Albuquerque #1 in parkland per person (home, buying, quality of life)

[aries63]

Not sure what to think of this one:

Parkland per person in the US

Note that we more than merely placed first: we have more than twice the park space per person as the runner up, Raleigh, NC.

An embarrassment of riches? Should the city sell off some of this land to improve aspects of city life that sorely need improving?

[alloo66]

The spanish tradition of having public gathering spaces lives on. No we should keep the parks to preserve the quality of life that we have with our green belts.

[ralthor]

Thats amazing. If you go to the source, http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/CityParkFacts_2010.pdf (broken link), you can also see that 30.5% of the city is park (or open space would probably be a better way of describing it). Only Anchorage beats us.

I wonder if a major reason is the city buying up open space to ensure the balloons can land.

[alloo66]

Originally Posted by ralthor

Thats amazing. If you go to the source, http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/CityParkFacts_2010.pdf (broken link), you can also see that 30.5% of the city is park (or open space would probably be a better way of describing it). Only Anchorage beats us.

I wonder if a major reason is the city buying up open space to ensure the balloons can land.

Just walk through the Bosque do you wish the City or State to sell it to developers? A lot of the parks were there before Balloon Fiesta. Personally I love parks because it allows you a break from the city and increases home values.

[Mike Horrell]

The extent of ABQ's commitment to not only preserving open space but acquiring more
is one of the major factors in making the city so livable.

[ABQConvict]

I love Albuquerque's open space. I take it that most of the acreage that counts towards Albuquerque's total is bound up in Elena Gallegos and the Bosque, both of which are many miles from much of the population since they essentially exist on the fringes of the city.

Nevertheless, there are some nice 'pocket' parks near me, some of the best in town, like Hyder Park and Roosevelt Park. Then there is Hidden Park which has a real name that I can't recall.

I would definitely support the development of a large (a couple of city blocks sized) centralized, urban park somewhere in the Heights. There was some hope that this would be done in Uptown, but alas shopping won out as it usually does.

Another place that is not a park, per se, but acts like one is UNM campus with its lawns, trees, and rather nice gardens as well as sculpture and interesting architecture.

[mortimer]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

Then there is Hidden Park which has a real name that I can't recall.

It was revealed here:

Boy! Do I have recall or what?

[aries63]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

Another place that is not a park, per se, but acts like one is UNM campus with its lawns, trees, and rather nice gardens as well as sculpture and interesting architecture.

Add to that the Albuquerque Academy campus which is a large tract (much larger than UNM main campus) used by many for jogging. The Academy originally owned much of the Elena Gallegos Land Grant which stretched from the Rio Grande to the Sandias. A nice gift from the Simms family.

[Stanrice]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

I love Albuquerque's open space. I take it that most of the acreage that counts towards Albuquerque's total is bound up in Elena Gallegos and the Bosque, both of which are many miles from much of the population since they essentially exist on the fringes of the city.

One could also make the argument that between areas like Elena Gallegos, the bosque, and the petroglyphs, the population of the city is both surrounded by and has parkland running through it.

[Brendan M]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

I would definitely support the development of a large (a couple of city blocks sized) centralized, urban park somewhere in the Heights. There was some hope that this would be done in Uptown, but alas shopping won out as it usually does.

I think it would be a good idea to turn the undeveloped parts of the Albuquerque Academy campus into a public park. If this were actually done, it would be a fairly large park since the only part of the campus that is really developed is the part right on Wyoming near Burlison, and campus extends from Wyoming to Ventura and from Academy Road to Harper except for Hoffmantown Church which is on the SW corner of Ventura and Harper.