Building parks for all people: Embracing the Olmsted Spirit

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

It is hard to imagine Washington without the Capitol Grounds, Manhattan without Central Park, and America without our national parks. Yet without the extraordinary vision of American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the American landscape might be far different today.

The bipartisan House Resolution 1013, introduced by Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and co-sponsored by Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), seeks to recognize the 200th anniversary of Olmsted’s birth on April 26, 2022. The text of the resolution enumerates Olmsted’s outstanding contributions to American life.

It was Olmsted who first realized the necessity of parks for city dwellers and the importance of connecting all of us to nature. It was Olmsted and the Olmsted Firm that created parks and green spaces across the country in New York, Louisville, Atlanta, Chicago, Buffalo, Boston, Washington and Seattle. From coast to coast, the modern urban experience is shaped by Olmsted’s work.

When faced with a deeply divided society and a public health crisis, leaders in the late 19th century responded with a period of extraordinary civic improvements. They saw a role for robust governmental engagement in the creation of natural infrastructure. They competed with each other to see who could build the best and most restorative parks for their communities.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/building-parks-for-all-people-embracing-the-olmsted-spirit/ar-AAWjzSO

About damn near impossible to get the GOP to vote for any civic improvement these days.

[jfz9580m]

1. Very cool -K&R

So true:

Now nearly 200 years later, the importance of these spaces is even greater—as millions of Americans have experienced during the pandemic. Not only do parks restore us mentally and physically, they also serve a critical ecological function in the face of climate change. It’s not serendipity that Olmsted’s Back Bay Fens weathered Hurricane Ida better than most areas of Boston, proving that green infrastructure is critical to solving our growing environmental challenges.