Louisville was Frederick Law Olmstead's last major project - in fact his son actually finished it. We have a system of three Olmstead parks: Cherokee, Iroquois, and Shawnee. Eventually auxilliary smaller parks were added and parkways were made with the intention of connecting the largest parks. Mayor Abramson is going even further with his 'City of Parks' program. The aesthetic of the parks - winding ways, cloistered areas and open vistas, 'aha' moments - informed much of the growth in Louisville, particularly around Cherokee Park. In many parts of the city it is difficult to tell when you are in a park and when you are in a residential area. I remember when friends of my wife came from Rochester NY (where we used to live) to visit for the first time, one of them remarked during the third day of our exhaustive showing off of Louisville, "Uh, isn't there any
ugly you could show us? Everywhere we've been is beautiful."
Olmsted Parks - restore. enhance. preserve. (http://www.olmstedparks.org/conservancy/history.html - broken link)
LouisvilleKy.gov - City of Parks - City of Parks