What Is Urbanism? 2022's Top 10 Baseball Stadiums That Integrate With Their Cities Beautifully

CityNerd
7 Apr 202215:56
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThis video embarks on a journey to identify the most urbanist baseball parks in the US, exploring the evolution of ballparks from walkable, compact venues to multi-purpose stadiums with vast parking lots. It discusses the resurgence of urbanist design in baseball, starting with Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and evaluates ballparks based on criteria like urban integration, bike and pedestrian friendliness, and transit service. The top spots are given to the oldest ballparks, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, for their seamless neighborhood integration and strong urbanist qualities.

Takeaways
  • 🚗 The video discusses the evolution of baseball stadiums in the U.S., focusing on their urbanist qualities and how they relate to city planning and transportation.
  • 🏟️ Baseball was born in the 19th century and its stadiums were originally built in cities, accessible by foot or public transport, reflecting the urban nature of the game.
  • 🛣️ In the 20th century, many baseball stadiums moved to locations with large parking lots and were less accessible by public transport, reflecting a shift in urban development.
  • 🔄 The trend began to reverse in 1992 with Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, sparking a return to urbanist, neo-traditional ballpark designs.
  • 📚 The script introduces the concept of urbanism as the belief in dense urban living for efficient and sustainable living, drawing on principles from 'Triumph of the City' by Edward Glaeser.
  • 🏙️ Criteria for judging the urbanism of ballparks include urban integration, pedestrian and bike friendliness, transit service, and compact footprint.
  • 🚲 The script highlights several stadiums that excel in urbanist qualities, such as New Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, noting their integration with the city and access to transport.
  • 🚶‍♂️ The importance of pedestrian-friendly design is emphasized, with many of the top-ranking stadiums having seamless interfaces with their neighborhoods.
  • 🚴‍♀️ Bike access is a significant factor, with some stadiums like Target Field in Minneapolis having direct connections to extensive bike path systems.
  • 🚆 Transit service is crucial, with the best ballparks having multiple train and bus services operating close to the stadium during game times.
  • 🏞️ The script contrasts the urbanist qualities of older, traditional ballparks with the sprawling, car-centric designs of some newer stadiums, illustrating the shift in urban planning.
Q & A

  • What is the main topic of the video?

    -The main topic of the video is surveying the continent for the most urbanist ballparks and defining what makes a ballpark urbanist.

  • Why is baseball considered a city game in the US?

    -Baseball is considered a city game because it blossomed in the national imagination in the middle of the 19th century, with its first recorded game taking place in Hoboken in 1846, and it exploded in the New York City metro area in the 1850s.

  • What is the significance of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore?

    -Oriole Park at Camden Yards is significant because it replaced Memorial Stadium and kicked off a new trend of retro or neo-traditional ballpark design that is still dominant today, marking a return to baseball's traditional urbanist roots.

  • What are the criteria used to judge the urbanism of existing ballparks?

    -The criteria used to judge the urbanism of existing ballparks include urban integration and pedestrian friendliness, bike friendliness, transit service availability within a quarter mile, and a compact footprint with efficient use of urban land.

  • What is the definition of an urbanist according to the video?

    -An urbanist is someone who generally accepts the principles of good urban form with good density, providing benefits in energy use, emissions, and transportation, and encourages development patterns and services that promote efficient and sustainable living.

  • Why is the location of Dodger Stadium considered anti-urban?

    -Dodger Stadium is considered anti-urban because it is located in a way that is difficult to access without a car, surrounded by freeway interchanges, and lacks the walkable, compact, and neighborhood-integrated characteristics of an urbanist ballpark.

  • What is the ranking of New Bush Stadium in St. Louis according to the video?

    -New Bush Stadium in St. Louis is ranked number 10 in the list of most urbanist ballparks.

  • How does Target Field in Minneapolis fare in terms of urbanism?

    -Target Field in Minneapolis fares well in terms of urbanism, particularly for its bike access and transit service, but it is somewhat disconnected due to its location between the freeway and the rail right away.

