The Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landscapes invites you to “Heartfelt Pathways for Heritage City” a talk by Peter Harnik, Director for the Center for City Park Excellence, The Trust for Public Land, about Baltimore’s park system on October 22, 2019 at 6-8 pm.
What would it take for Baltimore to achieve a truly excellent park system? The city has numerous historic parks, a celebrated parkway design by the landscape firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, the outlines of a comprehensive trail system, streamside paths in three directions, and a committed network of park advocates, but the sum isn’t always greater than its parts. In “Heartfelt Pathways for a Heritage City,” Harnik will share his observations about Baltimore and some of the helpful lessons he has learned from studying cities, parks and trails across the nation.
Peter Harnik has worked to promote and create parks and trails since 1980 when he led a campaign to close Washington’s Rock Creek Park to cars. He is the co-founder of both the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the Center for City Park Excellence of the Trust for Public Land. Now retired, he is presently writing a history of the rails-to-trails movement, to be published in 2021.
Harnik’s career has spanned both bicycle and urban park advocacy. He served as president of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, co-founded the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail (in Washington, D.C.) and served on the national boards of the City Parks Alliance and Smart Growth America.
Harnik’s books include Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities; Inside City Parks; and Railroads Recycled. He was the founding editor of Trailblazer magazine, and has frequently written for and spoken at the American Society of Landscape Architects.
He has a particular affinity for Baltimore, having lived here for five years and having graduated from Johns Hopkins University. He now lives with his wife in Arlington, Va.
The event is free and is located at the Azafran Cafe, Space Telescope Science Institute- 3700 San Martin Drive. There is free parking directly across the Street in the JHU Physics Building Garage. Reception to follow lecture and discussion.
Please click the following link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/heartfelt-pathways-for-heritage-city-a-talk-by-peter-harnik-tickets-75261678707 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/heartfelt-pathways-for-heritage-city-a-talk-by-peter-harnik-tickets-75261678707