This begins a new weekly feature, “Consider, if you will:” Today, we explore the value (and power) of green space in cities. Consider, if you will, the cities of Washington, D.C.; New York City; Chicago; and Paris.
Washington, D.C.
Consider the iconic National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Mall is home to many of the monuments that memorialize the birth of our nation. Along with Memorial Parks (together over 1,000 acres), it is called “America’s Front Yard.” It is also the venue of so many important moments in our history. Envisioned by Pierre Charles L’Enfant (more on Pierre later), it was his idea of a garden-lined grand avenue.
New York City
Central Park (843 acres) is the jewel of Manhattan. When you view the photo above, think of how the park saves this place, for without it, the city would be choked by towers. The Park is a respite for all the hard working citizens of this great city. It’s beauty and tranquility, in the midst of such immense man-made structures, allows one to escape and reconnect to their humanity.
Chicago
Grant Park (319 acres) creates a green border between the downtown business district, The Loop, and the Great Lake Michigan. Grant Park continues to evolve, adding new monuments to the city’s legacy: such as Buckingham Fountain, the world’s largest, built in 1927; “Cloud Gate” now referred to by many as “The Bean,” debuted in 2006 and is located in Millennium Park (24.5 acres, in the northwest section of Grant Park); and Maggie Daley Park (20 acres, opened in 2015), dedicated to the former first lady of the City, who died of cancer in 2011.
Paris
The link above returns you to the Place Arc de Triomphe, featured in an earlier post. You will notice a spattering of smaller parks along the arteries connecting at the Arc. Just southwest is the Bois de Boulonge, the former royal hunting ground converted to a great public park.
Green Spaces can define a place. Yet, at their origin, they were designed to interrupt the pattern of buildings and (sometimes) chaos that surround them. They remind us to pause, and yes, smell the flowers.