  • What is the significance of the ranking of Fenway Park as the most urbanist ballpark?

    -The significance of Fenway Park being ranked as the most urbanist ballpark is due to its compact design, minimal formal parking, great neighborhood interface, and excellent transit and bike access, reflecting strong urbanist qualities.

  • What are some examples of ballparks that the video considers to have poor urbanist qualities?

    -Examples of ballparks with poor urbanist qualities mentioned in the video include Truest Park in suburban Atlanta and Dodger Stadium in L.A., both of which are characterized by their isolation from urban centers and lack of walkability.

  • How does the video address the issue of parking in relation to urbanist ballparks?

    -The video addresses the issue of parking by deducting points for large parking footprints, emphasizing the importance of compact designs and efficient use of urban land in urbanist ballparks.

Outlines
00:00
🚗 Urbanism and Baseball Stadiums

The script introduces a road trip to explore the most urbanist baseball stadiums in the US, defining what makes a stadium 'urbanist'. It discusses the history of baseball as a city game, contrasting it with the evolution of American football. The speaker notes how baseball stadiums evolved from being walkable and accessible to becoming distant, multi-purpose venues with large parking lots. The trend began to change in 1992 with the opening of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which sparked a return to more urbanist, neo-traditional ballpark designs. The criteria for judging the urbanism of a stadium include urban integration, pedestrian and bike friendliness, transit service, and compact footprint, with deductions for excessive parking.

05:02
🏟️ Ranking Urbanist Baseball Stadiums

This paragraph continues the discussion by ranking various baseball stadiums based on their urbanist qualities. It highlights the top ten stadiums, starting with the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, which has improved over its previous iteration but still has significant parking footprint issues. Target Field in Minneapolis is praised for its transit and bike access, while Coors Field in Denver is lauded for its neighborhood integration and bike connectivity. Rogers Centre in Toronto, despite not being a traditional ballpark, is recognized for its functional design and efficient use of space. Petco Park in San Diego and T-Mobile Park in Seattle are also mentioned for their transit access and modest parking footprints. The paragraph concludes with a brief mention of New Yankee Stadium's transit and bike access, despite its large parking area.

10:02
🌆 Honorable Mentions and Anti-Urbanist Stadiums

The speaker takes a moment to acknowledge the subscriber milestone before discussing honorable mentions and anti-urbanist stadiums. Camden Yards is noted, and Japan's baseball stadiums are highlighted for their compact design and excellent transit access. The script then critiques the Braves' move to a suburban location and the Dodgers' departure from Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, which is described as beautiful but profoundly anti-urban. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of location and efficient design over aesthetic considerations in creating urbanist stadiums.

