Health, Habitat, and Civic Infrastructure: Designing the City as a National Park
Climate Change, Energy & Pollution Health Mobility Parks & Public Space Smart CitiesSummary
This ArchDaily article explores a rethinking of urban design by treating cities as “national parks,” which views land as a network of ecological relationships rather than a collection of isolated sites. The article suggests that like national parks, cities should be managed as interconnected environments with shared standards for protection, accessibility, and long-term stewardship to ensure a healthier and greener city. Current environmental action focuses on policy targets and while this is essential, the article argues that this approach is too abstract, leading to disconnections between goals and spatial, material, and experiential decisions. Instead, treating the connection and protection of environmental relationships as a core responsibility of design and framing nature as civic infrastructure encourages collaboration among policymakers, designers, and communities, which overall fosters a collective responsibility for maintaining healthy, livable spaces.