Boston's 'Adult Playground': Created without Traditional Planning

JAMES BRASUELL

Landscape Architecture, Massachusetts

Anthony Flint cites the example of Boston's new adult playground to ask the question: "Should we let more urban design emerge organically?"

Anthony Flint is obviously a fan of the adult playground in the Seaport District of Boston, calling it "wildly successful" and an "urban activity sensation." Here's why: "People are flocking to the three-acre site adjacent to the Boston Convention and Exhibitors Center, with its set of 20 lighted oval swings, bocce, ping pong, beanbag toss, Adirondack chairs, a sound stage, and open-air bar."

"And the most interesting feature from an urban design perspective? The wildly successful Lawn on D Street, a partnership of Sasaki and Utile with HR&A Advisors, wasn’t planned years in advance. It wasn’t in the public-realm plan and it was part of no master plan."

Click to read the full article on http://www.planetizen.com/node/71328