Downtown Minneapolis Park Space Initiative Final Report
Almost every major successful city in America has a downtown signature park that serves as a
central public gathering place, a point of local pride, and a reflection of the city’s public heart.
The City of Minneapolis has a variety of downtown park spaces that serve its residents, visitors, and workforce and relate to a downtown park space network. However, the City recognizes the importance of better understanding how these downtown open spaces and future parks can better succeed and be financially viable.

A Comparative Analysis of Park Access in Seven Major Cities: No Place to Play
Close your eyes and picture a happy memory from your childhood. Whether you’re playing with friends, enjoying a picnic with your family, or sitting on a bench basking in the sunshine of a warm afternoon, there’s a good chance you’re imagining something that involved a public park.
And that’s no surprise. Kids love parks. And kids need parks…to get fresh air, exercise, and just to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family.

World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
This report is part of an ambitious and far reaching effort to place New York at the forefront of urban development. It builds on two previous plans: PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg’s comprehensive sustainability plan, and Sustainable Streets, NYCDOT’s strategic plan. While the previous reports were comprehensive in scope, this document focuses solely on the NYCDOT public realm strategies listed at right.

Copenhagen: 10 Principles for Sustainable City Governance
Cities across the world have attempted to overcome modern environmental challenges such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions while still remaining competitive in a globalised economy. Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, has chosen to follow 10 key principles that will allow them to rediscover the city, making it more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable, in order to create a better place to live for the current and future population.

Urban Street Trees: 22 Benefits and Specific Applications
Street trees have progressively become a crucial component of urban sustainable cities, due to their endless amount of returned benefits regarding social, environmental and economical challenges. Studies have illustrated that the presence of these trees reduces traffic speeds, creates safer walking environments, enhances placemaking, increases business, reduces drainage infrastructure and efficiently absorbs harmful gasses from the air.

Active Living by Design: Increasing Physical Activity through Community Design
Active Living by Design (ALBD) is a program that promotes 5 innovative approaches to increase physical activity and integrate it into the daily routines of the general public through community design, public policies, and communication strategies. Physical inactivity is now one of the main causes for some of the most common chronic diseases in the U.S, including coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. ALBD advocates for the implementation of active transportation and recreation in our everyday lives.

Active Transportation for America: The Care for Increased Federal Investment in Bicycling and Walking
Active Transportation works in creating the transition between car-oriented infrastructures to pedestrian-friendly land use in order to increase a far more efficient use of transportation resources. It is clear that the current car-centered transportation policy has lead our communities into chronic congestion, disastrous gas bills, and highly inefficient transportation systems that lead to major health problems. The implementation of active transportation will allow us to create sustainable communities, by promoting physical activity and more liveable settings.

City Transportation Language Policy
The City of West Palm Beach has implemented a new transportation language policy in order to remove biases and discrepancies from the wording used around the city. Objective language will now be used in signage, resolutions, future plans and correspondences in order to further and accurately inform the staff and public. West Palm Beach is progressively gearing their community infrastructures to be better suitable for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Denmark: Bicycle Parking Manual
Denmark is a country who strongly promotes and demonstrates the public’s consistent use of bicycle, however, a growing issue has been the accessibility of good bicycle parking. Little attention has been paid to this issue, which is therefore deterring people from cycling due to risk of vandalism or theft. This manual illustrates step-by-step recommendations on how and where to create great facilities to encourage even more people to incorporate the use of bicycles in people’s everyday lives.

Influence of the Built Environment on Physical Activity and Quality of Life in the City of Bogota
Over the last 50 years, Bogota has created radical transformations in their infrastructure that have made the city much safer and enjoyable for pedestrians and cyclists of all income levels. The purpose of this study was to better understand the impact that the infrastructural changes have had on the levels of physical activity and quality of life for the residents of Bogota, as well as to further conceptualize the social environments that influence participation of active transportation.

A Footprint of Delight: Exploring Sustainable Happiness
A magnificent study was conducted by Catherine O’Brien and the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, investigating the factors that contributed to the delightfulness and sustainability of a city, reflecting on the residents’ overall happiness. The majority of people’s results projected a significant desire for a more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly community, with peaceful and beautiful green spaces that are appealing children, youth, and seniors.

