What makes a city a good place to live? Practical features are important, such as well-maintained streets, good public transit and reliable trash collection. So are amenities that make cities attractive and interesting, such as museums and public parks. Access to green space is especially valuable for residents who may not be able to travel easily beyond city limits.
Access is important, but I believe making people feel included and welcome is equally important. If parks do this well, people will be more willing to use them.
I am an urban geographer and study how parks affect social interaction in diverse communities. My students and I are examining how people interact with the built environment of Phalen Regional Park in St. Paul, Minnesota, to understand what leads people to experience this park as a welcoming and inclusive space. I believe Phalen Park offers useful strategies that other cities can emulate.
What makes a city a good place to live? Practical features are important, such as well-maintained streets, good public transit and reliable trash collection. So are amenities that make cities attractive and interesting, such as museums and public parks. Access to green space is especially valuable for residents who may not be able to travel easily beyond city limits.
Access is important, but I believe making people feel included and welcome is equally important. If parks do this well, people will be more willing to use them.
I am an urban geographer and study how parks affect social interaction in diverse communities. My students and I are examining how people interact with the built environment of Phalen Regional Park in St. Paul, Minnesota, to understand what leads people to experience this park as a welcoming and inclusive space. I believe Phalen Park offers useful strategies that other cities can emulate.
A statue is unveiled in Phalen Regional Park on July 30, 2023, honoring gymnast and St. Paul native Sunisa Lee, the first Hmong American Olympian. Lee won three medals at the 2020 Olympic Games, including the individual all-around gold.
Four Greenpeace activists who were arrested for scaling the country estate of former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year to protest his oil and gas drilling expansion plans have been cleared of criminal charges
Families in a South Dakota neighborhood are fearing for their safety as sinkholes have appeared around their homes in the area above an old underground mine
The annual New York City Climate Week and United Nations General Assembly that's just about to start are emphasizing how to generate trillions of dollars that will be needed to help poorer countries move away from gas, oil and coal, fuels that release greenhouse gases and heat the planet