Minneapolis, May 21, 2010—Minneapolis civic leaders had the foresight 125 years ago to create the park system we enjoy today, so we, too, must plan for future generations. Climate change, limited natural resources, economic instability, and changing demographics require a comprehensive, integrated approach to parks planning and design at a time of dwindling government resources. The free lecture series
The Next Generation of Parks
, which opened on May 13 with a talk on London’s Green End, is presented by the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, the Walker Art Center, and the University of Minnesota College of Design, Department of Landscape Architecture, and Metropolitan Design Center.
New York’s High Line
, one of the most unusual and stunning new public parks in recent decades, is the subject of the second program at 7 pm Wednesday, June 16, in the Walker Cinema, with speakers Robert Hammond, cofounder and executive director of Friends of the High Line, and Lisa Tziona Switkin, associate principal, James Corner Field Operations. Opened last summer to critical and public acclaim, the High Line, an abandoned elevated railway running through lower Manhattan, has been transformed into a public pedestrian greenway. Designed by James Corner Field Operations, with Switkin serving as lead designer, as well as architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, this remarkable urban transformation was spearheaded in 1999 by Hammond and Joshua David, two residents of the High Line’s Chelsea neighborhood. A reception follows the talk. The program will be webcast on the Walker Channel (channel.walkerart.org).
The Next Generation of Parks concludes on July 15 at the University of Minnesota with a discussion with distinguished landscape architect Laurie Olin on Finding Lost Spaces. For more information: mplsparksfoundation.org; 612.822.2656.