Yesterday, while reading some new forum posts at AbsoluteDSM.com, I came across a post where someone had found a link to an old video about the study of social life in small urban spaces. This got me thinking about some of the re-design work that is currently in the planning stages for Nollen Plaza.

What you will see below is a 10-minute clip of an hour-long video called The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. The clip shows an analysis of the plaza of the Seagram Building in New York City and what makes it so effective as a small urban space.

The video was adapted from a book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte.

Posted under Living Downtown
Tags: Nollen Plaza | Parks | Urban Spaces

For the city of our size, Des Moines has an awesome collection of downtown green spaces. Within just a few blocks of most downtown office buildings or residential units you will be within footsteps of one of the following green spaces:

• Capitol Building Terrace
• Hansen Triangle
• Nollen Plaza
• Principal Riverwalk
• Simon Estes Riverfront
• Western Gateway Park

An just outside the main downtown area, is Gray’s Lake and Waterworks Park. The City of Des Moines’ Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for 72 parks with over 3,000 acres of green space and more than 30 miles of walking and biking trails.

I believe that urban green spaces, like those that we have in downtown, are an essential component in transforming and enriching our city. If Des Moines wants to continue and attract more people to move to and live in downtown, this amenity is an important factor for a lot of people. History has shown that parks play a pivotal role in shaping the success of urban areas. Take a look at Central Park in New York City, this is considered one of the first formal “parks,” and was created to be passive and beautiful, in contrast to the density of urban life. Central Park has become a destination, not only to it’s residents and workers, but to the tourist who come to New York City, and would consider a visit to Central Park as a “must-see” on their itinerary.

Two of our public green spaces are on the verge of some wonderful changes. Western Gateway Park will be turning into a world-class sculpture garden and Nollen Plaza has some plans to completely update and transform it into an awesome destination in the heart of the Downtown Core Neighborhood. Proposed inclusions in the Nollen Plaza update include a civic gate that acts as a waterfall in the warmer months and a frozen wall during the winter. Newly created public restorms would be incased inside of a large video media cube.

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Posted under Living Downtown
Tags: Gateway West | Nollen Plaza | Parks | Sculpture | Urban Gardens