LSA 220-Intro to Landscape Architecture

Prof. Fernandez
Better Edges
Josue Cruz
Due on October 28th, 2015
As landscape architects we develop open spaces that people can enjoy without any
form of hesitation. In the article Better Edges by Kevan William, he goes into
explaining how the city of New York is investing 50 million dollars to make public
parks more accessible and attractive. OneNYC will focus mostly on lower income
neighborhoods parks that are designed with flaws. These flaws affect the in which
the community interacts and perceives the park as part of their main open space.
The main argument of the article is that parks shouldnt have a fence that goes ten
feet up in the air, or that people need to walk a mile to enter the park. Mitchell
Silver the commissioner put into these words The park doesnt end at the fence
line; it really ends at the curve line. This unification of sidewalks and park
perimeters will create a paradigm shift in the way people interact and perceive
these parks.
A public park is a sacred place for any neighborhood. It unifies people in ways that
other places cant. It can serve as a picnic area, a recreational sports area, or even
as a relaxation area after a long day at work. But if we incorrectly design these
parks, then we are also destroying the spirit and main purpose of it. A park should
be welcoming, accessible, free and, also aesthetically pleasant to the human eye.
The city of New York understands this, and they are taking a big step towards fixing
this issue.