The most confusing part of my research has been the Friend groups, and park funding. It appears that Hartford provides some funding for parks, but it is unclear how much. What is clear, is that Friends groups provide the majority of he funding, and the bandwidth (and wealth) of that Friend group often determines the condition of the park. For the final webcase, I will have a better understanding of how exactly Hartford approaches park funding.
In terms of counter arguments, I would assume not everyone is happy with the “walkability” idea. Business in particular would prefer easy access streets to encourage people to go to their business. A far walk from a distant parking spot, in the cold winter or hot summer, is not enticing for potential customers, especially in the era of online shopping. Again, these efforts seem to be for show, rather than sustainability, or even practicality.
To sharpen my webcase, I’m going to find out more information on why the Bushnell Garden project didn’t come to be, and I’m also going to compare the parks a bit more. Since I’ve already compared Elizabeth and Keney, I’ll compare those two to Bushnell.