Contents – March 2024

CONTENTS – March 2024

Character towns, small and large, help build social cohesion, community connections, civic pride and institutional trust with places and spaces for people to socialize. A systemic approach to obtaining, designing and connecting the many open spaces in the city results in a network of beautiful and sociable spaces that can, if done enthusiastically, define the city. 

Design the city to be a park; an active, verdant civic asset

THE “HOLISTIC OPEN SPACE SYSTEM” EDITION

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT IDEAS…

• “Urban Open Space Systems, Leverage the Open Space System to Unify the City and Save the Environment”…wck.
• “Parks, Plazas, Trails and Open Spaces: Citywide Amenities and Connectors”…wck.
• “Main Street Parks and Plazas, Open Air ‘Third Places’ “…wck.
• “The Multiple Benefits of Co-Located Public Venues”…wck.
• “City Sidewalks, A Limited Resource Needs Management”…wck.
• “Benefits of Trees” from the Arbor Day Foundation, LINK: https://www.arborday.org/trees/benefits.cfm
• “Urban Parks: Programming Areas and Facilities”…wck.
• “Small City And Town Aesthetics, The Idea of Community Beauty”…wck.

VIDEOS…

• “How to Save Life on Earth”, according to E.O. Wilson [6:29].
• City Parks Alliance Video Series: City Parks: America’s New Infrastructure – Overview [4:11]
  
  • City Parks: America’s New Infrastructure – Multi-Use [0:40 / 0:40]
  • City Parks: America’s New Infrastructure – Economy [7:15]
  • City Parks: America’s New Infrastructure – Traffic & Transportation [5:38]
  • City Parks: America’s New Infrastructure – Resilience [6:58]
  • City Parks: America’s New Infrastructure – Health & Social Benefits [6:25]
• “How Bumble Bees Inspired a Network of Tiny Museums”, TED Talk, Amanda Schochet [10:59]
• “Nature Ignores Design That Ignores Nature: Observing Natural and Historic Patterns for Site Planning, Native Landscape, and Green Infrastructure” presentation by Tom Mortensen, PLA, ASLA, raSmith [1:10:36]

FROM THE PLANNERS’ BOOKSHELF…

• Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature into Urban Design and Planning, Timothy Beatley, Island Press, Center for Resource Economics, Washington DC, 2011.
• A Clearing in the Distance, Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century, Witold Rybczynski, 1999. Scribner; First Edition (July 5, 2000)
• Sidewalks and Trails, The Florida Department of Transportation LINK: https://www.fdot.gov/roadway/ada/sidewalksandtrails.shtm
• Design with Nature, 25th Edition by Ian L. McHarg, Published by Natural History Press, 1971, then by John Wiley & Sons, 1992.
• Parks and Recreation System Planning, A New Approach for Creating Sustainable, Resilient Communities, David L. Barth, PhD, Island Press, Washington D.C., 2020.