insight
We’re also using parks to help cities manage stormwater.
You’ve said that public-private partnerships are key to the success of parks. Why? I believe that New York’s park system might not have been revived but for the public-private partnership, first mod- eled by the Central Park Conservancy and now replicated in parks across the city. These nonprofit partnerships raise and spend more than $160 million a year for New York parks. But even more important, they give citizens a role to play in the life of the parks. Some people criticize public-private partnerships as privatizing parks. I would argue that the opposite is true: they make parks more public. More people are involved in the life of the park. Across the country there are now hundreds of nonprofit groups working side-by-side with government to help parks. In many cases, they’re not rais- ing a lot of money—but they’re raising visibility, doing advocacy work.
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I’m convinced that one reason new yorkers are living longer than they used to is that there are so many good places to exercise.
What other park trends do you see on the horizon? One that The Trust for Public Land is quite involved in is using parks to promote public health—for example, in neighborhoods where people can’t afford gym mem- berships. We’ve been involved in creating Fitness Zone® exercise areas in parks as a free, social way for people to exercise. Another big trend is trails—like the ones we’re working on in Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, and now Queens. These are crucial, because if they’re attractive and safe, they get used for commuting, for recreation, and for fun. I’m pretty convinced that one reason New Yorkers are living on aver- age a year-and-a-half longer is that there are now so many trails and other good places to exercise. 30 · LAND&PEOPLE · SPRING/SUMMER 2013
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In almost 800 American cities, the sanitary sewers that process wastewater are in the same network as stormwater sewers. In a heavy rain, the combined effluent flow to the sewage treatment plants is shut down so the plants don’t get overwhelmed, and the sanitary and street waste goes into rivers and harbors, which is a violation of the federal Clean Water Act. Many of these cities are under orders to clean up. They
can spend a huge amount of money on gray infrastruc- ture—big holding tanks, larger sewers, and upgraded sew- age treatment plants—or they can spend part of it on parks and green playgrounds that can capture stormwater. The Trust for Public Land is working with the water
departments in both New York and Philadelphia to con- vert concrete schoolyards into green playgrounds. These are not only beautiful new neighborhood amenities—fun places for kids to play and exercise—but they’re also good for the environment and help cities meet their legal obliga- tion to keep waterways clean.
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