Parks

I don't really have a good sense of Rock Creek Park, but it's an opportunity to explain my mild anti-urban park bias which I've expressed before. Urban parks should accommodate people. They shouldn't simply be a random chunk of inaccessible wilderness plunked into urban landscape. They shouldn't simply be vacant lots, placeholders to stop or stall development. They should be easily accessible. Larger parks should have services that people require, including commercial establishments. People need bathrooms. They need food and water. I'm not saying you stick a strip mall in the middle of them, just that there should be a recognition that people and families actually need stuff, and that stuff should be close by. If there's enough space and the terrain is appropriate, there should be recreational sports fields. The point is that the parks should be about human activity, and not simply be nature portraits.