to maintain parks.
Beyond the Trail
A recent Planetizen interview on the relationship between park space and active living got me thinking about what spaces inspire physical activity and what spaces discourage it. In my old apartment complex, the indoor fitness centers were jammed while the nearby riverside walking trails were desolate, despite nearly perfect year-round weather. Why? The trails were perceived as unsafe because they were completely isolated from view.
The Search for Community One Sleepover at a Time?
I have to admit, listening to Peter Lovenheim talk about his book “In the Neighborhood, The Search for Community on an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time”, spiked my planner’s radar. In his novel, the journalist, quite intentionally, well, the title is self-explanatory isn’t it? It sounded a bit hokey and contrived at first, as did the interview. Lovenheim explained that the only way to truly get to know someone and develop a real sense of intimacy and bond was to sleep in their home and shadow them for the day. But the real story is about the loss of intimacy and comfort among neighbors.
States Forced to Close Parks
Facing tight budgets, many states are closing or limiting access to their parks and natural resources.
Troubled Times for Philadelphia's Underfunded Parks
With one of Philadelphia's best-supported public parks in danger of losing the private funding that keeps it maintained, Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron looks at the sad state of the city's parks.
Creative Funding for Pop-Up Park
In Philadelphia, a recent planning school graduate and his friends are attempting to create a pop-up park in East Passyunk using social media and contest winnings as funding tools.
Park Formulas do More Harm Than Good
Peter Harnik, director of the Center for City Park Excellence at the Trust for Public Land, believes that formulas for how much parkland cities and neighborhoods cause more harm than good.
Public Space Creation in Three Midwestern Cities
This piece from The Architect's Newspaper takes a look at three midwestern cities that have recently benefited from outside investments in their urban centers.
The Design Behind St. Louis' Downtown Park
Landscape Architecture Magazine looks at the design behind the new downtown art park in St. Louis and calls it a "hybrid oasis" in the city.
Giving an Identity and Purpose to Governors Island
The New York Times takes a look at plans to redesign Governors Island, control of which was recently take over by the City of New York.
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.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
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
Journal of the American Planning Association
