Planning Parks For People

Planning Parks for People has been extensively upgraded, revised, and expanded from its original 1987 edition. This second edition continues to enlighten and inform readers about what works and what doesn't in the design of today's parks, and does so with courage and humor. With more than 600 photographs and illustrations, this book offers examples of the good and the bad in park design (including mistakes the authors made in the past), as well as axioms, guidelines, and specific illustrations of what to do and what not to do. Newly added sections include Native American parks, group day use, accessibility, visitor safety, maintenance, outdoor recreation research, carrying capacity, customer service, and even a section on Heroes and Villains. The text has been written primarily in conversational English, rather than in a scholarly, scientific style. This book provides the reader with techniques for successfully designing parks and for changing poor design in existing parks.

Smart, short, and irresistibly illustrated, This Is a Book for People Who Love National Parks is a park-by-park celebration of the American outdoors. For devoted park-goers and casual campers alike, this charming guide is nothing short of a celebration of America's natural wonders. An introduction to the storied history of the Parks Service is paired with engaging profiles of each of the sixty-one National Parks, from Acadia to Zion and everything in between. Quirky facts and key dates are woven throughout, while refreshingly modern illustrations capture the iconic features of each majestic setting. Deeply researched but not too serious, This Is a Book for People Who Love National Parks is an essential addition to every park lover's field library.

Parks and recreation systems have evolved in remarkable ways over the past two decades. No longer just playgrounds and ballfields, parks and open spaces have become recognized as essential green infrastructure with the potential to contribute to community resiliency and sustainability. To capitalize on this potential, the parks and recreation system planning process must evolve as well. In Parks and Recreation System Planning, David Barth provides a new, step-by-step approach to creating parks systems that generate greater economic, social, and environmental benefits. Barth first advocates that parks and recreation systems should no longer be regarded as isolated facilities, but as elements of an integrated public realm. Each space should be designed to generate multiple community benefits. Next, he presents a new approach for parks and recreation planning that is integrated into community-wide issues. Chapters outline each step—evaluating existing systems, implementing a carefully crafted plan, and more—necessary for creating a successful, adaptable system. Throughout the book, he describes initiatives that are creating more resilient, sustainable, and engaging parks and recreation facilities, drawing from his experience consulting in more than 100 communities across the U.S. Parks and Recreation System Planning meets the critical need to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive approach for planning parks and recreation systems across the country. This is essential reading for every parks and recreation professional, design professional, and public official who wants their community to thrive.

Everyone from the professional to the layperson is affected by what a designer proposes for the development of parklands. The entire community has a stake in the results. Dahl and Molnar enable the reader to experience the aesthetic and functional aspects of park design through the eyes of the people for whom parks are planned, designed, and built. The book bridges the gaps that often exist between park designer and park user, between landscape architect and park board, between administrators and maintenance staff. Readers will enjoy the witty and lively presentation of the principles that govern skillful plan interpretation and effective site design, addressing the modern-day challenges facing landscape architects, park administrators and personnel, and the communities they serve. The third edition includes a detailed treatment of creative funding solutions, including the ins and outs of grant writing and application. Readers will be better able to identify opportunities and generate ideas for building partnerships to help conceive and implement park projects. The authors engage the reader in thought-provoking discussions about multiple-use concepts, nature preservation and energy conservation, the increasing importance of cost-conscious budgeting, the value of good design and durable construction, and the latest in computer-assisted park design and maintenance.

This study shows how to prepare park and recreation plan that meets the need of the people. It integrates systems and site planning with state-of-the-arty exameplesexamples that highlight the recreational portentials of cities in the 1980's.

Everything that landscape architects, architects, planners, civic officials, and citizen activists need to know about the critical urban role of public parks. Everything that anybody (whether they are citizen activists, or public officials, or professional landscape architects, architects, and planners) needs to know about the critical role public parks play in creating livable communities. Millions of dollars are being spent on restoring parks and creating new ones. Planner Alexander Garvin explains the rationales for their existence, the forms they take, their value, ways to pay for and govern them, and the ingredients that make successful parks, providing the first single definitive source of wisdom about them.