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Inaugural List of 10 Great Public Spaces Announced
Omaha by Design knows public spaces. That’s why the local nonprofit has created its inaugural list of 10 Great Public Spaces in Omaha.
The 10 sites were compiled by Omaha by Design’s volunteer Place Game facilitators. The Place Game, a free service of Omaha by Design, is a two-hour workshop that helps organizations brainstorm ways to improve the public spaces in their neighborhoods.
During a Place Game workshop, trained facilitators lead participants through a series of sites, asking them to take note of what they see, hear and feel. The sites are evaluated according to four factors – access and linkage, comfort and image, sociability, and uses and activities. The participants then convene for a brainstorming session to identify opportunities for improving the sites. Omaha by Design’s place making activities are patterned after the work of the Project for Public Spaces in New York City.
“Public space can be parks or plazas, streets or squares, buildings or open markets,” said Teresa Gleason, program manager at Omaha by Design. “A great public space is accessible, beautiful, connected, fun, maintained, safe and used. It’s a place where people want to be.”
The 2007 roster of 10 Great Public Spaces in Omaha is listed below.
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11th and Howard
This intersection is the heart of the Old Market, a historic district of riverfront warehouses given way to shops, eateries and haunts of the artistic variety.
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Southwest Corner of 50th and Underwood
This corner of the Dundee neighborhood is a great place to sit back and watch the events of the day unfold. |
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Countryside Village
87th and Pacific
One of Omaha’s oldest shopping centers, the slogan for this active, pedestrian-friendly complex says it all – a “small town in the city.”
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Heartland of America Park
800 Douglas St.
This 31-acre park, located in downtown Omaha, is a great place to escape the bustle of the urban environment.
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Keystone Trail North
This serene, serpentine trail winds through neighborhoods and commercial areas along the banks of the Little Papio Creek.
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Lewis and Clark Landing
515 N. Riverfront Dr.
This 23-acre site, the spot where Lewis and Clark landed in 1804, features a boardwalk on the eight-foot-high river wall and a restaurant for indoor/outdoor dining.
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Memorial Park
6005 Underwood
This 67-acre park, known for its floral displays and historic monuments, is the perfect place to walk your dog, toss a football or take in the occasional free concert.
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S. 24th Street from L to Q
South Omaha is the city’s melting pot, and the City of Omaha – in collaboration with local businesses and residents – is transforming this section of street into a vibrant ethnic townscape. |
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Pedestrian Mall,
University of Nebraska at Omaha
60th and Dodge
You don’t need to be a student to stroll along the UNO Pedestrian Mall, which bisects the campus and passes underneath the stately Henningson Memorial Campanile.
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Zorinsky Lake Park
156th and F
There’s something for everyone in this west Omaha spot, including one of the city’s most popular lakes for fishing and boating. |
Omaha by Design intends to issue a great public spaces list annually. If you know of a great public space in the making, send your idea, along with your reason for suggesting it, to teresa@omahabydesign.org.
For more information about the Place Game workshop, call 402.342.3458, or send an e-mail to teresa@omahabydesign.org.
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