Today’s urban parks face additional pressure to provide active programming for an growing number of users, and are commonly subject to conservancy, or public/private partnership models.
The Chicago Tribune’s architectural critic Blair Kamin said, “The latest stretch of the Riverwalk marks a significant step forward in achieving a showcase public space that creates the equivalent of a second lakefront. Here, in bold strokes worthy of Daniel Burnham, Chicago is confirming and renewing its identity as a civilized metropolis," reports UrbanLand.
We explore here how three American cities—Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati—have made significant investments in ... their riverfronts. In many Midwest and Rust Belt cities of the U.S., the pressure to attract and retain workers and create a better quality of life coupled with the declining use of waterways for industrial purposes has made riverfront revitalization a somewhat common strategy.