Penn Institute for Urban Research Presents
A Public Interest Series
Book Talk: Alex Garvin, Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities
6:00 pm, Amado Recital Hall, Irvine Auditorium
Reception to follow (Register by emailing penniur@pobox.upenn.edu)
Join Penn IUR for the final book talk of the year with Alex Garvin, internationally-renowned planner and author of Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities. The definitive work on public parks, the volume covers everything from the history and evolution of parks to planning, location, property acquisition, site adaptation, design, development, finance, stewardship, and governance. It describes the origins and emergence of public parks, defining their role and evolution, and examining their function as ever-increasing investments that are essential to the well-being of all citizens, whether they live in cities or suburbs. The book explains how public parks have taken on major roles enhancing personal well-being and improving public health, sustaining a livable environment, incubating a civil society, and shaping regional development. In doing so, Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities covers the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted and the work of many other significant players in the American parks movement, and others still who have influenced that movement from abroad.
Alexander Garvin is currently President and CEO of Alex Garvin & Associates, Inc., a planning and design firm in New York City. From 2002 to 2003 Mr. Garvin was the vice president for planning, design, and development of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency charged with the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site following 9/11. He is also Adjunct Professor of Urban Planning and Management at Yale University, where he has taught a wide range of courses for 42 years. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including: The American City: What Works, What Doesn’t, winner of the 1996 American Institute of Architects book award in urbanism.
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