We asked five architecture experts to name one building or structure they wish had been preserved, but couldn’t resist the tides of decay, development and discrimination.
In an urbanizing world, people increasingly are seeking out nature in cities. Research shows that diverse species of animals, plants and insects can thrive in areas that humans have altered.
Providing green space can deliver health, social and environmental benefits for all urban residents – few other public health interventions can achieve all of this.
Anne Cleary
Urban green spaces are most effective at delivering their full range of health, social and environmental benefits when physical improvement of the space is coupled with social engagement.
Older people in a park in Nanchang, China.
Author provided.
You don’t often see many of the nation’s 75 million seniors hanging out in parks. There may be a reason. Most parks are not designed with seniors in mind. Here are some ways to change that.
Apartments near the greenbelt in Vienna are more expensive than otherwise similar apartments in that city.
Max Pixel
This Friday is the 11th PARKing Day, when people pay a parking meter, then turn the space into a pop-up parklet. It’s a day that invites citizens to rethink the city and their place in it.
A public space the public isn’t allowed to enjoy.
Flickr/Fabio Venni
Many praise the internet as a democratizing force. But with online spaces replacing physical public squares as places for debate, what do we risk losing?
Many pet fish end up in ponds, fountains and waterways. But before ditching your goldfish in the park, stop and think about the viruses you could also be releasing.
People enjoy the green space of parks, but often their activities are of a fairly passive nature.
AAP/Bimal Sharma
Parks are found in most neighbourhoods, generally free to use and are enjoyed by diverse groups. Although most visitors don’t use parks for physical activity, modest improvements can change that.
A park, in this case Hyde Park in Sydney, is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to engage with nature in the city.
Lucy Taylor
Nature is dispersed through our cities, even if we don’t notice it. And there’s abundant evidence that engaging with nature, even in urban settings, is good for us.
Do we see Yarra Trail in South Yarra, Melbourne, as being purely for people, or should dogs be able to enjoy it too?
Dogs are important users of urban parks, but these are clearly designed for the use of people – except for a few out-of-the-way dog parks. Is that fair to dogs that have no say about living among us?