Urban green space

Beaver Lake, Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC

Urban areas that incorporate protected "natural" green space always seem more livable to me than cities with minimal wild places. Created green space makes a distinct difference, too, as places once derelict, such as old warehouse areas along riversides or harbors, are restored as interactive green spaces, some more natural than others.

Reclaiming such places, whether paths along rivers or harbors, parks in old industrial sites or quarries, or overgrown edges -- these provide transformative experiences for urban residents, becoming favorite places to capture a bit of being in nature.

I revisited a post written about Stockholm's rock outcrops a couple of days ago, in the process, remembering other green spaces in other large cities that both provided respite and spoke to me.

Many years ago, in NYC for a International Botanical Garden Education conference, one of our field trips was to the NY Botanical Garden.  I remember vividly walking through the old-growth forest remnant, the reason the Garden was sited there in the Bronx, when it was established in 1895.  I felt distinct calmness and relief; a week of NYC's noise and traffic had been taking its toll.  I was at home in that forest.

Similarly, Vancouver's wonderful urban park, Stanley Park, has the same character, on a larger scale.  
In this post from September 2017, I wrote about a loop we took through the center of the park:  magic.