Parks of the 21st Century - by Victoria Newhouse & Alex Pisha (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Presentation of 52 parks in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, and China that have repurposed damaged, contaminated, derelict land (including former factories, railroads, industrial waterfronts, airports, quarries) and created productive new public landscapes. This may be considered adaptive reuse of land ("adaptive reuse" is typically applied to buildings). Heavily illustrated with photographs and drawings. Among the subthemes: Development of parks in Asia and Europe; historical precedent for parks from the 19th and 20th centuries built on former infrastructure. Environmental contribution of parks--how park features (including constructed wetlands or porous edges) can filter pollutants, rehabilitating/remediating the damaged land and contributing to a cleaner environment. How parks can mitigate major storms and protect against flooding by collecting water and releasing back into the environment only slowly. Social impact of new parks: they increase real estate values and thus often lead to gentrification, but can also improve traditionally underserved/neglected areas and neighborhoods"--

Book Synopsis

We are in the midst of a worldwide golden age of park creation, and featured here are powerfully telling examples at the forefront of this renaissance.

Parks are essential to our well-being; this has never been clearer than it is today, and a recent surge of park development offers us much to celebrate. Parks of the 21st Century presents 52 parks in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, and China that have turned despoiled and polluted land (including former factories, railroads, and industrial waterfronts) into beneficial landscapes.

Landscape architects have been referred to as "the first environmentalists," and Parks of the 21st Century shows how parks are being designed as proactive, dynamic green spaces. The High Line in New York is an early example of how an obsolete railroad could be transformed. Opened in 2009, it now attracts nearly 8 million visitors a year. In addition to providing public open space, these renewed landscapes offer economic revitalization and large-scale environmental improvement. Among the parks featured in this book are designs by well-known professionals such as James Corner Field Operations, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Kongjian Yu/Turenscape, and Catherine Mosbach.

About the Author

Architectural historian Victoria Newhouse is the author of Towards a New Museum, Chaos and Culture, and others. Alex Pisha is a landscape and architectural designer for cultural, academic, and civic projects.