Summary Eight

“Urban Parks”

Those with little knowledge would assume that a park is just a park. There are no characteristics that differentiate one from the next. The stereotypical assumption about what defines a park is trees and grass, nothing more or nothing less. In the second article “Urban Parks” characteristics of different types of parks are listed.

                The first type of park mentioned is Landscape. “Typically much larger squares and commons, they were designed as refuges from the city.” [pg.20] This is just one example of a characteristic that defines a Landscape park. A very famous and actual example of one is Central Park. Another good example that provides a list of characteristics is Prospect Park, it is considered to be one of the best examples of a Landscape Park. It consists of 526 acres and includes pastures, woods, gathering places, surface waters, and footpaths.

                In Landscape parks, the goal was to provide visitors contact with nature. The goal of Recreation Facility Parks was to “bring the benefits of wholesome recreation t urban people, especially children.” [pg. 26] There were many ways that Recreation Facility Parks could go about achieving their goals. One of the easiest ways was by creating playgrounds; another trend was creating swimming pools and beachside parks. An example of a beachside park is Orchard Beach located within Pelham Bay Park.

                The main purpose of the chapter was to tell the history of different parks and how they developed over the years. However, I found the characteristics of what defined various parks to be very interesting. There was strives made in America to make parks attractive and fun for the community. Many people would just assume that all parks are the same, but that’s not true. They are probably not aware the effort made by certain individuals in the planning of a park.