Good Park Design = Good Neighbours

One of the canons of community design is that the intended use of an area must be obvious but not necessarily rigidly controlled. A well-designed courtyard or plaza, for example, will allow for members of the community to assemble for a variety of purposes but, by the nature of its planning and relationship to other functions, will discourage destructive uses. Withrow Park is the centre of Riverdale. It is a plaza, playground, recreational area, theatre, dog zone, and nature preserve. Time and societal change have made its present design obsolete. In fact, the way the park is now being used has turned members of the community against one-another and allowed a criminal to disrupt the way we live. There is an answer to the problem. We can take what is great about the park and add to it. We can design areas for dogs that don't interfere with areas for children and other users. We can design and build new playgrounds that are more than just some level ground with swings and slides dropped on top. This will take money and time and commitment and political will. But what is the alternative, a community living with unresolved conflict?