Streets for Chicago: Complete Streets Policy
Streets for Chicago is a campaign that has been implementing the concept of Complete Streets, in where the infrastructural space is safely shared by pedestrians, cyclists, and motor vehicles at all times. The Chicago Police Department launched the Pilot LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) speed gun system and increased the number or Red Light Cameras in order to deter excessive speeding by motor vehicles, as well as to increase awareness at cross-walks to infer safer facilities for pedestrians.

Cicoliva: the Car-free Zone
Daniel B. Wood writes an inspiring article illustrating the growth of car-free days all throughout America, in where the city closes down the streets to cars, in order to allow pedestrians and cyclists to exclusively enjoy the outdoors. This concept is very popular in many places around the world including Bogota, New York, and Paris. Alongside, many cities such as New York and Atlanta are now prohibiting the entrance of vehicles into the city’s public parks.

American Planning Association: Complete the Streets!
A complete street is defined as a road that accommodates motorists, bus riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians, including people with disabilities. More than 2 dozen jurisdictions in the US have now adopted laws in where all main roads must mandatorily be built to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, with the exception of streets where they are prohibited, where the costs are excessive, and where there it’s not necessary (residential).

Copenhagen’s Bicycle Account: City of Cyclists
Copenhagen created an account for its citizens that illustrate concerns, updates, and records in the field of cycling. The Bicycle Account is consistently surveying cyclists in order to better improve and accommodate their facilities, as well as assuring that the objectives set forth for the Cycle Policy 2002-2012 are met. The Bicycle Account contains advice in how to implement these programs into other cities to increase bicycle-use.

Cycling for Everyone: The Key to Public and Political Support
John Pucher’s magnificent powerpoint presentation provides insight into sustainable communities across the world, whether urban or suburban, that have been successful in encouraging many people to take part in active transportation. The presentation outlines strategies, suggestions, and guidelines on how to construct the facilities as well as maintaining them in order for people to live better and healthier lives.

Cycling In Netherlands
 Netherlands has one of the highest percentages of bicyclists in the world. Due to the fact that 70% of all journeys in the city are no longer than 7.5km, the majority of the population prefers the bicycle as the most popular means of transport. This brochure describes the link between bicycle policy and bicycle use, incorporating traffic and infrastructure regulations that ultimately promote the increase in cyclists of all ages.

Trust for Public Land: Growing Smart
In creating sustainable communities, many political leaders tend to struggle between choosing economic growth or open space protection. Will Rogers thoroughly clears up this confusion in the following article, indicating that new parks and open spaces in fact increase business in downtown markets and neighbourhood economies, as well as increasing the community’s health, stability, beauty and quality of life.

A Liberated Look Forward: The Future in Vancouver
Vancouver is a fantastic city with great potential to continue building sustainable communities in all sectors, in order to create more live-able areas. Larry Beasley, the Director of Current Planning in Vancouver, addresses the Urban Development Institute with his requests and ideas for a more sustainable infrastructure for the city.  Beasley’s report focuses on housing in core office areas, market opportunities, and cultural/entertainment growth.

Measuring the Economic Value of a City Park System
 In 2003, the Trust for Public land’s Center for City Park Excellence gathered 24 park experts and economists in Philadelphia to analyze the economic benefits that arise from park systems. From the reunion, they gathered 7 major factors, which provide a city with direct income, direct savings, environmental savings, as well as qualitative benefits.

Trust for Public Land: The Health Benefits of Parks
The Trust for Public Land launched its report, titled Parks for People, in order to encourage the idea of putting a park within easy reach of every family, in order to reduce some health issues based on inactivity, as well as increasing social benefits. Studies have shown that when people have close access to parks, they exercise more and reduce car-usage within short distances, therefore removing great potential for these diseases.

The Happy City- From Bogota to Paris
Although parks improve our lives economically, environmentally, and physically, it is evident that one of the most remarkable effects that they impose upon us relates to our well-being. Cities such as Paris, Bogota and Hangzhou have clearly demonstrated this trend, confirming that it is the interaction, eye contact and experiences that we gain when we walk or bike that generate overall happiness. Creating meeting places, parks, and pathways, we promote a sense of equality and balance that allows people to feel happy.

Sustainable Transport: Revitalizing São Paulo ’s City Center
The Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) has been working with Jan Gehl (from Gehl Architects) as well as Tim Tomkins (head of Times Square Alliance in NYC) in creating fantastic cities for the public. These cities are transformed into places that people love with sustainable infrastructure that people choose to use.  

