About - The CapitalSpace Initiative

Franklin Park in Center City

Develop a Center City Parks Strategy

Findings

The historic L’Enfant city offers workers, tourists, and residents a variety of historical, cultural, and commemorative parks. However, it is projected that 30 percent of the city’s future housing growth and 70 percent of job growth will occur downtown and nearby along the Anacostia River.

Issue

These parks have the potential to be placemakers, serving as the centers of emerging neighborhoods and adding vibrancy to the city. The expected increased demand for these spaces will require creative solutions to balance their historic and commemorative character with the demand for new and more active uses.

Planning Concepts

Proposed Actions

Develop strategies that recognizes the value of historic downtown parks (north, south, and east of the National Mall) while making them centers of activity for the areas that surround them. Transform street corridors by greening groups of parks. Develop partnerships between the park stewards and surrounding businesses and organizations to ensure these parks are active and attractive places.

CapitalSpace work in the Center City parks includes case studies of four parks in various stages of development: Washington Canal Park, Franklin and Farragut Squares, and a new linear park created out of the right-of-way of First Street NE in NOMA. A model project, Lansburgh Park, will apply lessons learned from the case studies.

Community Outreach

Lansburgh Park Fact Finding Meeting Agenda - January 2008

Southwest Neighborhood Assembly Presentation - March 2008

Project Maps

Center City Parks

Draft Documents
Lansburgh Park Steering Committee Handout

Develop a Center City Parks Strategy

Findings

Issue

Planning Concepts

Proposed Actions

Links to the Six Big Ideas