10. PRSR 09-12-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 Parks and the City rederick Law Olmsted started it all. Exactly 144 years ago, he became superintendent of New York's Central Park and launched a revolution in park design. By Michael Barrette Atlanta model square foot now sells for nearly $200. "The It worked in Atlanta, says Michael Dobbins, three blocks to the north are all either under AICP, the city's commissioner of planning, development or ready to start,"says Dobbins. development, and neighborhood conserva- "We are looking at between 500 and 600 tion.In the early'90s,Dobbins says,"Atlanta residential units in that area alone."The area was on the ropes.Everywhere you looked you also has added new office and retail space, saw signs of disinvestment and disrepair." hotel rooms,a museum,and restaurants.More Things started to change when a massive pub- construction is on the way,he says. lic-private effort helped the city land the 1996 All of this development has had an enor- Summer Olympic Games. mous effect on the character of downtown Centennial Olympic Park was the center- Atlanta. "Before the Olympics, Atlanta did piece of post-Olympic redevelopment efforts not know what a sidewalk was," says Dob- in and around the downtown.The site was a bins. "It was unusual to see anyone walking 0 21-acre swath of land west of downtown, from the Georgia World Congress Center to between the hotel district and the convention the downtown offices, but now the street is center, the Georgia World Congress Center. full of people. I'm sure no one comes to A lmsted and The state of Georgia bought the land;the$78 Atlanta just to see Centennial Olympic Park, his partner, Calvert Vaux, created a place million to build the park came through foun- but everyone who does come here knows where citizens of every social stratum could go dation grants,donations,and.Olympic spon- about the park and takes time to visit it and to play, experience nature, and escape from sorships. The general public was involved walk around." ' ` the harsh noises and hard pavement of the through the purchase of$650,000 worth of Pedestrian activity has been encouraged by city. commemorative bricks, at $35 a brick. The the special public interest zoning district that It took an enormous investment of money state maintains the park with the help of governs the redevelopment area and extends and land to develop the unprecedented public rental income from vendors and special events. the park's pedestrian environment into the park.When the park was built,the surround- At first, the business community was ex- surrounding neighborhood. A recent bond , ing area was unimproved, and most of New tremely skeptical, Dobbins recalls, but no issue dedicated to pedestrian-oriented York's population lived three miles to the longer. As Central Park did for New York, streetscape improvements received 80 per- south. In order to fund the improvements, Centennial Olympic Park has created value cent support from voters. "It is amazing that Olmsted and Vaux theorized that the pres- for the surrounding land by changing the pedestrian values that weren't on the public's ence of the park would so bolster the land quality of the urban environment. radar screen five years ago have really come to P q t7' Y g Y values of surrounding property that the park What was a seedy neighborhood on the the fore,"says Dobbins. s . would essentially pay for itself many times west edge of downtown Atlanta is today a vital 1 3. over. urban center. The park's open lawns and Purely passive They were right. Within 15 years of the formal spaces are filled with people and activi- In parks and recreation parlance, Centennial beginning of the park project,property values ties. The park hosts special events that are Olympic Park is a "passive" park because it in the surrounding area increased ninefold. targeted to attract tourists, downtown work- does not include facilities for "active recre- ues in the rest of the city doubled over the ers,and families.Children fromAtlanta's neigh- ation,"such as tennis courts,soccer fields,or e period. Central Park was such a success borhoods fly kites on the lawns and run through softball diamonds. Rather, it is intended as a r that cities all over the country began to follow the fountains.Family events and concerts are public green space where city dwellers can 4 s suit. Parks as a development tool and as a scheduled on the weekends. escape from the rush of urban life. remedy for social ills became a defining ele- And the redevelopment results? Land on Although newly built passive parks like ment in the growth of urban America. the fringe of the park that once sold for$2 a Atlanta's are rare, many cities are showing