Urban national parks were created to protect fragile urban ecosystems and connect diverse urban audiences to the outdoors. This presentation will explore how the renewal of the derelict freeway approach to the Golden Gate Bridge propelled a vision to create 14-acres of new parklands — the Presidio Tunnel Tops — on the top of new roadway tunnels. Community action, private philanthropy, and collaborative design were marshaled to create a multi-faceted place for renewal, play, and civic gathering designed to transform the historic Presidio of San Francisco into a national park for all.”
Three things that make the Presidio a magical place:
• Its location at the Golden Gate, which has been a cultural crossroads for thousands of years, leaving a rich layering of history and dramatic views across the site.
• It is a biodiversity hot spot and island of calm in the middle of the city, where urbanites enjoy the benefits of access to real nature and the outdoors.
• It is a community commons, where people from all backgrounds and walks of life come together.
Michael Boland Bio:
Since 2001, Michael Boland has played a key role in transforming the historic Presidio army base into a world class national park site. As Chief Park Officer, he leads an interdisciplinary team that has created comprehensive visitor infrastructure, restored the Presidio’s mosaic of natural and cultural landscapes, established national park experiences serving urban youth and their families, and reinvented the post as a unique financially self-sufficient national park for all.
Boland has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, a Master of Landscape Architecture degree, and a Master of City Planning degree, all from UC Berkeley, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
