Parks Are the Foundation for New York City’s Future

July 18, 2012July 18, 2012 Beth Kelley

Interesting initiative by New York’s Mayor Bloomberg. Nice to see his health campaign includes parks and open spaces.

Interesting initiative by New York’s Mayor Bloomberg. Nice to see his health campaign includes parks and open spaces.

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community · design · environment · Social

UW exhibit celebrates parks, public spaces reclaimed from unusual uses

May 22, 2012May 23, 2012 Beth Kelley

A bit older news, but still interesting, and a great way to get into the unofficial summer season; from UW News:

Thaisa Way, a UW associate professor of landscape architecture, and several of her design students have curated “Experimenting in Public Space,” on exhibit May 9 to June 24 at the American Institute of Architecture design gallery in downtown Seattle. The exhibit explores Gas Works and 11 subsequent parks and public spaces in a series of sketches, photographs and architectural renderings.

In 1962, a parcel at the northern tip of Lake Union was a toxic waste dump, the result of an industrial plant that turned coal to natural gas. By 1976, however, it was Gas Works Park, the result of a gutsy experiment in landscape architecture led by Richard Haag, a University of Washington emeritus professor of architecture.

Gas Works and subsequent projects established Seattle as one of the first American cities willing to recast industrial sites into places to celebrate.

“Gas Works was a radical move, especially since Rachel Carson’s book, ‘Silent Spring,’ had just been published, and people were alerted about environmental pollution,” Way said.

Haag convinced the city that not only could unusual and sometimes polluted land be reclaimed but that it should be. Instead of the wide, rolling vistas of trees and flowers created across the country by the Olmsted brothers in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, however, Haag celebrated the city and all its right angles. The gas works boiler house eventually sheltered grills and picnic tables, and the gas compressor became a play barn, all with a water’s edge view of Lake Union and the downtown Seattle skyline.

Among the projects featured in the exhibit are Freeway Park, Waterworks Gardens and the Olympic Sculpture Park.

The Design Your Own Park Competition | American Journal of Play

August 31, 2011 Beth Kelley

The City of Binghamton, New York has a great solution for the empty lots and spaces in its area: parks! As David Sloan Wilson describes in his journal article published in the American Journal of Play:

“the thinking behind and the implementation of the Design Your Own Park (DYOP) Competition, a collaborative project of a university, a city, and a fund-raising organization to empower neighborhoods and restore outdoor play citywide in Binghamton, New York. The city makes vacant lots and other neglected spaces available for neighborhoods to turn into parks that residents design and build with the assistance of faculty and students from Binghamton University’s Binghamton Neighborhood Project.

The Design Your Own Park Competition (DYOP), launched in 2010, is a collaborative effort … to enhance opportunities for unstructured play on a citywide scale by empowering neighborhoods to create parks of their own design.

Neighborhoods typically are not well suited for collective action. From the richest gated communities to the poorest ghettos, most people scarcely know their neighbors. But there is nothing like a common goal such as creating a neighborhood park to bring people together.

more via The Design Your Own Park Competition | American Journal of Play.

The city of Seattle, WA, proposed a similar project, although it fizzled out somewhat after initial interest from various organizations (does anybody remember the name of that project? If so, leave it in the comments below, thanks!).

Check out some of the other articles published in the Spring edition of the American Journal of Play. They deal with some really interesting issues of play, child devleopment, and overall health.

behavior · environment · Nature · technology

ParksByNature Smart Phone Apps Make State Parks Accessible Like Never Before | Inhabitat

July 26, 2011July 26, 2011 Beth Kelley1 Comment

We hear stories of people getting lost or running into dead end streets because they are too religiously following their GPS or smart phone directions. And I’ve definitely been to dinner a couple of times in groups with one or two people who wouldn’t get off their phone. However, some smart phone apps can be useful and engaging, such as apps that encourage people to get out into nature. Inhabitat offered a write-up of one such app that’s tied into the U.S. park system.

Okay, so the article is totally written as a pitch to sell the app, but why not? This is an actually somewhat useful app that gets people more engaged with nature!

Many of us remember spending summers driving to lakes, hiking with the family and camping in the great outdoors, but some of today’s kids would rather spend some alone time with their iPhones than with Mother Nature. ParksByNature’s apps engage the gaming set with an interactive tour guide called The Pocket Ranger. Available in the free Lite Version or the upgraded Pro Version ($3.99), the app features park information, weather alerts, a social network to share favorite spots and photos in real time, and safety features like Friend Finder and Alert Feature, which helps coordinate rescues if a natural disaster were to strike.

The Pro version has guided tours and hikes with GPS tracking, downloadable detailed maps and best of all, supports the park directly. ParksByNature shares the fee with the parks system and Friends of State Parks, a nonprofit partner.

more via ParksByNature Smart Phone Apps Make State Parks Accessible Like Never Before | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World.

They are also planning to expand to zoos, museums, and other nature experiences.

Now I just wish they’d make one for all us non-iPhone aficionados.