The 21st Century Park & The Contemporary City

Via ASLA's blog The Dirt, an announcement of an upcoming event that resonates with recent resurgence in thinking and discussion about the role of large civic parks. Happening in New York City and sponsored by The Forum For Urban Design some info from the Forum's website: "In the past few years, there has been huge interest and investment made in designing new parks for cities and development projects around the world. The belief is that parks and open spaces bring significant value, distinction and amenity to the city, enhancing both the environmental and social aspects of city life. Many of these new parks assume very different programs, characteristics and forms from some of the famous urban parks of the 19th and 20th centuries, raising important questions about current and future directions in park design and programming."


:: image via Forum for Urban Design

Day one of the event includes a Landscape Architects Panel, including a who's who of modern park design: James Corner from Field Operations, George Hargreaves of Hargreaves Associates, and Michael Van Valkenburgh from Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. Day two features civic leaders, moderated by Marion Weiss from Weiss/Manfredi. Those in the proximity, definitely check it out.