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.
2013 A Year for Green Accomplishments: Looking Ahead as New Mayors Talk the Helm
Adrian Benepe, Senior Vice President and Director of City Park Development at the Trust for Public Land, “reviews some of last year’s events, particularly related to urban green issues, previews the administrations of new mayors in some of the nation’s largest cities, and makes predictions for 2014.
Time to Act: Investing in the Health of our Children and Communities
The work of The Commission to Build a Healthier America, convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “sparked a national conversation that has led to a marked increase in collaboration among a wide variety of partners aimed at addressing the many determinants of health. Eager to build upon this progress, RWJF asked the Commissioners to come together again. This year, the Commission tackled immensely complex matters that underlie profound differences in the health of Americans: experiences in early childhood; opportunities that communities provide for people to make healthy choices; and the mission and incentives of health professionals and health care institutions.”
They found that to improve the health of all Americans we must:
- Invest in the foundations of lifelong physical and mental well-being in our youngest children
- Create communities that foster health-promoting behaviors
- Broaden health care to promote health outside of the medical system
Paradise Built on a Parking Lot
“Built on the site previously occupied by the RAND Corporation’s headquarters and more recently a surface parking lot, Tongva Park and Ken Genser Square (once collectively known as the Civic Center Parks) encompass 7 acres in the heart of Santa Monica…Tongva Park, which was named after the indigenous people who have lived in the Los Angeles area for thousands of years, boasts hundreds of trees, a playground, public art, water features, and observation decks that offer views of the Pacific Ocean. With seven different entrances, the park is very open and integrates seamlessly into the fabric of the surrounding area. Designed by James Corner’s Field Operations landscape architecture firm (best known for their work on the elevated High Line), the design is meant to recall the Southern California arroyo landscape of washes and ravines.”
Older Trees Absorb More Carbon
“Humans’ growth spurts stop by late adolescence, but trees accelerate their growth and get bigger as they age. According to a global study by 38 international researchers published in Nature, these findings could have implications for how the world’s forests are managed to contain the ill-effects of climate change. Nate Stephenson, the study’s lead author and a forest ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), said: ‘This finding contradicts the usual assumption that tree growth eventually declines as trees get older and bigger. It also means that big, old trees are better at absorbing carbon from the atmosphere than has been commonly assumed.'”
