Publication: Reclaiming Public Space in Downtown Nashville

Summary

The United States is challenged with the highest obesity rates in the world, a sobering fact potentially attributed to an environment lacking effective public open space. We have seemingly shaped an environment where childhood obesity has quadrupled, and 42 percent of Americans are projected to be obese by 2030.

In response to the fact that one in four Nashvillians are obese, our city’s planning practices have shifted towards creating healthier built environments. Healthier built environments include the use of more active spaces, like being able to walk to a park within ten minutes of your home. How can we bring more public spaces into Downtown Nashville, which currently has a low concentration of greenspace?

Seven years ago, several of Nashville's young designers came together with the passion to improve the quality of life in downtown Nashville through the city's public spaces. The resulting Nashville Street Life Project provided inspiration for the Nashville Civic Design Center's most recent report, Reclaiming Public Space in Downtown Nashville, a tool for community driven public space.

Key Terms

• User count

  • SOPARC: System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities

• Public space metrics

• Design charrette

Precedent Locations

• Miller Plaza, Chattanooga, TN

• Waterfront Park, Chattanooga, TN

• Gay Street, Knoxville, TN

• Market Square, Knoxville, TN

• Paley Park, New York, NY

• The High Line, New York, NY

• Castro Commons, San Francisco, CA

Design Locations

• Metropolitan Transportation Authority Triangle

• Shelby Street Bridge

• Country Music Hall of Fame Park

• The Green at The Gulch

• Broadway Walkway

• East Bank Industrial Site

• Sudekum Pedestrian Bridge

• Midtown-Downtown Greenway