At Franklin Park, a group of Washington city planners and their team of consultants are seeking to succeed where others have failed - revive an old D.C. park - and provide a model for similar spaces in the process.
As part of a special report on the shifting landscape of downtown D.C. appearing in The Washington Post Magazine, "a laboratory that could help the District join a renaissance of park development that is sweeping the country."
Although the city has found success in creating new parks with federal and private partners, it "has not yet cracked the code of reanimating that most archetypal of urban open spaces, the simple old city park," writes Montgomery. "That’s where Franklin Park comes in. The city and the National Park Service (which owns Franklin and most green acres in Washington) have budgeted $1 million through 2014 to plan and design a revitalized Franklin, with prodding from surrounding businesses via the Downtown Business Improvement District."
In addition to finding the funds to actually complete the work once the plan is completed, "[t]he challenge [for designers] will be finding the proper balance between active and passive, constructed and open, trendy and eternal," notes Montgomery.
FULL STORY: Creating the park of the future
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Site of Race Riot in Springfield, Illinois, Designated as National Monument
President Biden has designated the site of the 1908 Springfield race riot as a national monument, honoring its historical significance.
Illegal Roads Threaten Lake Mead’s Shoreline
As visitors seek out ways to reach the lake’s increasingly distant shoreline, officials say illegally created roads are damaging environmental and cultural resources and leading to hundreds of calls for rescue for stranded vehicles.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service