December 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 22

Who, What, Where & hoW around the Parks

high,	Rugged,	vast,	and	vibrant:	five	Parks	
Conceived	to	Defy	traditional	Boundaries

T

raditionally, America's most iconic parks have been all about boundaries. Preserves of carefully managed beauty, bordered by the notso-manicured " rest of life. " Consider New York's Central Park, for
example. Even its name tells of the importance of the city that hugs
it from all sides. For reasons of space, economics and conservation,
however, future parks may just explode our expectations of what the boundaries of
recreation should be. Here are five park conceptions that go higher, spread wider,
or otherwise defy traditional notions of park space.

Buffalo Commons: Reopening the Frontier

T

it, would be the preserved prairie-the
wild, flat, dry expanse that is today only
1% of what is was a century ago. The proposal sparked bitter responses from the
farmers and citizens of the Great Plains.
Slowly, however, as population has continued to dwindle in western Kansas, the
idea has gained support in the heartland.
As former Kansas Governor Mike
Hayden said, " Grasslands are the
world's most endangered eco-system,
and re-establishing a large patch is important to America's natural and cultural
heritage. "

Little Park Above the
Freeway: woodall
Rogers Park, Dallas

Photo	CouRtEsY	of	hEAthER	CRIst	(WWW.hEAthERCRIst.CoM)

he myth of the American Frontier is all about the big sky and
unimaginable vastness that pioneering homesteaders encountered in
the Great Plains. The modern reality of
the Great Plains is, unfortunately, about
a shrinking and aging population, diminished water reserves, and a scarcity
of arable land. In 1987, two Rutgers University researchers proposed a millionacre national park that would, in effect,
reopen the frontier. Spanning parts of
western Kansas near the Colorado border, " Buffalo Commons, " as they called

18	 Parks & Recreation

DECEMBER	2010

www.NRPA .ORG

r

ecreation atop a freeway? It might
sound like an oxymoron, but the partially completed 5.2-acre Woodall
Rogers Park represents the culmination of
one of the most innovative urban park planning projects in history. Scheduled to open
in 2012, the park will cover the below-grade
Woodall Rodgers Freeway to offer Dallas residents three blocks of urban green space. It
will connect the city's Arts District (currently
bisected by the freeway) and provide a recreational hub for both Dallas residents and visitors to enjoy.
The park above the freeway will boast jogging trails, a dog park, a playground, restaurants, a performance pavilion, water sculpture,
a games area and more.



December 2010 - Parks & Recreation

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