World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm
Through its recent developments, New York has been striving to create a fantastic city for their pedestrians and cyclists, as an approach to raise the levels of the city’s quality of life. PlaNYC and NYCDOT are working together to develop an urban environment that transforms the streets and squares into more people-friendly places, making the NYC’s streets the most famous and attractive streets in the world for walking and cycling.

World Transport Policy & Practice: Cycling Policy Innovations in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany
The WTPP launched a special-issue monograph on cycling geared to influence decision makers, politicians, and bureaucrats to construct safe facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. The WTPP is encouraging at least 30% of the population in all cities to take part in active transportation. This report illustrates examples from the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, as they represent the very best in coordinated policies and programs to make cycling safe, convenient and attractive.  

Melbourne Bicycle Account- Cycling Census 2007
After tremendous improvement in their pedestrian and cyclist facilities, Melbourne has agreed to launch their first annual publication of the Melbourne Bicycle Account, following the lead of Copenhagen. This report will include the city’s progress in their Bike Plan of 2007-2011, as well as a summary of cyclist behaviour. The Bicycle Account will conclude with a cyclist opinion survey which will assist in accurately writing future reports.

Comprehensive Plan: Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board holds a vision for the future eliciting the preservation of land and emphasizing the idea of connecting people to nature, as well as to each other.  A comprehensive plan was set forward, including feedback from residents, visitors, staff and elected officials, and as a result, the community-desired outcomes will be prioritized from short term to long terms ready to be implemented.

Downtown Minneapolis Park Space Initiative: Final Report
Almost every major successful city in America has a downtown signature park that serves as a central public gathering place, a point of local pride, and a reflection of the city’s public heart. The City of Minneapolis has a variety of smaller downtown parks; however, they are inclined to pursue the idea of creating a central park that would be financially viable. The following report seeks to outline the general framework from cost benefits and tax revenues, to appropriate location, size, connectivity, and visibility.

My Pick for the Great American Neighbourhood
Walljasper, an experienced international traveller and author of Great Neighbourhood Book, analyzes the best things from the greatest neighbourhoods around the world to create a vision of the most fantastic neighbourhood that could ever be. His inspiring editorial gives guidelines and assertiveness that these neighbourhoods can and should be created all around the world!

The Trust for Public Land: No Place to Play
An important purpose for the creation of more pedestrian-friendly areas pertains tothe types of cities that we want to leave behind for our kids. We all know that parks are a critical part of a child’s life, and one who lacks accessibility to one is at great risk of health issues, while also being restricted from a source of recreation and happiness.

Price Tags: Paris 2008
Over many years, Paris has transformed into a city that is tying itself together through overlapping modes of movement, building new kinds of infrastructure to make connections among its great public spaces. From creating a city for strictly cars, Paris has re-invented a new sense of life, in where parks are created for people. Events such as the Paris-Plage or the Simon-de-Beauvoir provide a fantastic sense of life for citizens and visitors.

Active Living by Design: Parks Trails Greenways Factsheet
Active Living by Design establishes and evaluates innovative approaches to increase physical activity through a more suitable infrastructure, in order to increase health. The report provides a list of promotions, policies, projects, and programs that are being implemented. Programs range from promoting bike safety, to creating after school and summer program to enhance physical activity.

Walking in Air: Pedestrian Bridges
Pedestrian bridges reunite downtowns with waterfronts, add dynamic forms to city skylines, give historic vehicular bridges new life, and bring citizens closer to nature.  However, planners have managed to place them in a lower priority in accordance to park planning. This has restricted many pedestrians from safe accessibility to these areas.

Place-Making Around the World
Over the last 50 years, many cities in America have been focusing on transforming their areas with a more modern theme in mind, in where success is centered on the economic return. Other cities, however, have developed a more respectable view of our future, by creating sustainable cities for the 21st century where people will live happier and healthier. This report includes remarkable examples from places such as Paris, The Netherland and Canada.

World City Bike Collaborative
The World City Bike Collaborative Program offers assistance in screening and preparing city projects generated around the concept of sustainable cities, which includes place-making, parks, as well as pedestrian and cyclist-friendly infrastructure. Help is offered at 4 different levels and is guaranteed to plan, design, and advice projects that will create and connect phenomenal communities.

Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from The Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany
This article shows how the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany have made bicycling a safe, convenient and practical way to get around the cities, while making driving expensive as well as inconvenient in the downtowns. The analysis and data is obtained from numerous studies from large and small communities, and all demonstrate that separated bike facilities along arterials and traffic calming in residential areas are the key concepts to achieve high levels of cycling.