Articles
Ask The Right Questions
An accessible playspace has never been easier to build. With options from several playground manufacturers, the sky is the limit.
A Symbiotic Relationship
To make cities more resilient, park planners and designers need to look beyond the typical stormwater requirements when thinking about public spaces. How can parks solve larger, community-wide stormwater problems while still accommodating recreational needs?
Revitalizing Park Infrastructure: Part 2
Parks serve so many vital purposes in our communities. They connect us to one another and to nature. They support mental and physical health and well-being.
Aligning Infrastructure And Environmental Priorities
By 2050, the population in California is expected to increase to 50-million people, while rainfall is projected to decrease by 10 to 15 percent due to climate change. With Californians using the equivalent volume of water of Shasta Lake—the state’s largest reservoir—every 40 days, a new model for urban-water use is being considered at every level of government.
The Best Of Both Worlds
Coming soon to Park Forest, Ill., Somonauk Nature Adventure Park combines adventure and nature in one park-redevelopment strategy. Planned renovations for the 16-acre park include construction of a two-acre pond with native, prairie, and emergent wetland, recreational fishing, and kayaking.
Relief From The Heat
In Tucson, Ariz., a desert city where temperatures in the summer are consistently in the triple digits, shade is not a luxury but a necessity. The city’s parks and recreation department has consistently heard from the community that residents need and desire shade over everything, but especially over playgrounds.
Playground Standards Have Changed
Are your playgrounds keeping up with the changes in ASTM Standards in 2021? People who have been coping with COVID-19 might not be aware that ASTM F1487 is about to publish a revision that will require written verification that installed structures and surfacing meet not only a manufacturer’s requirements but also the requirements of ASTM F1292.
The Soothing Sounds Of Water
Community parks have never been needed as much as in recent times. Meeting other people while taking a stroll or stopping to watch water flow from a fountain has helped offer meaningful connections in this time of such isolation.
Park Security
A peaceful Sunday morning in November 2020 turned violent at the Linda Vista Recreation Center in San Diego when two men were shot, one of whom later died in a nearby hospital. When the shootings occurred, the men were on their way to use the handball courts at the center.
Helping Residents Breathe Easier
In a city that records among the highest asthma death-rates in the country, Chicago parks and lakefronts provide welcome respites for residents seeking green space and fresh air. With assets that encompass 8,700 acres, and more than 600 parks, 27 beaches, and 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, Chicago Park District (CPD) significantly reduces its environmental impact and improves sustainability by using renewable and cleaner-burning biodiesel
No One Trailing Behind
The typical image of a park playground includes enthusiastic and engaged children playing tag, swinging from monkey bars, jumping from platforms, and laughing together. Then, just off to the side, are the adults—parents and guardians—with only a few venturing into the playground frenzy with their children.
A Big Believer In Trees
Trees are the answer. You may have heard that and thought trees could be the answer, but there are so many other things that demand attention in parks. Utilities, fields, walking paths, playgrounds, and tree canopy all fight for a place in parks and open spaces. How do we decide which is most critical? Which should be in a park?
Don’t Dog The Design
With more pet owners looking for activities to do with their entire family (Fido included), the staff from the Fairfield Parks and Recreation Department in Ohio began a quest to offer an all-inclusive and fun park experience.
Nostalgia For The Future
I heard a rabbi say recently, “In community we heal.” He was speaking about healing from the pandemic with the added burden of dealing with the riots in cities across the country.