Good morning. A great urban park needs a few essential elements – more on that below, along with a date for the U.S. vice-presidential debate and a stairway to housing density. But first:
Today’s headlines
- Mediators hold a new round of ceasefire talks as Gaza health officials report that 40,000 Palestinians have died
- Ukraine captured more than 100 Russian soldiers after taking full control of Sudzha
- Western fires blanket the Prairies with heavy smoke, raising the air-quality index to its highest level in major cities
ILLUSTRATION BY SANDI FALCONER
SUMMER
Greener pastures
Back in the mid-1800s, North American urbanites looking for fresh air and a green reprieve had to make do with a stroll through a graveyard. This was a particular bummer for Frederick Law Olmsted, who believed city dwellers deserved public parks designed for, crucially, “the human presence.” He created a new profession for himself – landscape architect, which was a bit of a step up from his old gig in journalism – and then he built some absolute knockouts, including Central Park, Yosemite and Montreal’s Mount Royal Park.
These days, of course, space in the city is far harder to come by, especially for the “sense of enlarged freedom” that Olmsted had in mind. Park planners need to do more with less to encourage people passing through to actually stick around. Writer Linda Besner dives into this topic in her state of the union on urban parks for The Globe and Mail: “At first glance, an iconic park and a so-so park look much the same: grass, trees, a path of some kind,” she says. “What elevates a patch of grass into a cultural touchstone?”
Community service
There are plenty of ways to figure out what people want from a park. Australian researchers conducted walk-along interviews through eight different parks in Greater Melbourne. The U.S.’s National Recreation and Park Association tapped a polling company to ask. Los Angeles started using smartphone apps and fitness trackers to map how people move through green spaces. Volunteers in Toronto and Vancouver, however, had a more analogue approach: They stood around in parks and looked.
ILLUSTRATION BY SANDI FALCONER
In Toronto, observers clocked how many people jogged, biked or strolled through a downtown public space. They noted whether kids climbed over boulders and jungle gyms, if lunch-breakers ate their food on the benches and when couples sprawled out on the grass. Vancouver researchers categorized the types of activities people engaged in and saw that in the summer, most people came to parks to eat, drink or take part “in passive recreation.” As Besner notes, that particular category runs the gamut from playing cards to reading books to making out.
A good hang
Last September, illustrator Maliha Ali spent two days a week watching the activity along a western stretch of Toronto’s waterfront. She drew pictures for her website of what went down in the park: An older man in a wheelchair spent a while gazing at the lake; two pals with a cooler relaxed under a red umbrella; a woman settled at the water’s edge with the remnants of her breakfast. Plenty of the folks Ali witnessed just wanted to hang out.
That echoes the findings of the studies Besner mentions: Sure, baseball diamonds and tennis courts sound nice, but largely people are looking for a free place to sit down. When we get the chance to linger, we’re far likelier to pet someone’s dog or kick back a soccer ball to a group of teenagers. A full 50 per cent of Vancouver’s park-goers had an interaction that day with a stranger – and there’s the human presence that Frederick Law Olmsted was always banging on about.
The Shot
“I can hear the sounds of life around me.”
A mixed-use building in Seattle.Genna Martin
One simple design change – involving a single outside staircase – could be the secret to unlocking much-needed housing density in Canada. Read more here.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Enjoy those cellphones for another three weeks, kids – Manitoba becomes the latest province to restrict the use of phones in classrooms starting this school year.
Abroad: U.S. vice-presidential candidates Tim Walz and J.D. Vance have agreed to a debate on Oct. 1. Expect much cross-talk about reproductive rights, military service and Project 2025.
Big chill: It’s very, very hot out. The AC might not be cutting it. So travellers are eyeing cooler destinations this summer – Iceland, Norway, Alaska – where an overcast 14 C sounds positively dreamy.
Space bar: Alien: Romulus comes out today, and The Globe’s Barry Hertz isn’t a particular fan. But he’s ranked all nine – nine?! – of the Alien movies for you, so you can plan out your weekend viewing. (His top pick is proving mighty contentious.)