Month: August 2013
Recommended Listening: Think About Getting Back to Nature
There have been increasing amounts of studies and literature linking improved mental health with being in touch with the natural world. Doctors, authors, and artists all seem to be searching for ways to quantify and describe how beneficial nature is for one’s well-being and health. The Canadian Broadcasting Company/Radio Canada produces a regular podcast that…
Trees in Cities: A Breath of Fresh Air
It’s a fact: living in a city or other urban environment means dealing with pollution. But while it may seem unavoidable, there are untapped ways to improve the air quality of our cities. New research from a team including David Nowak and Robert Hoehn from the USDA Forest Service and Satoshi Hirabayashi and Allison Bodine…
Open Voices News Roundup: August 12
Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items. Drs. Oz and Roizen: “Green prescriptions” for Busy People “Getting up close and personal with Mother Nature yields big mind-body benefits. A walk in the park is…
Friday Flower: Name This Bloom!
Every Friday we publish a new Friday Flower. We ask our readers, as a game, to identify the flower. Here’s today’s beautiful bloom — anybody know what it is?…
Recommended Reading: Mounds of Trash into Treasured Landscape
The large Freshkills landfill used to be one of the less flattering, yet defining features of Staten Island. But that is all going to change in the next few years, and we can already begin to see the improvements, as the expansive 2,200 acres transitions into a park with the help of James Corner Field…
Designing the Naval Cemetery Landscape: An Interview with the Landscape Architects of Nelson Byrd Woltz
The landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz is dedicated to the integration of respect for nature and design. They will be partnering with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, one of our National Award winners, on the Naval Cemetery Landscape project to develop a peaceful natural space for commuters along the greenway. We had a chance to…
Open Voices News Roundup: August 5
Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items. How Better Urban Design Makes Us Healthier, Happier, and Sexier “Cities have policies that sound good on paper, calling for mixed-use development and walkable neighborhoods, but they…
Friday Flower: Name This Bloom!
Every Friday we publish a new Friday Flower. We ask our readers, as a game, to identify the flower. Here’s today’s beautiful bloom — anybody know what it is?…
