“That’s a walk in the park!” Most of us are familiar with this expression which is used to describe something that is very easy to do. Ironically, a walk to a park may actually not be a walk in the park for a variety of reasons. For example, there may not be a park within walking distance (typically defined as a half-mile) from one’s home. There may also be physical and social barriers that often make walking to parks challenging and undesirable, such as a lack of infrastructure like sidewalks and crosswalks, traffic safety concerns like speeding vehicles, and crime issue like the presence of gangs. [Read more…] about A Walk to the Park
About Clement Lau
Nature for Neighborhoods
Have you heard of “nature-deficit disorder“? Coined by author and journalist Richard Louv, the term refers to possible negative consequences to individual health and the social fabric as children stay more time indoors and away from physical contact with the natural world. [Read more…] about Nature for Neighborhoods
Presents for Plannerds: 2018 Edition
Let me begin with a confession. I almost decided not to continue my annual update of Presents for Plannerds which I started in 2013. As my family knows, I have never been much of a shopper, but I thought it would be fun to compile a list of gift ideas for my fellow planners and those who may want to give us presents for Christmas. So I updated the list in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. But as December approached this year, [Read more…] about Presents for Plannerds: 2018 Edition
Looking Ahead to 2019: Events for Planners
Can you believe that it is October already? With 2019 arriving in less than three months, I would like to highlight twelve events that planners, architects, and landscape architects can look forward to in the new year. [Read more…] about Looking Ahead to 2019: Events for Planners
Data-Driven Park Planning
Where are new parks most needed? What types of park amenities does a community need more of? Which sports are most popular in a city or neighborhood? How many residents are within a half-mile of a park? If a new park is built at a certain location, how many more youths would be served? These are the types of questions that decision-makers are increasingly asking so that they can make informed-decisions to better allocate limited resources for parks and recreation. [Read more…] about Data-Driven Park Planning
Engaging Children in the Park Planning Process | Health and Wellness | Parks and Recreation Magazine | NRPA
Given that children are key park users we must be creative in how we engage them in the planning process.
Nature Based Solutions – American Planning Association (PDF)
https://nacpro.starchapter.com/images/downloads/Posted_documents/aug_sept_2018_parks_lau.pdf
Parks—from green urban oases to sandy waterfront
beaches—play a big role in making communities
more resilient to climate change.
Gateway Arch National Park: A Visual Tour
Have you been to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis? Do you know that the iconic stainless steel structure is the world’s tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and the tallest publicly accessible building in the State of Missouri? I recently visited the Arch which is the centerpiece of the Gateway Arch National Park, previously known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, and came away impressed by both the monument and its newly renovated surroundings. [Read more…] about Gateway Arch National Park: A Visual Tour
Views from the Top: 10 High-Rises Worth Visiting
Do you like to travel and explore different cities? I certainly do. While I travel mostly for pleasure (rather than for work), the planner in me cannot help but observe, study, and evaluate the places I visit. While much of this observing, studying, and evaluating take place on foot at the street level, I also try to find high-above vantage points that offer the best views of a city. [Read more…] about Views from the Top: 10 High-Rises Worth Visiting
Riding the Bus: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
It has been over two months since I became a regular bus rider. As I shared in my previous article, my office recently moved from Koreatown (where I was able to reach with ease riding the subway) to Alhambra (which is not served by Metro rail at all). Thus my morning commute now consists of 15 minutes of walking, a short ride on the subway, a 30-minute bus ride, and another 10 minutes on foot. This is just to get to work; I have to do the reverse to return home. Taking public transit to and from a suburb located about nine miles east of my home has been anything but convenient. It would be easy for me to just complain about it endlessly or even give up on the bus altogether. However, I have chosen to stick with it for now because I cannot dismiss riding the bus as an entirely bad experience. As a planner who tends to think about and reflect upon my experiences (perhaps too much), I want to share the following observations about bus riding in Los Angeles. I must clarify though that my comments are from my perspective as a public transit user only, not as a transportation planner, since I lack formal training and experience in the field of transportation planning. [Read more…] about Riding the Bus: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly