9/4/2023 0 Comments Oklahoma city landscape design![]() Mayor Bynum said years of “honest conversation helped change the dynamics about unofficial segregation and created greater understanding.” Latinos, who now make up 15 percent of the population, were also brought into the city-wide conversation about the future. Tulsa has been a segregated city ever since. Tulsa, the second largest city in Oklahoma, has a “challenging history around race.” In 1921, the city experienced the “ worst race riot in the country’s history” - some 300 African Americans were killed. Scissortail Park, Oklahoma City / Hargreaves Associates Dirt from a large lake carved into Scissortail was used to build a hill, saving money. Low-maintenance native plants are being incorporated. ![]() Sources of revenue are built into the park. We hope to quickly get to zero city financing.”Īnd he noted that Hargreaves Associates principal Mary Margaret Jones, FASLA, promised him they wouldn’t build something OKC “couldn’t afford to operate.” “It’s the Central Park Conservancy model. The city will provide the non-profit a subsidy in its first few years, but the support will drop off as private sponsorships increase. The land for the park is owned by the city, but Scissortail will be operated by a non-profit. We created the most inclusive process you can imagine.” But still there were complaints about a lack of transparency. The citizens advisory group “came up with most aspects of the park.” Cornett believes this is how it should work: “the Mayor’s job is to create the framework and organize financing the public does the details.”Ĭornett emphasized that in today’s digital world, “you can’t have enough citizens’ involvement. Then, they worked with Hargreaves Associates to customize the park. OKC’s leadership and a citizens’ advisory group went to visit these parks to see what they could learn. Models for Scissortail are Millennium Park in Chicago and Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City. The city aims to “re-populate the urban core” in order to fight sprawl and bring more people down to the Oklahoma River. New retail, commercial, and residential buildings will form a mixed-use neighborhood, with affordable housing, surrounding the park. ![]() “We built as we collected the money.”Ĭornett said “25 years ago, downtown was terrible.” Today, the transformation is already apparent: the downtown is walkable and bikable, the streetcar and park are coming in, and designs for a new convention center were just approved.Ĭornett sees Scissortail Park, which is expected to open next year, primarily as an economic development tool. In this conservative state, the modest sales tax ensured no debt was generated by the public projects. With funds from OKC’s innovative MAP3 program, which has brought in hundreds of millions for public space improvements through a penny sales tax, the leadership of the city, over multiple mayors, were able to implement a 20-year plan for transforming downtown, including new sidewalks and bicycle infrastructure, streetcars, a convention center, and grand central park. “We knew it was a one time and forever opportunity,” said Cornett, former Mayor of Oklahoma City and now Republican candidate for Governor of Oklahoma. With its relocation five blocks south, a large space opened up. Scissortail Park is the city’s response to the removal of the Interstate highway that once cut through downtown. At the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA), the mayors outlined how these parks came about and what these spaces are expected to accomplish. Oklahoma’s smart urban leadership - former OKC Mayor Mick Cornett and current Mayor of Tulsa GT Bynum - know big city parks can transform a city. In Tulsa, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) is building the 100-acre, $485 million Gathering Place designed to bridge the racial divide and bring reconciliation. In Oklahoma City, Hargreaves Associates is now building the 70-acre, $130-million Scissortail Park to revitalize its downtown. ![]() In Oklahoma City and Tulsa, massive, city-changing riverfront parks will open over the coming year. Scissortail Park, Oklahoma City / Hargreaves Associates The Gathering Place / Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |