PUBLIC WORKS AND PUBLIC SPACE, RETHINKING THE URBAN PARK

Infrastructure has always played a significant role in shaping the city and giving rise to new landscape types. This paper examines the historical relationship between public works and public space and explores the potential for redefining the contemporary park as an extension of urban infrastructure. Recent examples of such hybrid working landscapes are discussed, including the Productive Park design study in New York and Garrison Creek Demonstration Project in Toronto. These issues are investigated further through the student work of two landscape architecture studios at the University of Virginia dealing with waterworks sites: McMillan Sand Filtration Plant in Washington, D.C., and Highbridge Park, New York. © 1996 ACSA, Inc.