Klyde Warren is considered a world-class urban haven that’s providing a template for a new generation of innovative parks. From Los Angeles to Miami, urban parks over freeways and those transforming railway tracks are cropping up around the country, as cities look to add green space, revitalize their downtowns, and energize downtrodden neighborhoods.
This latest designs for Trinity River in Dallas represent refreshingly holistic approaches to thinking about the river. The designers have redirected their focus to enhancing the natural possibilities for the basin by understanding and designing for its form, function, and ecology.
The High Line is an urban park that might have never been built and is now estimated to be responsible for $2B in impact. The Atlanta BeltLine, Buffalo Bayou in Houston, The 606 in Chicago, The Underline in Miami, Philadelphia’s Rail Park, and the 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, D.C. are among the emerging projects looking to unlock the potential of reimagined infrastructure and the benefits it can bring to their cities.
New Monuments for New Cities is a public art exhibition in which artists were asked to imagine new monuments. Their designs will travel to five cities next year, to be displayed in industrial reuse spaces, beginning in Buffalo Bayou in Houston in February, and ending on the High Line in New York in October.
The BeltLine U. will bring neighborhood participants into shaping the BeltLine’s evolution by teaching the strategies and specialized knowledge required to do so.
As part of a community visioning process, a coalition of local organizations have proposed an urban greenbelt encircling downtown Austin, connecting Waller Creek, Lady Bird Lake, and several other parks. The proposal identifies four priorities for the greenbelt: creating a thriving center, growing neighborhoods, increasing mobility, and establishing welcoming places.
As a part of their master plan, Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority has published research on what makes a good public space. Based on their findings, the government plans focus on rejuvenating existing spaces, involving the community in placemaking, and using design as a transformative tool.
In a new report, Active Parks, Healthy Cities, City Parks Alliance presents examples of how cities are improving park conditions. They highlight how neighborhood parks that are well designed, programmed, and marketed present an opportunity to address public health challenges. By leveraging creativity, new partnerships, and innovation, our parks can be places where all people choose to be more physically active.
Congratulations to Friends of the Underline! Construction has begun on the first phase of their much-anticipated project, the Underline, which will eventually extend from downtown Miami to Dadeland under the Metrorail’s elevated tracks. That initial segment, in the Brickell district, will be a half-mile long, with an anticipated opening date of May 2020.
The Architect’s Newspaper features an interview with New York City Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mitchell Silver to discuss New York’s Parks Without Borders initiative to make parks and open space more accessible.
