Background on the Library Lot

One of the most comprehensive and up-to-date sources regarding the Library Lot is the “Local in Ann Arbor” blog. This website welcomes suggestions for other links and relevant information.

Use the links below to find more information about the Library Lot, Ann Arbor’s planning process and the success of central parks and public spaces in generating positive outcomes for downtowns.

• Satellite view of the library lot circa spring 2010
• Ann Arbor DDA South Fifth Ave Project
• City of Ann Arbor RFP for the library lot
• Advocates for Library Green speak to Board, Ann Arbor Chronicle, August 2011
• Library Lot – Bottom to Top, Ann Arbor Chronicle, August 2011
• New York’s Highline Project Should Inspire Ann Arbor
• The South Fifth Ave. Underground Parking Structure, Local in Ann Arbor
• The Library Lot, the DDA and the RFP Process, Local in Ann Arbor
• Parking Deck Construction Continues, July 18, 2011
• Ann Arbor Public Library Director Josie Parker, Concentrate, July 2010
• Parks Plan and Downtown Open Space, Ann Arbor Chronicle, June 2010
• Parks Plan and the Greenway, Ann Arbor Chronicle, July 2011
• Ann Arbor Downtown Plan, May 2009 (pdf)
• Luckenbach Study of the Library Block, June 1991 (pdf)
• Public Land — Public Process
• Arbor Update — Let’s Talk Conference Center
• Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy

Public Parks: A key to successful downtowns

• The Re-Emergence of the Public Square: Public Squares enhance urban livability and provide new anchors to downtown development. November 2010.
• Key Quality of Place Characteristics, July 2011.
• Urban Green: Innovative parks for resurgent cities (book review)
• Parks and Libraries in Partnership
• New Plaza for Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Parking Lots as Public Spaces

Boston’s Post Office Square is an example of a hugely successful downtown public park created atop an underground parking structure:

• Post Office Square: Why it Works
• Post Office Square (Boston) article

Falls Park in downtown Greenville, South Carolina is an engine for economic development.

• How a Park Helped a Town
• Falls Park Information

Paley Park in New York City is a very popular gathering place with a cascading water feature and moveable chairs.

• Paley Park is a world class, small urban park.

Campus Martius – with its popular ice rink – has helped to transform the center of Detroit.

• Campus Martius has driven economic development in downtown Detroit.
• Detroit’s Campus Martius: A top ten urban park.