East Lansing's park district: downtown should be a destination for doing . . . nothing
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EmailMlive Editor's note: MLive asked two urban planners what they would envision for the Park District Project on the west end of East Lansing's downtown.
Published: October 14, 2013By: Mlive.com (guest opinion)
Editor's note: MLive asked two urban planners what they would envision for the Park District Project on the west end of East Lansing's downtown. The next charrette, or community meeting to discuss the project's design, is from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. It's free and open to the public. Read the essays, get your creative juices flowing and join MLive and others at Wednesday's charrette!
By: Mark Wilson
The Park District should be a place that you can rely on to be worth visiting even if you have no reason to go. A place that guarantees itself worthy of the journey, without knowing what will be found at the end. A haven and habitat for the flâneur, the district should be a destination to explore when doing nothing, because what is known is that something unknown will happen.
I am not a designer but I know how I want to feel in a place perfect for doing nothing. These words for the west end reflect the spirit and mood of places that stay fresh in the memory and can be used to define how a place should be.
Vitality ~ bounce ~ liveliness ~ vivacity ~ sparkle ~ pulse ~ jazzy ~ buoyant ~ spirited ~ zing
The measure of a vital community is the life it expresses to residents and visitors. Vibrancy comes from pedestrians comfortable with being in the area, and from streetscapes comprising places worth lingering, such as cafes and restaurants, compelling retail space, and public art. Urban spaces sparkle and pulse with music and performance, with buskers a sure indicator of a place to spend time and to enjoy.
Diversity ~ variety ~ mixture ~ medley ~ contrasting ~ distinctive ~ different ~ multiplicity
Places worth visiting present variety and difference, with the contrasts of interests, design and activity combining to engage the public in their community. Homogeneity is less likely to surprise, confuse or confound us than being surrounded by differences that challenge thought and experience. Districts that offer a diversity of experiences and stimuli are attractive for the very differences they promote, and make a place worth visiting its unknown surprises.
Density ~ substantial ~ crowded ~ packed ~ throng ~ flock ~ cluster ~ cram ~ busy ~ capacity
Density is not a dirty word but the calculus that makes vital places possible. Busy and packed spaces attract people for the variety of possibilities they provide: the people to watch, art to see, and food to eat are multiplied only when density is not only tolerated but embraced. Too often, density is seen as a cause of problems, when it should be seen as the rationale for substantial places that attract residents and visitors.
The Park District should be a place worth visiting even when you don’t know what to expect, because it will be spirited, distinctive, and busy. We have all been to places like this, only now we have an opportunity to have one of our own.
Mark Wilson is a professor at the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan State University.
http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2013/10/east_lansings_park_district_a.html
