There's an interesting piece in the San Francisco Chronicle on landscape designer Walter Hood, and his work in making more livable urban spaces. For example, he redesigned Splashpad Park in Oakland, "a dilapidated plot near Lake Merritt that was surrounded by traffic and almost sold by the city."
"Bounded by Interstate 580 on the south, Grand Avenue on the west, Lake Park Way on the north and Lakeshore Boulevard on the east, the site with its forlorn fountain epitomized the kind of challenge that Hood finds invigorating. Using layers of plants and varied surfaces, including crushed granite, wood, brick, concrete and grass, Hood has sought to provide 'rooms'' for different activities.
"The design Hood devised after meeting with community activists provides a setting for a thriving Saturday farmer's market, a stage for musical performances, an oasis of green with benches and a pedestrian thoroughfare from a parking lot under the freeway.
"By closing a street, installing a median with palm trees and relocating crosswalks, Hood sought to calm traffic and improve the connection between the park, stores on Grand Avenue and nearby residential neighborhoods. "
April 29, 2004
Cochituate Rail Trail Cleanup Saturday
There will be a volunteer clean-up day on the Cochituate Rail Trail this Saturday, May 1, either 9 am to noon or noon to 3 pm. All are welcome! Park at 500 Old Connecticut Path in Framingham and check in across the street. More info in the Rail Trail Committee flyer.
Update: There's more about the cleanup in Friday's MetroWest Daily News.
A small portion of the trail may be open to the public as early as June, Boston Globe West Weekly notes. "The half-mile stretch starts near the Framingham-Natick line, at Route 30 near Speen Street, and ends at the Mass. Pike, near Old Connecticut Path."
Update: There's more about the cleanup in Friday's MetroWest Daily News.
A small portion of the trail may be open to the public as early as June, Boston Globe West Weekly notes. "The half-mile stretch starts near the Framingham-Natick line, at Route 30 near Speen Street, and ends at the Mass. Pike, near Old Connecticut Path."
April 28, 2004
Retailers Look ‘Off Mall’
"Department store operators are starting to shift from their mall bases to more freestanding stores, a strategy that offers more flexibility in opening stores and tries to capitalize on changing consumer shopping preferences," USA Today reports.
Apparently, increasing numbers of shoppers are discovering that they don't like the experience of parking in enormous asphalt lots and then taking an unappealing walk through pedestrian-hostile space to the mall, where they then have to wade through a crowded, artificially created space to get to their destination.
Bloomingdale's, for example, just opened a store in New York's SoHo neighborhood, "a densely populated area made trendy in recent years as former warehouses have been converted to boutiques, restaurants and other shops."
Shoppers probably have to walk MORE in such areas to get to the stores they want -- but the walking is a much more pleasant experience than going through a mall parking lot.
Downtown-type retail areas with pleasant walking ambiance and a true sense of place are making a comeback. See areas like Waltham and Somerville locally for evidence. Is Framingham finally ready to take advantage?
Apparently, increasing numbers of shoppers are discovering that they don't like the experience of parking in enormous asphalt lots and then taking an unappealing walk through pedestrian-hostile space to the mall, where they then have to wade through a crowded, artificially created space to get to their destination.
Bloomingdale's, for example, just opened a store in New York's SoHo neighborhood, "a densely populated area made trendy in recent years as former warehouses have been converted to boutiques, restaurants and other shops."
Shoppers probably have to walk MORE in such areas to get to the stores they want -- but the walking is a much more pleasant experience than going through a mall parking lot.
Downtown-type retail areas with pleasant walking ambiance and a true sense of place are making a comeback. See areas like Waltham and Somerville locally for evidence. Is Framingham finally ready to take advantage?
No Place To Play
Boston offers the best access to public parks for its children among seven cities studied by the Trust For Public Land, with 78% of its youngsters living within a quarter-mile of a public park. Los Angeles (34%) and San Diego (32%) were worst.
The report, No Place To Play, notes that L.A. actually offers a lot of park land per capita -- 7.9 acres per 1,000 residents -- but a few large parks far away from most-populated areas skew those results. New York offers much less park space per capita -- 4.6 acres per 1,000 -- but it's distributed much better for easy access (close to 60% of New Yorkers live within a quarter-mile of a park).
Open-space per-capita statistics don't tell the whole story about whether that space makes for a more day-to-day livable communy. Large recreational parks are indeed a great asset. But it's also important to see how accessible and usable is open space is for residents in their daily lives.
The same holds true for any kind of open-space requirement when a development project is approved. There's space that will add value to the surrounding communities, and space that doesn't do anything except make a project even less pedestrian accessible.
The report, No Place To Play, notes that L.A. actually offers a lot of park land per capita -- 7.9 acres per 1,000 residents -- but a few large parks far away from most-populated areas skew those results. New York offers much less park space per capita -- 4.6 acres per 1,000 -- but it's distributed much better for easy access (close to 60% of New Yorkers live within a quarter-mile of a park).
Open-space per-capita statistics don't tell the whole story about whether that space makes for a more day-to-day livable communy. Large recreational parks are indeed a great asset. But it's also important to see how accessible and usable is open space is for residents in their daily lives.
The same holds true for any kind of open-space requirement when a development project is approved. There's space that will add value to the surrounding communities, and space that doesn't do anything except make a project even less pedestrian accessible.
April 27, 2004
Mixed-Income Housing Success in NC
"In one unusual spot in Raleigh, you can find kids of many races, from the poorest to some of the richest, playing basketball, soccer and lacrosse -- across the street from public housing," writes Matthew Eisley in the News & Observer.
A crime-ridden project was demolished to make way for "a mix of public housing, subsidized and market-rate apartments, townhouses and single-family houses. ... Where walking used to be a hazard and even driving past risked drawing threats or bullets, now children play without fear."
A crime-ridden project was demolished to make way for "a mix of public housing, subsidized and market-rate apartments, townhouses and single-family houses. ... Where walking used to be a hazard and even driving past risked drawing threats or bullets, now children play without fear."
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