Central Park Analysis

An urban cultural landscape that is well known in the United States can be found in the heart of New York City, New York. Central Park is the result of mid-1800 reformers who called for “more aid to the poor but also for breathing room” and a park that could serve as “the lungs of the city (McNeur, 176).” Before the development of the park, the systematic landscape of NYC made it difficult for people to live happily because the overcrowded and uncleanliness was an overpowering issue. Frederick Olmstead, the architect behind the establishment of Central Park, was determined to lift the city’s poor by offering a clean, safe place for the less fortunate to escape the city without having to travel to the countryside. Notwithstanding, the wealthy New Yorkers hoped to use the park as a “refined space, where it would be safe for women to move freely and for the ‘Upper Ten’ to promenade and display their wealth (McNeur, 201).” The developers intended for the landscape to be used for the working class and throughout the development, faced difficulties
between the two. Despite controversy, the development of the cultural landscape was able to smooth out social differences in urban life.
It was able to uplift the poor, refine the rich, retard commercial growth, provide jobs, and define civic identity. The park was able to create a sense of unity in a city where people had once lost touch of themselves. The park isolates itself from the city by perimeter walls and plantings as well as water features that increase the sense of distance from the city (the cl foundation). This park holds cultural significance to this day as it represents some of the first efforts to stop class self-segregation. To this day, Central Park is managed through maintenance as it is monitored 24/7 for safety purposes and up kept daily by park employees. In view of the fact that it is a multi-sensory vessel, the park exhibits tangible values as a natural system through the use of land, vegetation, and water
features. The historical interactions of humanity and nature that formed this cultural landscape remain present and observable today and for the future of America’s youth.
A second urban cultural landscape in the United State was formed in New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Respecting Sunday as a day of rest, the Spanish gave their slaves the afternoon off and allowed them to socialize (gonola). Soon after they began gathering here, the area became the “Place des Negres,” or now more commonly referred to as Congo Square. Congo Square was a makeshift amphitheater for slave dancing and musical performances on Sunday afternoons (accidental city). This urban cultural landscape gave black slaves a safe area where they could once again be Africans and practice their beliefs, even for just a moment. They would bring drums, bells, and other musical instruments to the square where they would congregate by tribe, speak their native languages, dance, sing, and play music. These Sunday afternoon gatherings continued well into the 1880s until after the Civil War when white city leaders attempted to suppress the gatherings, and rename Congo Square “Beauregard Square (gonola).” In 1970, the first New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was held in Congo Square, where many gathered to celebrate freedom and jazz. When the festival outgrew the square, it was moved to the New Orleans Fair Grounds racetrack and in order to keep up with heritage, there is a “Congo Square Stage” annually at Jazz Fest (gonola). In an attempt for urban renewal, houses and buildings in the vicinity were demolished by the city and replaced by Louis Armstrong Park. Even with the adaptations, Congo Square is an urban cultural landscape with intangible values. Not only are festivals a part of it’s heritage, traditional music, dance, and performance, worship, and ritual are some of the values this landscape holds true.