Rock My World - New York Park

I really don't need another excuse to visit New York, I have always wanted to go and hope to sooner than later, but if ever I was to be further convinced it was on seeing this park in lower Manhattan. The Teardrop park by Michael Van Valkenburg Associates is a public residential park surrounded by buildings higher than park’s width but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in visual impact.

It has been built using sustainable principles and with the urban child in mind "the park is designed to address the urban child’s lack of natural experience, offering adventure and sanctuary while also engaging mind and body".

I love that so much careful and clever design has gone into this public space - too often I see parks of catalogue ordered furniture and playground equipment just plonked there with little thought to how people will use the space, it is tired looking before the ribbon is cut. This park looks well utilised and will, like nature, develop and age gracefully. It looks like a community and in cities we need more spaces like this to reconnect with each-other and with nature 'a shopping centre is not a community'.

I can't wait to have an itinerary to add it to.

Images via landezine.com/