History and theory of garden design and landscape architecture > Garden and Landscape Books > Essays on Cities and Landscapes by Tom Turner - contents list > 16.11 Aged Parks

16.11 Aged Parks

Contents list

16.1 Park Character
16.2 Red Park Space
16.3 Blue Park Space
16.4 Yellow Park Space
16.5 Orange Park Space
16.6 Purple Park Space
16.7 Brown Park Space
16.8 Grey Park Space
16.9 White Park Space
16.10 Greenspace
16.11 Aged Parks
16.12 Toddler Parks
16.13 Childrens Parks
16.14 Teenager Parks
16.15 Yuppie Parks
16.16 Family Parks
16.17 Third Age Parks
16.18 Cultural Parks
16.19 Park Ownership and Management
16.20 Religious Parks
16.21 Art Parks
16.22 Political Parks
16.23 Ethnic Parks
16.24 Flood Parks
16.25 Recycling Parks
16.26 Air Conditioning Parks
16.27 Permaculture Parks
16.28 Restaurant Parks
16.29 Garden Parks
16.30 Club Parks
16.31 Bird Parks
16.32 Dog Parks
16.33 Museum Parks
16.34 Photographic Parks
16.35 Swimming Parks
16.36 Park Diversification
References

Self-evidently, people of different ages require different sorts of parkspace. The Congress International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) was the first body to give serious attention to the problem. Unfortunately, they saw age as a functional issue. Their ideas may be caricatured as follows:

Toddlers need sandpits.
Teenagers need sport.
Adults need grass and flowers.
Pensioners need seats.
The dead need graves.

There was a core of profound sense in the CIAM proposals. Unfortunately, they forgot that "character is destiny'. The success or failure of an open space depends upon its character, not just its facilities.