Abstract
Olmsted expressed alarm over increasing social segregation in America and its loss of civic spirit and fraternity. To address these problems, Olmsted’s park designs sought to promote communal belonging and to provide spaces for rejuvenation, yielding personal as well as civic benefits. Whether the ambitious goals Olmsted set for his parks could be fully achieved, this chapter claims, is doubtful. Social science research questions whether social contact alone can turn strangers into acquaintances or inspire coordinated action. Also unconvincing is Olmsted’s claim that park beauty would have a positive “moral” impact on visitors. Though Olmsted may have over sold the benefits of his parks, he was a fierce and public-spirited advocate for creating and preserving aesthetically pleasing spaces for all, not just the few.
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Notes
- 1.
It is unclear, for example, why in Olmstead’s “fourth stage” national identity would not give rise to actions motivated primarily by patriotism—a motive broader and more encompassing than the “narrow…domestic and local” incentives that he says define this stage. Jean Piaget (1896–1980) developed a four-stage theory of cognitive development; Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) further refined Piaget’s model—resulting in a six-stage theory.
- 2.
With the ascendance of the Tweed Ring, most positions were filled by patronage appointments; as a result, keepers’ professionalism and moral commitment waned. Vandalism and crime spiked. Finally, in 1872, in the wake of the Tweed machine’s demise, Olmsted was asked to reorganize the Keepers (Olmsted 1997c, 307). In his 1873 reorganization plan, Olmsted introduced the “round system” in which “patrol-keepers” would dutifully walk their beats—watching for disturbances and, interestingly, providing accountability for the “post-keepers” who were stationed at gates and other key locations (1997c, 281).
- 3.
In 1860, for example, 55 Keepers in Central Park made 228 arrests, half of which were for mere violations of park ordinances (e.g. using indecent language, throwing stones, defacing property, picking flowers or walking on the grass). Drunkenness and disorderly conduct made up another third (Taylor 1999, 444).
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Roulier, S.M. (2018). Olmsted’s Public Parks: Civic-Spirited Design. In: Shaping American Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68810-7_4
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