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SR 05:165
City of Pleasanton
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SR 05:165
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6/16/2005 9:04:57 AM
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6/15/2005 4:25:29 PM
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CITY CLERK
CITY CLERK - TYPE
STAFF REPORTS
DOCUMENT DATE
6/21/2005
DESTRUCT DATE
15 Y
DOCUMENT NO
SR 05:165
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lives of citizens. Most park acreage is dedicated to naturalized open space, conducive to spontaneous activities <br />and not overly programmed or developed. <br /> <br />Over the past centuries, the meaning of grand parks has changed as knowledge of personal health and social <br />needs has evolved. A range of park types has emerged, meeting the needs of an evolving culture. According to <br />Galen Cranz, author, U. C. Berkeley professor and member of the Bernal Design Competition jury, four distinct <br />generations of parks can be identified: the pleasure ground, the reform park, the recreation facility and the <br />open space system. <br /> <br />The pleasure ground (1850-1890) is characterized by Cranz as a large park located at the edge of a city, <br />pastoral in form with any architecture subordinate to the overall open space effect. These grounds were <br />not wilderness, but more of a hybrid of nature and culture that simulated an ideal countryside, an aesthetic <br />dominated by nature rather than artifice. A wide variety of park uses were accommodated, but an over-arching <br />purpose was contemplation and respite - an escape from the disease-plagued industrial city life. Civic leaders <br />felt that retreating to the countryside improved physical and mental health. Doctors felt that the air around trees <br />actually eliminated disease, a myth from medieval times. The general impression of the pleasure ground was <br />one of forest and meadow. <br /> <br />As pleasure grounds became the play grounds for the wealthy, city planners began to identify smaller park <br />parcels more equally arranged throughout the neighborhoods so that all classes and cultures could benefit <br />from park use. This reform park movement dominated park and open space design from 1890 to 1930. The <br />size of neighborhood parks varied from one block (300 feet square on average) to perhaps as large as 10 <br />acres, and included programs to integrate the many immigrants moving to the United States. Park design was <br />formal, symmetrical and divided into subareas, designed to meet unique social needs based on gender and <br />age differences. Field houses were built to host indoor sporting events as well as to teach English and assist in <br />socialization. <br /> <br />From 1930 to 1965, park design became dominated by organized sports. Recreation was for fun, not for social <br />reform. Recreation facilities such as stadia were added to grand parks. Recreation departments focused their <br />attention and budgets on the recreation facility designed for spectator sports that could accommodate large <br />crowds. These facilities included stadia, swimming pools, parking lots, hard court games, lighting, chain link <br />fences and bleachers. National standards for various categories of parks were identified, based on size and <br />program. Five acres of park space for every 1,000 population was considered the ideal standard. The definition <br />of park use was limited primarily to active sports such as playgrounds, picnic grounds, baseball, football and <br />soccer fields. Design reference books were published that defined sports field dimensions as well as standards <br />for fences, backstops, goal posts and field lighting. Most aspects of competitive sports facility design were <br />codified. <br /> <br />Open space systems (1965 to the present) now dominate how designers think about parks and public space. <br />Open space is generally defined as publicly, or privately owned landscape that has the look and feel of common <br />ground. Private development produces open spaces that are privately owned but publicly accessible. There <br />is less emphasis on competitive sports and more focus on connecting residual landscapes into one system <br /> <br />I1 <br /> <br /> <br />
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