...and Sarasota's nowhere on the list! What about Island Park? No Arlington Park? Payne Park got snubbed? Well, it should probably be noted that this ranking was assembled by Planetizen and Project for Public Spaces largely through crowdsourcing, meaning that the...
I ♥ SRQ: The Perfect Saturday Morning
The morning sun wakes me. It is warm but no longer carries the burn of summer; the orange light is pleasant, inviting. I wake gradually, as does the dog. The cat is stretched out on the wood floor in a bath of warm light. He half opens a single eye to watch me walk...
A Good Neighborhood, Simply
{click image for source} There are a million different definitions of what makes a good neighborhood, but perhaps the best ones are also the simplest. Gil Penalosa and the nonprofit organization 8-80 Cities posit that if cities are safe, accessible, and enjoyable for...
Ivory Lounge Welcomes Uprise Art Collective
Join Uprise Art Collective on Thursday, August 18, from 8-midnight at the Ivory Lounge (1413 Main Street) for their first collective show featuring art of various media, including painting, sculpture, book art, music, and more! From their website: Uprise Art...
“Very Walkable” Laurel Park receives an 85 from Walk Score
{image source} Walkscore.com, the top online evaluator of a neighborhood's walkability, has given Laurel Park a rating of 85 out of 100, good for 3rd place (mere percentage points behind downtown and the Rosemary District) among Sarasota's 31 ranked...
Hawkins Court: A Diamond in the Rough
Some places just feel right. The buildings, the street, the proportions, the trees, the aesthetics, the uses—in some places they all converge to create little nuggets of urban perfection. Certain medieval Italian vias and French boulevards come to mind, but so do many...
Memorial Day in Sarasota
{image source} It always feels a little strange to say Happy Memorial Day, since it is, after all, a day of remembrance of those who gave their lives. But even with such somber undertones it is certainly a day of celebration. Whatever your politics, the men and women...
Featured Property: Gillespie Park
Our latest featured property is actually multiple properties, all of which are located a short walk or bike ride north of Main Street, toward Ringling College of Art + Design and New College of Florida, and close to the Rosemary District. And you thought Laurel Park...
J.R.’s Old Packinghouse Cafe: Where Old Florida is Alive and Kickin’
{photo source} So, this week's post is a bit of an aberration, as we are not only giving a direct plug for a restaurant, but one that isn't even especially close to Laurel Park. However, Laurel Park Management and J.R.'s Old Packinghouse Cafe do have something in...
Sustainable Sarasota: What is an “Urban Village” anyway?
[ted id=1037] We like to call Laurel Park Sarasota's urban village. But what do we mean by that? Isn't "urban village" an oxymoron? Not necessarily. At Laurel Park Management, we see "urban" as a condition of density and diversity, basically a place where a variety of...