June 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 47

Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department

AFTER

Here, a rural streetscape is improved to
encourage walking by adding sidewalks
and attractive pathways to a nearby park.

BEFORE
ty was enhanced throughout the new
space. Because the town's layout centered around a tight core, Schuessler
said planners had to be particularly
creative regarding the streetscape, as
well as attuned to the daily movements
of life in Greensburg. Those visiting
downtown today will see wide sidewalks, landscaped bumpouts at each
corner with seating, mid-block crossings, trees and buildings " built to the
sidewalks, " to encourage walkability.
For a larger dose of green space, residents need only mosey down to the
nearby Kiowa County High School
- naturally, it's within easy walking
distance - where a newly designed
central courtyard provides respite for
the entire community.
Smarter Living
As the saying goes, " A spoonful of
sugar helps the medicine go down. "
Substitute sugar, in this instance,
with " thoughtful engineering, " and
you've perhaps hit on a fine weapon

in our ongoing fight against chronic
disease. If our cities are engineered
with active transportation and green
infrastructure in mind - if the tools
for improving our health and well-being are built right into the landscape
- won't that make it easier to adopt
healthy behaviors?
Anderson believes it just might,
with an ecological benefit to boot.
" Planning has had a long relationship with the environmental movement, but we're now talking about
something more fundamental than
clean air and clean water, " he says.
" Many people are rethinking how
we plan our cities and communities to reduce our greenhouse gas
emissions through more mobility
options, technology, building and
community design, and the relationship between land use and transportation. Communities and planners
are also responding to the aging of
the baby boom generation...It's not
just a tremendous increase in the

number of people of retirement age,
people are living longer. How we
plan our communities so people can
age in place, if not their homes, at
least their neighborhoods that are familiar with friends and families is an
important objective.
" Related, but broader, is planning for
healthy communities - designing our
communities so people exercise by living their daily lives. Planning communities and destinations that are more
accessible by walking and biking, safely and efficiently, along routes that are
interesting and enjoyable, is a growing
urban design objective. Planning communities where people breathe clean
air, drink clean water and have access
to healthy food is a growing consideration. Planning and the public health
community, as well as allied advocacy organizations, are coming together
to create these types of places for the
people, not just seniors, but all ages, for
healthier outcomes. "
Samantha Bartram is the Executive Editor
of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@
nrpa.org).

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June 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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