Creating a vibrant city center -- NOT!

Thom writes in response to the earlier entry on bollardization:

I wish they would open up some al fresco restaurants, open air markets, maybe a few more fountains (think Piazza) along the wasteland of secured Penn Ave. It’s a glaring void in front of the White House and seems needlessly fearful. That said, a little redesign and it could be a fantastic public space.

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What makes this incredibly difficult is that so much of the land in the central city is controlled by the National Park Service, and for the most part, their rules and regulations forbid such activities, including food, in most park spaces. I don't know how the National Mall is excluded, but this is why you don't see vendors in places like Franklin Square, McPherson Square, Eastern Market Plaza, or Farragut Square, and you do in Union Square or Bryant Park in New York City.

Is it a surprise that Union Square and Bryant Park are incredibly vibrant, and the aforementioned spaces in DC are not?

Bryant Park Reading Room. Bridge and Tunnel Club photo.

Coffee cart in Union Square, San Francisco. PPS photo.

Union Square, New York City. PPS photo.

Roger Lewis, the UMD architecture professor who writes a weekly column for the Post touched on this, but he didn't directly name the problem, that is NPS strictures, in this piece about remaking the Georgetown waterfront--"Planned Waterfront Park in Georgetown Lacks Some Crucial Elements."

Cy Paumier, author of Creating Vibrant City Centers, is a consultant to the Downtown BID and they are pushing the NPS on this point. I imagine in about oh, 10-20 years, they'll get somewhere. Meanwhile our public places are much less vibrant than they could be.

See "23 Easy Things You Can Do To Improve Your Building (and Your Community)" and "Pride of Place," about Fred Kent and PPS. Poke around the PPS website for more ideas about this topic.