Technology and the Garden

What sounds like a fascinating symposium will take place May 6-7, 2011, at Dumbarton Oaks -- "Technology in the Garden," with speakers, panels, and films that look at the history, present state, and potential future interaction among technology, design, horticulture, and place. I plan to attend and hope to see some of you there. 

Whose park is it?

Those of us fortunate enough to live near public parks often take those spaces for granted. The experience of women in Kabul, though, provides a reminder that they truly are gifts. One woman who works at a Kabul women-only park donated by India described how it is changing the attitude of women towards themselves: 

"For many women, having someone come from another country and offer this little garden was really new. Some asked me, 'Why would they see me, an Afghan woman, as important?'" 

Isn't everyone be important enough to have a safe space to play, reflect, chat, and learn?

It wasn't enough, though, just to build the park and supply it with armed guards. Tamana Ghaznewil, the park worker, explained the outreach that brought women to the park:

"Our classes and our park are so busy -- but only because India went to the Kabul slum areas and talked to the women about coming."

Is that the way it works in your neighborhood? Are there populations who aren't aware that the parks are for them? 

Street grid: System or mystery?

Clara Barton Parkway, not in Arlington, but across the river in Maryland. I don't seem to have any good photos of the Arlington streetscape. Sounds like a good idea for a future project. If roads could speak. . . . Matt Johnson over at Greater Greater Washington has detailed the logic behind the street names in Arlington County, VA, where I live. It's a system that drives visitors nuts, because many streets are discontiguous. For example, I live on the western segment of Little Falls Road. The eastern segment (where the Knights of Columbus hall is located -- I've given directions many times) starts about a quarter mile away, on the other side of a small shopping center. You'd probably never get from one segment to the other without a map. So that's what we give our kids here when they start driving -- a detailed map book for the glove box. I've lived in Arlington for 20 years, and I still refer to mine at least once a month.

One of the interesting features of our local street grid is that you can clearly pick out the older roads that predate the grid system. That's probably something easy to see almost anywhere, once you peel off the automobile-era layer of the street system. What can you learn about your own local history and environment by looking at those roads?

The landscape for healing

I just love it when related ideas cross paths. Just as I was preparing to launch my Place Keepers web site last week, the new Therapeutic Landscapes Network showed its face to the world, with a mission that is very compatible with that of Place Keepers:

We are an international, multidisciplinary community of designers, health and human service providers, scholars, gardeners, and nature enthusiasts who believe that access to nature is an innate need and a basic human right, and that contact with nature, both wild and designed, enables people to live fuller, richer, healthier lives.

I'm all for that and plan to keep an eye on the TLN blog.

Place Keepers workbook released

I am excited to announce the public availability of the Place Keepers workbook, the project that inspired me to create this web site. In 16 pages, this workbook introduces the idea of green space and provides tools to help you get to know a specific local green space and get involved in its care. In making the workbook available for free and unrestricted use, I hope it can inspire individuals, community organizations, and local governments to strengthen their relationship with the land.