15:03
🥇 The Most Urbanist Ballpark: Fenway Park

The final paragraph reveals the top two most urbanist baseball stadiums, starting with Wrigley Field in Chicago, praised for its seamless neighborhood integration and pedestrian-friendly design. However, Fenway Park in Boston is crowned as the most urbanist ballpark due to its compact design, minimal formal parking, excellent neighborhood interface, and strong transit and bike access. The speaker invites viewers to share their thoughts in the comments and promises more content in the following week.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Urbanism
Urbanism refers to the design and organization of urban environments with an emphasis on creating functional, walkable, and sustainable cities. In the context of the video, urbanism is used to evaluate the design and location of baseball stadiums in relation to their surrounding neighborhoods, emphasizing the importance of walkability, public transportation, and compactness. The video discusses how baseball stadiums have evolved from being urbanist in their early days to becoming more car-centric and then returning to their urbanist roots.
💡Baseball Stadiums
Baseball stadiums are the venues where baseball games are played. They are central to the video's theme as the script surveys various stadiums across the continent to determine their urbanist qualities. The stadiums are evaluated based on their integration with the urban environment, accessibility, and impact on cityscape.
💡Walkability
Walkability is the measure of how friendly a place is to people on foot. In the video, walkability is a key criterion for assessing the urbanist nature of baseball stadiums, with an emphasis on how seamlessly they interface with the surrounding neighborhood and how easily one can walk to the stadium from nearby areas.
💡Public Transportation
Public transportation refers to the system of vehicles and infrastructure that carries passengers on scheduled routes for a fee. The script highlights the importance of public transportation in the urbanist design of baseball stadiums, noting the availability and convenience of transit services near the stadiums as a significant factor in their urbanist evaluation.
💡Compactness
Compactness in the context of urban design refers to the efficient use of space, where structures are built closely together to minimize the need for travel and maximize the use of urban land. The video discusses how compact baseball stadiums are an example of efficient urban land use, contrasting them with those that have large parking footprints.
💡Multi-Purpose Stadiums
Multi-purpose stadiums are large venues designed to accommodate a variety of sports and other events. The script mentions that many baseball franchises shifted to these types of stadiums in the 20th century, which often featured artificial turf and were surrounded by extensive parking areas, moving away from the urbanist design principles.
💡Retro or Neo-Traditional Ballpark Design
Retro or neo-traditional ballpark design refers to a style of stadium architecture that harkens back to the early 20th century, often featuring brick facades and intimate settings. The video credits the opening of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore for kicking off this trend, which is seen as a return to baseball's urbanist roots.
💡Edward Glaeser
Edward Glaeser is an economist and author of 'Triumph of the City,' which is mentioned in the script as a source of urbanist principles. Glaeser's work advocates for the benefits of urban density and form, suggesting that they contribute to more efficient and sustainable living, which aligns with the urbanist evaluation criteria used in the video.
💡Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium in Baltimore, known for its retro design and its role in the video as a catalyst for a new trend in baseball stadium architecture. It is used as an example to illustrate the criteria for judging the urbanism of baseball stadiums.
💡Bike Accessibility
Bike accessibility refers to the ease with which cyclists can reach a destination. The script evaluates baseball stadiums based on the quality of bike routes and the availability of secure bike parking, highlighting bike-friendly stadiums as contributing positively to urbanist principles.
💡Fenway Park
Fenway Park is the oldest professional baseball stadium in the MLB and is featured in the video as the most urbanist ballpark. Its compact design, minimal parking, and strong integration with the surrounding neighborhood exemplify the urbanist qualities that the video seeks to highlight.
Highlights

The video explores urbanist ballparks in a road trip across the continent.

Urbanism is defined in the context of efficient and sustainable living in cities.

Baseball's history in the US is tied to urban development, contrasting with other sports like American football.

20th-century stadium evolution reflects a shift in urban development and transportation patterns.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore marked a trend towards neo-traditional ballpark design.

Criteria for judging urbanism in ballparks include urban integration, pedestrian and bike friendliness, transit service, and compact footprint.

New Busch Stadium in St. Louis is noted for its integration with downtown and transit access.

Target Field in Minneapolis is praised for its bike access and transit information prioritization.

Coors Field in Denver is lauded for its neighborhood integration and bike connectivity.

Rogers Centre in Toronto, despite its unconventional design, is recognized for its functional urbanist features.

Petco Park in San Diego is highlighted for its connection to the downtown grid and transit proximity.

T-Mobile Park in Seattle is noted for its low traffic corridor access and modest parking footprint.

New Yankee Stadium in the Bronx is criticized for its excessive parking despite good transit and bike access.

The video discusses the anti-urbanist design of certain ballparks like the Braves' Truist Park in Atlanta.

Oracle Park in San Francisco is commended for its compact design and multimodal transit options.

Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston are recognized for their strong urbanist qualities due to their early 20th-century origins.

Fenway Park is crowned the most urbanist ballpark due to its compact design and excellent integration with the city.

Transcripts

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Baseball StadiumsUrbanismCity LifeTransportationSports HistoryBaseball CultureStadium DesignPedestrian AccessPublic TransitSustainable Living