Latest news with #urbanparks
Zawya
28-05-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Citizens transform urban green space in Zimbabwe
With Africa's urban population expected to double by 2050, green city spaces will be vital. In Bulawayo, citizens have restored a neglected conservation area. The historic Hillside Dams Conservancy in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, is battling the spread of lantana camara, an invasive plant species that threatens the native vegetation. Conservationist Bernadette Mupinda and her team, along with volunteers, regularly uproot these plants to protect the area's biodiversity. With over 100 indigenous plant species within the park as well as 200 bird species, their decline could harm this heritage site and its valuable ecosystem. For volunteer student Zothile Zulu, community involvement is key to the conservation effort — and she believes that tangible results encourage participation. The conservancy tracks plant populations using smartphone apps, and their work has led to a 70% reduction in invasive species. But Zimbabwe's urban green spaces also face broader threats, including deforestation and urban expansion. Each year, over 200,000 hectares (nearly 500,000 acres) of forest are cleared, often on wetlands, leading to water shortages and increased wildfire risks. The Hillside Dams Conservancy is also facing financial struggles. It's a popular spot with locals, but visitor fees cover only a portion of conservation costs, forcing the organization to seek external funding. Conservationists hope the area can serve as a model for other parks. With continued support, they aim to safeguard this landmark area and its biodiversity for the sake of future generations. © Copyright The Zimbabwean. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Arab News
27-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Urban initiative's green spaces transform Jeddah
JEDDAH: The Jeddah municipality is stepping up efforts to adopt a human-centered approach through the Bahja project — an initiative aimed at improving quality of life by transforming open and underused spaces into urban parks. The project encourages healthier lifestyles and supports the Quality of Life Program under the Kingdom's Vision 2030 reform plan, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. Municipality spokesperson Mohammed Al-Buqami said the initiative is guided by strategic goals, including strengthening the connection between people and their surroundings, promoting healthy cities, increasing opportunities for physical activity, and designing public spaces that reflect local identity. He said that the project includes the development of five waterfronts and more than 442 parks across the city, which have become popular spots for families and community events. Walking paths with essential services and safety features have also been introduced to encourage active lifestyles and social interaction, Al-Buqami added.
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- General
- Fast Company
Why we should reconsider the meaning of open spaces
Most people think of urban open spaces in terms of grand parks—Chicago's Millennium Park or New York's Central Park or San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. These are our iconic parks—our sublime spaces. They serve as the 'lungs' of our cities, and they certainly steal our hearts. These spaces are not locked behind gates but are stages where our own lives play out and memories are created, full of movement and reflection and joy. There are more modest spaces in our cities, though, that are just as important to our lives—the thresholds and courtyards and pocket parks. They're the places where we bump into our neighbors to walk our dogs or read on a bench in an environment where nature takes over. They are often unheralded like a great Olmsted Park, but always full of potential for true placemaking to begin. My father, Edwin Smith was director of parks and recreation for the City of Eugene, Oregon and he knew this. He served for more than 30 years and was responsible for the design and development of 41 parks and greenways in and around the city. His work had a profound impact on me as a future architect. More to the point, his work and vision quietly enhanced the lives of so many people in the community as their access to parks was interwoven into their lives. Westmoreland Park is one of Eugene's centerpiece parks and is a great example. Its gentle slopes and lush lawns support stands of mature cedars and redwoods, not to mention Douglas firs, hemlocks, spruces, and the Oregon white oak. Even if you don't know all those trees by sight, you know Westmoreland Park if you live in Eugene, and you know that it offers something for almost every active resident. I think that's the importance of a well-designed space—it invites and it responds. Living ribbon of connection Responsiveness is a word worth pausing on for a moment. It's the entire reason for design—architectural, urban, or otherwise—and it's one of the hallmarks of placemaking. My firm, MG2, recently envisioned design for an attainable housing project in Irvine, California, that was meant to respond to a specific housing challenge in a rapidly changing part of the state. It isn't a monolith. It is, instead, what we think of as a living ribbon of connection—a continuous path that links breezeways, community gardens, play areas, and shared courtyards woven throughout the residential units. It is not simply a circulation route. It is a spine, and just like our spines, everything it touches depends upon it for structure. But more importantly, this isn't just a collection of amenities. It is a social ecosystem. The layout fosters degrees of interaction—private balconies that open into semi-private courtyards, which in turn flow into cooperative gardens and fully public gathering spaces. Residents can choose solitude, casual interaction, or spirited communal activity—each space encouraging a different rhythm of human engagement. Children play while parents share meals. Strangers become neighbors over garden beds. This is architecture as social infrastructure. To reimagine open space is not to think bigger—it is to think deeper. To look between, beneath, beyond. It is to ask: How do we shape space to be responsive? How do we design for encounter, for joy, for the unplanned but meaningful moments of connection? Let us not treat the spaces between buildings as voids. Let us see them as vessels—of life, of community, of possibility. Let us design not just for shelter, but for spirit. Let us reimagine open spaces.
