maestro said:
I see ingenuity. I don't see a lack of maturity. The materials differ from the traditional but, I wouldn't say they are necessarily inferior. They may be trending but, so too are most parks.

We have traditional green spaces that in time can take on the more formal quality it seems some desires. As Geeky alluded to earlier, it will take community involvement to make it happen. These parks would be best managed by not for profit organizations with "the little green huts" providing for a large chunk of the maintenance costs.
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Indeed - I found nothing wrong with this park - it has the potential to be a great urban space instead of just being a trees+lawn arrangement you see in suburban landscaping. Funnily enough, the quality of materials used seems to be above and beyond what you normally see - i.e. cast in place concrete/anonymous concrete pavers/cheap mulch covering.

Someone who actually remembers my old handle. *hats off*

Ayan said:
I am not sure what you mean by “there are more to parks than just the Olmstead interpretation” but the benefits of having real parks in urban settings are significant.

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/featurednews/title_349054_en.html
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In the actual paper (http://www.ecehh.org/research-projects/urban-green-effects/) it doesn't make any distinction as to whether "green space" is "real parks" or parks with a significant amount of hardscaping on the ground but nevertheless with a significant amount of tree canopy. As such, I am not sure if you can jump to the conclusion that the paper is supportive of your position.

AoD
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
In the actual paper (http://www.ecehh.org/research-projects/urban-green-effects/) it doesn't make any distinction as to whether "green space" is "real parks" or parks with a significant amount of hardscaping on the ground but nevertheless with a significant amount of tree canopy. As such, I am not sure if you can jump to the conclusion that the paper is supportive of your position.

AoD
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A quote from the study:

“The level of greenness around their pre- and post-move homes was derived from the Generalized Land Use Database for England (GLUD)…Land use is divided into nine categories: green space; domestic gardens; water; domestic buildings; nondomestic buildings; roads; paths; railways; and other (largely hard standing) and area cover was accurate to approximately 10 m2 at the time the data were collected (2005). For current purposes we defined “green space†as the percentage of land cover accounted for by “green space†and “gardens†combined. Excluding gardens produced nearly identical categorization of individuals.â€

According to these links (http://cresh.org.uk/cresh-themes/green-spaces-and-health/ward-level-green-space-estimates/ and http://cresh.org.uk/cresh-themes/green-spaces-and-health/):

“GLUD estimates included all vegetated areas larger than 5 m2 in area (with the exception of domestic gardens), regardless of their accessibility (public or private).â€

“Green spaces are defined as “open, undeveloped land with natural vegetation†and include, for example, parks, forests, playing fields and river crridors.â€
 
Certainly June Callwood Park represents a new type of recreational space. The high-tech Ure-Tech surfaces are new and we'll see how well they last over the years. We'll see more quickly than that how well this space works with kids and others. Right now though, it is far too early to declare how well this kind of space works.

In terms of how green it is, there are a lot of trees here. There are also a lot of plantings, and it is heartening to see that the gardens have plumbing through them to keep them irrigated. Given that Toronto has figured out how to plant trees now in silva cells, in a few short years this might feel like a real forest, at which point it's not going to be too hard to identify this place as a green space, even if it's a new kind of one.

Meanwhile, there are traditional grassy parks north of this and south of this. This is not the worst place in town for a little experimentation. Across from Fort York, this is actually kind of an exciting spot to do this.

42
 
I guess i'm sort of old-school in that you get traditional right first before you riff on it... and by traditional I don't mean it has to be literally 'Victorian' or 'classical' in design, only that we should be developing a solid design/landscape vernacular that's relevant to our city before venturing off in every quirky direction where it all starts to feel like icing without cake. Not that it's a crime or anything, just that as a designer this would be the more interesting and serious work, with the greater long term pay-off for the city.

I'm happy for this space though. It's definitely a win
 
interchange42 said:
Given that Toronto has figured out how to plant trees now in silva cells, in a few short years this might feel like a real forest, at which point it's not going to be too hard to identify this place as a green space, even if it's a new kind of one.
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Since we are speculating, here's another potential scenario (albeit not so rosy and set in a more distant future). It turns out that the synthetic surfaces contain carcinogens. The children who grew up playing in parks made of synthetic materials were particularly susceptible and their parents have decided to file a class-action lawsuit against the City and the manufacturers. Toronto's already strained medical system struggling to provide adequate and timely end-of-life care to senior citizens is now overwhelmed with an entire generation of cancer-stricken young adults who had been raised on nothing but synthetic playgrounds. Amid backdrop of an imminent tax hike to pay for the synthetic surface fiasco, suddenly the citizens of Toronto have started demanding answers as to whatever happened to good old grass? There's a plethora of online petitions calling for Captain Planet to break into a secure facility and recover grass seeds, which are now patented by a multinational conglomerate. Meanwhile, Oxford Dictionaries announces that it will revert to the 2014 definition of green space (“An area of grass, trees, or other vegetation set apart for recreational or aesthetic purposes in an otherwise urban environmentâ€) in light of mounting criticism that designating parks made of synthetic materials as green spaces amounts to greenwashing!
 
Yes, one of the reasons we seek out parks is to get away from synthetic environments.
 
Ayan said:
suddenly the citizens of Toronto have started demanding answers as to whatever happened to good old grass?
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Tewder said:
Yes, one of the reasons we seek out parks is to get away from synthetic environments.
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Ahh come on, it just a stones throw away from Coronation Park on the other side of the street...



I like the way that this little parkette is different from the many acres of greenspace around it:cool:
 
There is nothing wrong with synthetic play surfaces, and many parents would kill to have synthetic play surfaces in the city since most of our parks are littered with dog feces and geese droppings. Mississauga has been using synthetic surfaces at splash pads for decades and has never had any issues in terms of maintenance or health and safety.
 
Wait a sec, what stops a goose from pooping on pink rubber? Or all the crap that falls out of trees? Will somebody be vacuuming and sanitizing?
 
Tewder said:
Wait a sec, what stops a goose from pooping on pink rubber?
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I think Tuscani was trying to say that these surfaces will be far easier to maintain than sand, gravel or grass - which can't be easily purged of excrement.
 
Tewder said:
Wait a sec, what stops a goose from pooping on pink rubber? Or all the crap that falls out of trees? Will somebody be vacuuming and sanitizing?
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I believe geese are genetically predisposed to avoid pink rubber :)

Seriously, not many geese hang out on the north side of Lake Shore. Pigeons, on the other hand ...
 
someMidTowner said:
I think Tuscani was trying to say that these surfaces will be far easier to maintain than sand, gravel or grass - which can't be easily purged of excrement.
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I'm questioning whether it will though. This pink surface looks one way when clear and clean but how often will it really be clear and clean? Grass has texture and verticality and can hide things somewhat. I'm just curious, it was the first thought I had when I saw it... well second after thinking 'PINK!!'.
 
Tewder said:
Perhaps this park has been funded by Pepto Bismol?
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I don't think Pepto has a monopoly on the colour pink, or any variation of it. Whether or not Pepto was used in the manufacturing process seems to be a more valid, but still ridiculous question.
 
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