Landscape Architect Robin Shifflet will oversee new master plan that aims to re-imagine how San Diego plans, builds, uses its parks. Shifflet is a member of ASLA and a former President.
- San Diego has launched a three-year effort to update the city’s parks master plan for the first time since the 1940s
- The new plan will re-evaluate how many acres of parkland each neighborhood needs
- San Diego already has a robust parks system with 6,200 acres of regional parks and beaches and 3,000 acres of community and neighborhood parks
San Diego’s demographic changes and the city’s shift away from urban sprawl development are forcing officials to reconsider how to plan future parks and how best to meet the evolving recreation needs of residents.
City officials recently launched a three-year effort to update San Diego’s parks master plan for the first time since the 1940s, when empty land for parks was abundant and sprawling suburbs were the model for development.
The new plan will be more than just a straightforward update, primarily because land has become scarce and the city has shifted to “smart growth” – adding density to existing neighborhoods instead of allowing development to sprawl outward.
Those changes make it crucial, officials say, to re-evaluate how many acres of parkland each neighborhood needs and to make the distribution of parkland more equitable across communities and income levels.
The plan will also likely loosen the definition of a park to include urban plazas, hiking trails and some open space areas.
Read the rest of the article here:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-parks-future-20180325-story.html
