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Public Parks

Privatization of the Commons in Mayor Bloomberg's New York - Part I

Cathryn Swan | Posted 04.15.2013 | New York
Read More: Public Space, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Privatization, Privatization of Public Space, Washington Square Park, New York City, New York Yankees, Parks, Commons, New Yankee Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Public Parks, New York News
Cathryn Swan

Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not invent the concept of the "public-private partnership." But he has aggressively pushed "private money" within the New York City Parks system, particularly under former Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, who left last year.

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Only Tree in World's Tiniest City Park Stolen

Cassandra Profita | Posted 05.20.2013 | Green
Read More: Mill Ends Park, Planting Trees, Portland Oregon, Public Parks, Parks, Oregon, Green News
Cassandra Profita

Could it be that the only tree in this two-foot diameter park was stolen?

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From Parking Lot to Paradise - the Revenge of Urban Agriculture

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.17.2013 | Green
Read More: Public Policy, Michelle Obama, New York Restoration Project, Sustainable Food, Liz Christy Garden, Farm to Table, Urban Planning, Public-Private Partnerships, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture, Alice Waters, Sustainable Development, Green Living, Landscape Architecture, New York, Public Parks, Locavore, Horticulture, Nutrition, Gardening and Landscapes, Sustainability, Community Gardens, National Register of Historic Places, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Farming, Urban Policy, Urban Farming, Farmers Markets, Los Angeles, Victory Garden, Journal of the American Medical Association, Green, Green News, Green News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Urban agriculture during my baby boomer childhood in New York City, when postwar agricultural production became increasingly industrialized, amounted ...

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Something About Brooklyn's GoogaMooga Food Fest Gives Me Heartburn

Ellen Freudenheim | Posted 07.29.2012 | New York
Read More: Nyc Events, Googamooga, Brooklyn, Superfly, The Great Googamooga Festival, Foodies, Prospect Park, Public Parks, New York News
Ellen Freudenheim

Here's what's still stuck in my craw: Should for-profit businesses be invited into New York's public parks for events that are nominally free and open to the public -- but that are functionally not really free and accessible?

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Creative Spaces: Catch Some Springtime Rays and Relax

Rana Florida | Posted 06.01.2012 | Home
Read More: Green Spaces, Public Art, Slidepollajax, Outdoor Activities Spring, Outdoors Spring, Museums, Parks Performing Arts, New York City Parks, Central Park Spring, Public Parks, Home News
Rana Florida

Not all parks are created equal. What makes some parks so full of life and activity while others sit desolate, shunned by all but criminals and the truly desperate?

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The Decline of Public Good

Robert Reich | Posted 03.06.2012 | Politics
Read More: Privatization, Public Schools, Public Hospitals, Public Option, Public Parks, Republicans, Public Institutions, Politics News
Robert Reich

Meryl Streep's eery reincarnation of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady brings to mind Thatcher's most famous quip, "there is no such thing as 'society.'" The GOP hasn't quoted her yet, but they might as well.

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PHOTOS: Turn That Parking Space Into Your Own Personal Park

Aaron Sankin | Posted 11.16.2011 | San Francisco
Read More: San Francisco Parking Day, San Francisco Bike Coalition, Parklets, Mini-Parks, Urban Green Space, San Francisco Around Town, Rebar, Parking Spaces, Parking Day, Public Parks, San Francisco Parklets, Pop-Up Cafe, Oakland, Streetsblog, San Francisco, San Francisco News

Sometimes it seems like the last thing people in San Francisco want to do with parking spaces is actually park their cars in them. (SCROLL DOWN FO...

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Developer Thomas Chapman Profits By Threatening Prime Park Land, Now Challenges Obama

Wall Street Journal | STEPHANIE SIMON | Posted 05.25.2011 | Green
Read More: Wild and Scenic, Conservation, Obama, Private Property Rights, Public Parks, Public Lands, West, Land Rights, Parks, American Land Rights Association, Federal Lands, State Parks, National Parks, Green News

On behalf of his clients or his business partners, [Thomas Chapman] talks up plans to develop the parcels: a subdivision at a scenic overlook, an RV p...

