Memphis Brings in Garvin to Get Plans Moving for Park

Memphis's 4500-acre Shelby Farms Park has languished for years. Now, local leaders are bringing in Yale professor Alex Garvin to try to bring the park up to its potential.

1 minute read

May 26, 2006, 11:00 AM PDT

By Anthony Weiss

At 4500 acres, Shelby Farms Park in Memphis is one of the largest urban parks in the country. However, despite its size and its location -- along the banks of the Wolf River, in the heart of Shelby County -- the park has never lived up to its potential as a great park.

Now, civic leaders in Memphis are trying to change all that. The Wolf River Conservancy has hired Yale professor Alex Garvin to help jumpstart planning for the park. Garvin will be helping to figure out programming, governance, and funding for the park, in the hopes of turning it into a premier destination.

Garvin recently made headlines with his plans for the Beltline Emerald Necklace, a 2500-acre system of parks, trails, and transit for Atlanta. The citizens of Memphis are hoping he can help them put together something equally dramatic.

"The problem with Shelby Farms is how to make it go from first gear into full drive," Garvin told the Memphis Daily News. The citizens of Memphis are hoping he can help them get their park up to speed.

Thanks to Anthony Weiss

FULL STORY: NYC Heavy-Hitter Weighs in on Shelby Farms

Thursday, May 25, 2006 in Memphis Daily News

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