THE GREENSPACE REVOLUTION an American Tradition
MARC HYDEN
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Few things are as American as baseball and apple pie, except maybe America's storied parks. Americans invented the concept of national parks in the 19th century—beginning with Yellowstone National Park—and while the first urban, public parks as we know them appeared in Victorian England, America was an early adopter of them. Now the United States is studded with both types, as parks have become part of the American story, and for good reason. “Everybody needs beauty [...] where nature may heal and give strength to the body and soul,” remarked Scottish-American mountaineer John Muir more than 100 years ago. As modern research has shown, he was right; parks of all sizes provide myriad benefits, including promoting better health outcomes, cleaner environments, fostering social and cultural growth, and turning eyesores into beauty. N
34 Engineering Georgia
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