New York City Department of City Planning Commissioner Amanda M. Burden talks to Urban Landonline magazine about the value of urban open space, how it can be a catalyst for economic development, why she created the Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award, and how cash-strapped cities can create open space on a shoestring budget. According to Burden, even in an era of shrinking public funds, new public parks and plazas can spur development, transform surrounding neighborhoods, be major tourist attractions, and become centers of urban life.
Read an article where Amanda Burden’s Urban Open Space Award was used as an example by a panel at the Urban Land Institute’s 2011 Fall Meeting to explore the connection between parks and real estate value.