OT: Houston's downtown park -- great public space

[AVERAGE JOE]

Thought this might be of interest to a lot of people on the board, particularly in the area of learning some lessons about creating great public spaces.

Houston (of all places) will break ground Monday on a major new downtown park that looks fantastic, both from a design and activity standpoint. The 12-acre site is currently "underutilized green space and parking lots." One of my favorite groups, the Project for Public Spaces (pps.org) played a big role in developing a Site Activity Plan for the park.

Please note in the articles below the extensive public involvement in developing the site plans from the earliest concept stages, even before the initial design concepts were drafted. In my opinion, that's the only way to go.

Short reads, very informative. Please discuss.

Rendering of final design:


PPS process for developing Site Activity Plan (must read)

Detailed site plan (wow... just, wow)

Existing aerial showing park location (great spot)

Details about the public involvement in the process (you mean, ask the people want they want BEFORE you come up with the designs?)

Houston Downtown Park website