Building parks for all people: Embracing the Olmsted Spirit

It is hard to imagine Washington without the Capitol Grounds, Manhattan without Central Park, and America without our national parks. Yet without the extraordinary vision of American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the American landscape might be far different today.

The bipartisan House Resolution 1013, introduced by Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and co-sponsored by Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), seeks to recognize the 200th anniversary of Olmsted’s birth on April 26, 2022. The text of the resolution enumerates Olmsted’s outstanding contributions to American life.

It was Olmsted who first realized the necessity of parks for city dwellers and the importance of connecting all of us to nature. It was Olmsted and the Olmsted Firm that created parks and green spaces across the country in New York, Louisville, Atlanta, Chicago, Buffalo, Boston, Washington and Seattle. From coast to coast, the modern urban experience is shaped by Olmsted’s work.

When faced with a deeply divided society and a public health crisis, leaders in the late 19th century responded with a period of extraordinary civic improvements. They saw a role for robust governmental engagement in the creation of natural infrastructure. They competed with each other to see who could build the best and most restorative parks for their communities.

They believed then what we know to be true today: Parks and open spaces contribute to mental and physical health, and by doing so, they help develop the web of support and connections that make community possible. Parks are, in Olmsted’s words, “the most valuable of all possible forms of public places.”

Now nearly 200 years later, the importance of these spaces is even greater—as millions of Americans have experienced during the pandemic. Not only do parks restore us mentally and physically, they also serve a critical ecological function in the face of climate change. It’s not serendipity that Olmsted’s Back Bay Fens weathered Hurricane Ida better than most areas of Boston, proving that green infrastructure is critical to solving our growing environmental challenges.

At the same time, the pandemic has underscored what happens when we do not ensure park access to all people. A recent survey by The Trust for Public Land finds that 100 million people—including 28 million kids—don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. By failing to ensure access to parks and civic spaces, we are perpetuating existing racial and economic divides under which low-income communities and communities of color suffer dearly in terms of health outcomes.

The Biden administration has said that “nature is essential to the health, well-being, and prosperity of every family and every community in America” and set a target of conserving 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030. As communities now start to employ dollars made available by the infrastructure bill, it is essential that they embrace the benefits of open and healthful parks for all people.

Fortunately, civic leaders are starting to show the way. In Baltimore, a local community foundation announced in December the purchase of 20 acres to create a new Hillside Park, believed to be the largest new public park in Baltimore City in over 100 years. The proposed design takes inspiration from Frederick Law Olmsted — with a focus on creating a democratic space for all.

In December, New York City awarded $40 million to Prospect Park to restore the Vale. In Louisville, Ky., the Olmsted Parks Conservancy recently announced the addition of 25 acres to the existing Olmsted park system. It is the first expansion of the public Olmsted Parks system in its 130-year history. On the West Coast, the Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks are partnering with city parks officials on an Olmsted Bicentennial plan to ensure that Seattle’s developed parks and boulevards suffer no net tree loss in the future. Currently, a loss of 500 trees a year is estimated, with only a fraction of that number replaced. The project will employ Olmsted principles of landscape design, guided by a lens of equity and sustainability.

A healthy urban environment is more critical than ever, contributing to a city’s economic, civic and ecological vitality and health.

In 2022, the bicentennial of Olmsted’s birth, let us resolve to renew our commitment to parks and landscapes, not as luxuries but as critical infrastructure essential to public and environmental well-being.

Anne D. Neal Petri is the president and CEO of the National Association for Olmsted Parks. NAOP is the managing partner of the Olmsted 200 campaign celebrating the bicentennial of Olmsted’s birth and advocating parks for all people. www.olmsted200.org