'The Accidental Playground': Why What We Need in Our Parks Is More Freedom

It was paved in broken concrete, overgrown with weeds, and strewn with broken glass and rusty nails. Located at the edge of a treacherous tidal strait with a long history of industrial pollution, the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal was dirty and risky, haunted by marginal characters, and ungoverned by any written rules of conduct.

In other words, it was the perfect urban recreation space.