The amount of armchair (or office chair) quarterbacking with regards to park design I see here is amusing. The City has done taken the appropriate course of action in seeking out the services of a group of Landscape Architects and collaborators to design our central urban environment. I don’t think Oklahoma City residents know how lucky they are to be engaged with some of the preeminent Landscape Architecural firms in the world. These people know what they are doing and will not lead us astray.

On the surface, creating a blank slate park may be appealing to some. And it’s true that any major park is never truly finished. However, the idea of rolling out a green carpet and calling it a park or activated social space is inept. Urban parks are some the most complex and techinically challenging spaces a City can create. It’s not a matter of turf and trees. There are complex natural and social systems to be considered.

My appeal here, is for Oklahoma City Residents to consider the strengths and limitations of the Myriad Botanical Gardens. The gardens are a beautiful urban space, but not a substitute for the experience of a truly active, codifying and socially defining, large urban park.

For example, while the Myriad is very nice, I feel overstimulated when I’m there. There’s so much to look at that I can’t focus on or enjoy any one part of the park. I keep moving to look at the next thing. To me, while I understand why it was finished quickly, it’s a bit like getting too many Christmas presents at once.

As I’ve said, I think we will all breathe a big…..”ahhhh” just to see a huge swath of green and trees where there once were abandoned and unaesthetic buildings. Then, we can enjoy watching the design unfold over time.