Decommissioned Tempelhof Airport in Berlin had been the subject of grand plans for reusing the massive space for the last two years. But with little money in city coffers, officials decided to simply open it to the public as-is.
"Architects drew up plans. Politicians convened hearings. Editorialists wrote impassioned commentaries.
But in the end, the city's plans for Tempelhof Airport, built under Adolf Hitler as a grandiose monument to Nazi ambitions and Berlin's lifeline during a Cold War blockade that emotionally bound this nation to America, turned out to be in tune with the current laid-back, not to mention penny-pinching, zeitgeist of Germany.
It did nothing."
The park is now open to the public, who can walk and bike and play on the airport's large runways and surrounding spaces, providing a huge new park for the city.
FULL STORY: Grandiose Nazi airport becomes a wild and free park
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA)
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research