Fairmount Park

Having a large green space within an urban area that is open to the public is a huge asset for a city that is hoping to represent itself as a green urban complex. In Philadelphia, the existence of Fairmount Park is a great component of the greater city network that provides so many benefits for a city hoping to become the “greenest in America”.

(Picture taken from Philyskyline.com)

The park occupies a good portion, 10%, of the land in Philadelphia. Many other cities throughout the country have been following Philadelphia’s lead by staking out green spaces within their cities in an attempt to try to recreate what Philadelphia has done with the Fairmount Park System. Fairmount Park has served as a great example of how a large city can claim green spaces and enhance the ‘greenness’ of the urban complex as a whole.

Fairmount Park is a rich ecological space amongst the otherwise densely urbanized City of Philadelphia. Besides the ecological services that the park provides for the region, such as functioning as a ‘sink function’ by absorbing carbon dioxide and providing oxygen, it also presents expansive recreational opportunities for the residents of the city and beyond. The Schuylkill River that runs through the park is conducive to boating recreation (Boathouse Row), scenic walks, and biking (Schuylkill River Trail) for a couple of examples. Many other sporting recreational sites such as soccer fields, baseball fields, a Frisbee golf course, etc., support a wide range of different activities. Furthermore, two of the most scenic routes in the city, Kelly and Martin Luther King Drives, provide a beautiful escape from the dense grid pattern as they wind through the woods and along the river. It is these types of spaces that so strongly contribute to the green functionality of the city.

Clearly Fairmount Park is a strong factor contributing to Philadelphia’s status as a green city. This great park will continue to serve as an example of how large urban areas can balance their network with green spaces to improve the overall environmental conditions of the region.