- How Activists Prevailed for Parks
April 17 - L.A. Times -Los Angeles' Chinatown Yards Alliance fought
long and hard to outmaneuver a powerful and tenacious developer in
designating land for a people's park over an industrial park.
- Lions Club Leads Park Refurbishment
April 16 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -In Muskego, Wisconsin, the
renovation of a downtown park between City Hall and the Police Department
has become more a community undertaking than a city project.
- Unique Seattle Green Space Flourishes
April 15 - Seattle Times -Six years ago, a run-down spot on downtown
Seattle's fringes began its transformation into a park, community garden,
art site, ornamental demonstration garden - and a treasured neighborhood
secret.
- From Dirt Pit to Green Space
April 15 - Savannah Morning News -Residents surrounding a city-owned
"borrow pit" in Savannah want the city to stop digging and hauling dirt from
the site, and let it become a green space.
- A Brand-New Olmsted
April, 2001 - The Atlantic online - Witold Rybczynski writes on the discovery and replanting of a century-old lost landscape by the legendary park designer.
- Neighbors Spur Renovation of D.C. Park
April 12 - The Washington Post - Fed up with a the derelict park in
their midst, the Friends of Walter C. Pierce Community Park raised $77,000
to help pay for improvements and founded a youth group to help with
maintainance and landscaping.
- Diamond Head Gets a Polishing
April 12 - Honolulu Star-Bulletin- Officials took an innovative
"part-time" approach to renovating one of Oahu's top urban sites, treasured
by tourists and locals alike for its stunning views.
- U.S. Conference of Mayors on State & Local Funding for Parks
April 11 - U.S. Newswire -Bush's budget includes the highest request
in history for the Land and Water Conservation Fund - including $450 million
for state and local conservation grants - and yet there's no mention of
funding of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR). Also see Americans for Our
Heritage & Recreation for more info.
- Canal Restoration Back on Track - In Low Gear
April 11 - Savannah Morning News -The county has a plan to work
around residents worried about property rights in the ongoing effort to
restore a historic canal as a trail for walkers and bicyclists.
- Greenways Grants to Save Open Space
April 9 - Detroit News -Using a plan modeled on programs in Chicago,
Toronto, Minneapolis and Chattanooga, a $25 million initiative will boost
vistas and connect communities throughout the Detroit metro area.
- Off-Leash Dog Ban Infuriates Owners
April 7 - SF Chronicle -Dander began flying after signs were posted
prohibiting off-leash dogs at Fort Funston and other areas of the Golden
Gate National Recreation Area.
- Salt Lake City's New 'Treehouse'
April 23 - Salt Lake Tribune -Nearly 30 organizations in Salt Lake
City worked to build the "Urban Treehouse" in Bend-In-The River park, a 2-1/2-acre outdoor classroom.
- Park System In Crisis?
April 23 - Evansville Courier & Press -The newspaper's three-month
investigation into Evansville's stewardship over its parks system concludes
that there's a crisis in programs and facilities.
- Ethnic Tension Underlies Park Use Controversy
April 21 - L.A. Times -In Los Angeles, a heated debate centers on the
use of part of Echo Park: as a site for a monument to Cuban poet and
revolutionary Jose Marti, or as open, grassy space.
- Trails and River Revitalization in Philadelphia
April 21 - Philadelphia Inquirer -Plans move forward in Montgomery
County for a 20-mile trail linking the Philadelphia Art Museum to Green Lane
Reservoir Park, and the revitalization of the Schuylkill River.
- A Greener Garden State
April 19 - The Bergen Record - Meant to keep New Jersey true to its
nickname, the state's $138 million/1 million-acre open space plan is one of
the most ambitious in the country.
- City Can't Afford To Be Stingy With Parks
April 22 - New York Daily News - An op-ed piece on public funding sets the stage for "Parks 2001," a campaign to make parks an issue in New York City's elections this November.
- Audubon Society To Build Urban Nature Center in L.A.
April 26 - L.A. Times - The Society will lease 16 acres within a regional park just outside downtown L.A. - one that hosts more than 130 species of birds.
- Tempest in the Park
April 25 - Hartford Courant - In Hartford, CT, Elizabeth Park's Pond House Cafe faces a shut-down due to potential zoning violations, provoking debate over the pros and cons of privatizing public space.
- Can a Park Name Foster Class Warfare?
April 5 - Toledo Blade - In downtown Norwalk, Ohio, the proposal to name a diminutive green space "Workers Memorial Park" has drawn fire for its supposed encouragement of Marxism and radical labor groups.
- A Sliver of Green Space
April 2 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer - A look at the world's smallest park, located on a median strip in Portland, Oregon.
- City of Angels is No Oasis
April 1 - L.A. Times - Despite some recent, prominent acquisitions, Los Angeles is starving for parkland, ranking last among the U.S.'s largest cities in acres per capita.
- Parks Group Makes Other Cities Green - With Envy
April 5 - San Jose Mercury News -The Central Park Conservancy has become a model of nonprofit park support for other communities - especially in the Bay Area, home to more parks and open space than any major U.S. metro area.
- Kansas City Planners Hope a Greener City Will Spur Rebirth
April 7 - Kansas City Star - Kansas City's revitalization plan is based around parks, public plazas, tree-lined streets, trails and other green features that not look and feel good - but also have economic value.
- Forum Helps Cities Make "Greenprints"
April 9 - Lincoln Journal-Star - A recent City Parks Forum helped mayors and other officials in five cities to refine their vision for urban parks.
- When Good Recreation Goes Bad
April 5 - L.A. Times - Basketball courts can be a positive force in urban areas, where kids dream of becoming NBA stars. But in some cases, hoops act as a magnet for violence and illegal activity.
- Bond Measure is Boon for California's Local Parks
April 7 - L.A. Times - L.A. County parks will receive $105 million as part of the massive state parks bond measure passed last year - the $388 million total is the largest infusion of cash to local parks in California history.
- Taking Pride in Milwaukee County Parks
April 7 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -A former Milwaukeean waxes nostalgic for her hometown's treasured parks.
