Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture and urban planning, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items.
Un-Paving the Way to Successful Outdoor Education in Urban Settings
“Mothers sit and laugh together, shaded by newly planted trees. They look on while their children play and explore in dirt and grass at the new Outdoor Nature Explore Classroom of Warren Village in the heart of Denver, Colorado. A U.S. Forest Service grant of $100,000 and a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation made the outdoor classroom possible. This new outdoor space is un-paving the way to outdoor education opportunities for urban children in Denver, planting the seeds of inspired outdoor learning through the use of nature play spaces. In contrast to the previous hardened playground with sticky asphalt and hot metal slides, children of Warren Village are now immersed in a nature play zone of trees, shade, dirt, flowers, plants, stumps, stones and water.”
Native Forests Need Proper Preservation from Urban Sprawl
“Fun fact: did you know that the University of Miami owns hundreds of acres of land that once hosted a secret animal testing lab, Cold War-era CIA command and WWII Air Force Base? Yes, the South Campus of the University, 136 acres surrounding Zoo Miami by SW 152nd Street, used to be all those things. But before that, it was a forest of pine trees, grown atop limestone ridges and outcroppings, with rare bats, insects, plants, panthers and eagles. And now what’s left of that Pine Rockland forest is in danger.The University acquired the land decades ago, but it never figured out how best to use the land. This summer, it came up with a time-tested Dade County solution: sell the land to developers building more urban sprawl.”
Philly Gets a Stunning Remake for City Hall’s Front Yard
“On September 4th, Philadelphians will inaugurate the new Dilworth Park, a reimagined space surrounding City Hall, complete with a sweeping lawn, a cafe, fountains, public art and a new entrance to the city’s busiest transit hub. But the park, which was conceived by and ultimately leased to a local economic development agency, also represents one of the largest public-private partnerships undertaken in Philadelphia to date. Along with the sheer scale and immense cost of the redesign, the new Dilworth Park raises questions about the increasing role of quasi-government non-profits in the revitalization of American cities and the meaning of public space.”
Downtown Market in Grand Rapids, Michigan Expands Green Space with Indoor Living Wall
“Following closely on the heels of the recent LEED Gold certification, the Grand Rapids Downtown Market is becoming even greener. The Downtown Market added a 202-square-foot indoor living wall, installed by local manufacturer LiveWall, LLC. The new addition adds more than 100 new plants to the second floor atrium across from the teaching kitchen and complements the outdoor living walls and the upstairs greenhouse space…LiveWall, LLC is partnering with the Downtown Market, to help broaden their portfolio of design concepts by testing different display plants and planting patterns, and to increase the vertical green space inside the Market Hall. LiveWall also planned and planted the outdoor vertical walls, as well as the LiveRoof system at the Downtown Market.”
