Sustaining an urban gem.In the middle of this country's most populated pop·u·late tr.v. pop·u·lat·ed, pop·u·lat·ing, pop·u·lates 1. To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization; people. 2. city glistens a jewel known as Central Park. To millions of New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. residents it is an irreplaceable emerald of green--an oasis in the middle of a concrete city. That's no accident. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted envisioned Central Park as a means of bringing the forests, meadows, and lakes of the Adirondacks to urban dwellers. September's 7th National Urban Forest Conference takes place in New York City, so it seems fitting to spend some time exploring Central Park's past, present, and future. This city asset is a handcrafted hand·craft n. Variant of handicraft. tr.v. hand·craft·ed, hand·craft·ing, hand·crafts To fashion or make by hand. hand·craft monument to landscape design and engineering. It is also not the natural ecosystem it was designed to mimic. In fact, most of the visitors who meander meander Extreme U-bend in a stream, usually occurring in a series, that is caused by flow characteristics of the water. Meanders form in stream-deposited sediments and may stack up upstream of an obstruction, resulting in a gooseneck or extremely bowed meander. through the park's 843 acres probably don't realize what an engineering marvel it really is. Out of sight beneath its trees, grass, and water is a labyrinth labyrinth (lăb`ərĭnth), intricate building of chambers and passages, often constructed so as to perplex and confuse a person inside. of pipes and pumps. Even its soil had to be trucked in from New Jersey and Long Island. The story of Central Park provides a powerful anecdote anecdote (ăn`ĭkdōt'), brief narrative of a particular incident. An anecdote differs from a short story in that it is unified in time and space, is uncomplicated, and deals with a single episode. to one of the more perplexing per·plex tr.v. per·plexed, per·plex·ing, per·plex·es 1. To confuse or trouble with uncertainty or doubt. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. To make confusedly intricate; complicate. issues of our time--sustainability. Are the cities we build sustainable? Will they stand the test of time when all the costs and benefits are considered? Can we build sustainable cities in the future and, if we can, how do we get started? Can a natural-looking landscape carved in the rocky center of New York City sustain itself or, at least, provide builders with new information about natural areas in the city? City structures periodically need major repairs, and although its problems may be invisible to many, Central Park is no exception. We can all learn valuable lessons from the ambitious renovation the Central Park Conservancy has undertaken. When we build a city, we change the condition of the land and interrupt its natural tendencies. To make our cities sustainable, we need to recapture those natural tendencies--make them work with us rather than against us. We must learn to build and renovate our urban areas with the ecosystem in mind. The renovation of Central Park can help us understand this challenge. |
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