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Celebrate National Public Lands Day!

Mike Matz | Posted 05.25.2011 | Green
Read More: Pew Environment Group, Yellowstone, Public Lands, Activism, Environment, Conservation, Wilderness, Outdoors, National Parks, Teddy Roosevelt, Public Parks, Green News
Mike Matz

We can bequeath to future generations spectacular wonders, providing special places to enjoy on this National Public Lands Day and those that will be celebrated by our children and grandchildren.

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Public Schools Could Double As Neighborhood Gyms

Posted 05.25.2011 | Impact
Read More: Playground, Public Schools, Health & Wellness, Community, Public Parks, Liability, Recreation, Impact News

It's no secret that Americans could use more active lifestyles, and the answer to that may just be their local public schools, GOOD blogger Nikhil Swa...

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Socialist!

Roy Zimmerman | Posted 05.25.2011 | Comedy
Read More: Satire, Socialist, Public Library, Socalism, Public Parks, Comedy News
Roy Zimmerman

Ever visit a public library? 'Course you have, 'cause you're taxatin', appropriatin', regulatin', nanny-state-in' Socialist!

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Another Nike Brand Blunder?

Richard Seireeni | Posted 02.16.2012 | Sports
Read More: Homeless, Nike, Public Parks, Sports News
Richard Seireeni

According to a story, Nike is evicting homeless people in Japan to build a branded park designed to promote their image and products.

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Homeless in Columbia: How To Be Homeless

Paul Bowers | Posted 05.25.2011 | College
Read More: Conflict Avoidance, Church, Soup Kitchens, College Kids, Homelessness, Humor, Prison, Subcultures, Public Libraries, South Carolina, Oliver Gospel Mission, Public Parks, Columbia, College News
Paul Bowers

Our three days with the homeless confirmed something a close friend told me before I left: We were stepping into a subculture.

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Send in the Hounds... Preferably With Their Checkbooks

Candy Spelling | Posted 05.25.2011 | Los Angeles
Read More: Mulholland Drive, Dog Park, Dogs, Parks, Private-Public Partnerships, Open-Space, Public Parks, Los Angeles News
Candy Spelling

It's no secret that our parks in LA are in financial trouble; so, as a member of the LA Parks Foundation, I attended a meeting this week with a potential donor about giving us a donation.

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Lynden Miller, Carolyn Kent: Ladies Who Perfected New York's Parks

Michael Henry Adams | Posted 05.25.2011 | New York
Read More: Harlem, Carolyn-Kent, Fountains, Martha Stewart, Central Park, Flowers, Battery Park, Bette Midler, Lynden Miller, Bryant Park, Saint Mary's Church, Public Parks, Public Service, New York News
Michael Henry Adams

More than other New Yorkers, Lynden Miller and Carolyn Kent largely reversed the ill effects of the city's 1970s era of disinvestment in public places.

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Urban Parks Help Defeat Inequality

Treehugger | Posted 05.25.2011 | Green
Read More: Effect of Exposure to Natural Environment on Health-Inequalities, Heat Island Effect, Parks and Health, Urban Design, Green Living, Green Space, Public Parks, Green News

It always amazes me to see how families in Istanbul will take any opportunity to enjoy a scrap of nature, no matter how patchy or trash-strewn the gra...

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Connecting The Dots In Chicago

Tom Tresser | Posted 05.25.2011 | Chicago
Read More: Corruption, Chicago Politics, Privitization, Public Parks, Chicago Parks Department, Hired Truck, Daley Government, Daley Corruption, Mayor Daley, John Quarters Boyle, Lincoln Park Soccer Field, Blagojevich Madigan, Arenda Troutman, Rod Blagojevich, Chicago City Corruption, Michael Madigan, City Hall, Chicago Corruption, Lincoln Park, Tim Mitchell, Chicago City Finance, Chicago News
Tom Tresser

Can we calculate the cost of corruption to the citizens of Chicago? Does your city seem broke, incompetent, arrogant, unaccountable and impenetrable? Congratulations, you are a Screwed Citizen.

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