What we're reading this week | The #FridayFive

Walsh Cuts the Ribbon on the $4.7 Million Noyes Park Renovations
East Boston Times-Free Press, June 21, by John Lynds
Following the completion of the East Boston Little League season last year, the City of Boston began construction on the $4.7 million project to rehab Noyes Park in Orient Heights, one of the neighborhood’s largest public open spaces that hosts numerous sporting events. [READ MORE]

City parks in the US primarily cater to young people. This needs to change
Considerable, June 22, by Jay Maddock
As America grays, healthy aging becomes essential. Physical activity or exercise is an important piece of this. Getting just 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week has been linked to a reduction in heart disease, cancer, falls and cognitive impairment due to dementia, including Alzheimer-type dementia. [READ MORE]

Spending on nature would be the investment of a lifetime
Public Finance International, June 26, by Margaret Kuhlow and Andrew Deutz
When world leaders gather this weekend in Osaka for the G20 Summit, attention will turn once more to the challenge of realising sustainable and inclusive economic growth that includes progress toward poverty reduction, human health, and women’s empowerment. Hot topics for discussion include encouraging business-led innovation to combat climate change, promoting ‘quality infrastructure’ investment, and strengthening financial resilience in the face of natural disasters. [READ MORE]

Coastal Cities Rethink Zoning Regulations in Fight Against Climate Change
Governing, June 27, by J. Brian Charles
From Boston to Miami, coastal cities are changing where and how developers can build in order to protect homes and property from future flooding. [READ MORE]

Nature versus a sense of place
American Surveyor, June 23, by Wendy Lathrop, PS, CFM
Choosing where to settle and live is complicated, not a simple task of technical analysis and check boxes. Competing factors include affordability, convenience to work, school systems for our children, public water and sewer systems. But isn’t there something about the character of a particular neighborhood that convinces us between two otherwise similar choices? Some want the close community of a small town, others prefer the liveliness of a city. Sometimes it is the physical appearance—the architecture or the presence of trees or green spaces—that attracts us. [READ MORE]