PodParks

Welcome back to another Podparks episode!

Here's a sneak peek to the episode notes, you can access the complete notes and resources at https://worldurbanparks.org/blog/

How can we transform cities to become more human, more compassionate? In today’s episode of Podparks, we’re joining a conversation on urban transformation through culture, by revisiting a keynote speech from the World Urban Park Congress 2022 by Anupam Yog, founder of The Big Sit.

If you want to read the complete notes for this episode check our blog section on our website. This podcast is only one of the many resources available inside the WUP member platform. Discover more resources and connect with park professionals around the world at www.worldurbanparks.org​​

Welcome back to podparks!

Here's a sneak peek to the episode notes, you can access the complete notes and resources at https://worldurbanparks.org/blog/

Do you know data science can help us create equitable parks systems? On today’s episode of Podparks, we get to discuss this intersection with Mindy Watts, Principal at Interface Studio, a planning and urban design firm based in Philadelphia that works towards more equitable park investments. Mindy shares her journey from art student to urban planner, emphasizing her desire to engage in socially impactful work. She highlights her career trajectory from local community-driven projects to citywide initiatives, particularly focusing on equitable investments in public park systems.

If you want to read the complete notes for this episode check our blog section on our website. This podcast is only one of the many resources available inside the WUP member platform. Discover more resources and connect with park professionals around the world at www.worldurbanparks.org​​

Welcome back!

How would our cities change if we replaced most of our roads with parks? This week on Podparks, we are advocating for green networks, which are webs of parks and corridors and walkways that allow people to navigate the city through green public spaces.

Green networks center non-motorized transport and human mobility to create alternative pedestrian routes that connect neighborhoods, parks and other open spaces without the need to follow a streetscape. This allows people to immerse themselves in parks on their daily commutes, receiving the physical and mental health benefits of green spaces and reducing the need for cars.

Here's a sneak peek to the episode notes, you can access the complete notes and resources at https://worldurbanparks.org/blog/

Another Wednesday, another Podparks episode!

How can public and private actors work together to create more equitable parks and green spaces? This week on podparks, we are discussing collaborations and equitable park building with Martin Andrade, Executive Director of Corporación Ciudades, a Chilean organization working hand in hand with key actors to create territorial wellbeing.

If you want to read the complete notes for this episode check our blog section on our website, this podcast is only one of the many resources available inside the WUP member platform. Here's a sneak peek to the episode notes, you can access the complete notes and resources at https://worldurbanparks.org/blog/

What is up with mental health walks?

This week on Podparks, we’re uncovering the intricate relationships between parks and mental health, and learning how we can advocate for spaces that promote our wellbeing. We are joined by health professionals from around the world that are on a quest to create better environments for our physical and mental health.

Here's a sneak peek to the episode notes, you can access the complete notes and resources at https://worldurbanparks.org/blog/podparks/

This podcast is only one of the many resources available inside the WUP member platform. Discover more resources and connect with park professionals around the world at www.worldurbanparks.org​​

We are back for another episode of Podparks!

What happens when parks are transformed into community empowerers? This week on Podparks, we discuss this and more of parks’ crucial social role as reviewed in Trust for Public Land’s new groundbreaking report “The Common Ground Framework”. We are joined by Cary Simmons, Director of Community Strategies at Trust for Public Land as well as Daniel Valdez, Chief External Affairs Officer at Welcoming America.

Here's a sneak peek to the episode notes, you can access the complete notes and resources at https://worldurbanparks.org/blog/

If you want to read the complete notes for this episode check our blog section on our website. This podcast is only one of the many resources available inside the WUP member platform. Discover more resources and connect with park professionals around the world at www.worldurbanparks.org​​

This week on Podparks, we are joined by Maria Zachariades and Luis Romahn to talk about Parkitecture, World Urban Park’s international park design contest.

Maria and Luis share how the contest was created, with the goal to bring innovation and creativity to emerging cities across the world. As Maria explains, Parkitecture is bringing a community-center approach to design, working with citizens and local organizations from Culiacán, Mexico to analyze neighborhood and environmental needs of public spaces around the city. Participants from around the world are invited to participate by creating an open design brief for one or more of Culiacán’s Parks, focusing on imaginative design elements that can be operated and maintained by the local community. 

Find out more about Parkitecture and register at https://wup.connectedcommunity.org/about-us716/parkitecture 

You can find PodParks on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Welcome back to podparks!

Here's a sneak peek to the episode notes, you can access the complete notes and resources at https://worldurbanparks.org/blog/. 

This week on Podparks, we are analyzing the magic of trees, and why they have become so crucial in our lives. 

And as recent research suggests, trees are intricately connected to each other and to other organisms through mycorrhizal networks also known as the wood wide web. Throw a web of fungi that attach to tree roots, trees send water and nutrients to each other, as well as distress signals that prepare their communities for eventualities. This connection extends  to humans, and as Tim explains, the mere presence of trees in our surroundings can have lasting effects on our physical and mental health.

If you want to read the complete notes for this episode check our blog section on our website. This podcast is only one of the many resources available inside the WUP member platform. Discover more resources and connect with park professionals around the world at www.worldurbanparks.org​​

This week on Podparks, we are joined by Marian Stuiver, social scientist and head of the Green Cities Program at Wageningen University. Marian shares her long trajectory in urban resilience, reflecting on the work that led her to publish her book titled The Symbiotic City, Voices of nature in urban transformations.

The relationship between nature and humans is complex and intrinsically linked. Symbiotic cities recognize the four distinct values of nature and use them to center human development around nature, recognizing that we must adapt to the circumstances of our environment and not the other way around.

Find more information about Marian’s work at https://www.wur.nl/es/Persons/Marian-dr.ir.-M-Marian-Stuiver.htm 

Read The Symbiotic City, voices of nature in urban transformations at https://www.wageningenacademic.com/doi/book/10.3920/978-90-8686-935-0 

You can find PodParks on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.  Access the complete notes and resources at https://worldurbanparks.org/blog/. 

Podparks is back for a second season!

This week on Podparks,  we’re building the case for urban rewilding, a process where cities around the world are reimagining themselves as active ecosystems with native wildlife in mind. 

Jonathan Cha, Senior Planning Advisor of Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal Canada, recounts the participatory process that transformed the park from an entertainment venue to a biodiversity hotspot with people and nature as a first priority.

Allowing native species to reclaim land can help make our cities more resilient to the effects of climate change. It also promotes urban biodiversity; Julia Bresee from Parks Canada discusses the importance of rewilding for the new National Urban Parks program.

Rewilding also has an often overlooked social role in cities. Federico Cartín, founder of Rutas Naturbanas, discusses the citizen-led project in San José, Costa Rica that aims to connect people and nature through green riverside corridors.

Find more information about Parc Jean-Drapeau at https://www.parcjeandrapeau.com/

Discover Canada’s new National Urban Parks program at https://parks.canada.ca/pun-nup

Explore the citizen proposal of Rutas Naturbanas at https://rutasnaturbanas.org/ 

You can find PodParks on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.