Greenspace as Part of a Community
“Give people what they need: food, medicine, clean air, pure water, trees and grass, pleasant homes to live in, some hours of work, more hours of leisure. Don't ask who deserves it. Every human being deserves it.”
- Howard Zinn

A Sense of Place
American author Wendell Berry addressed what we mean by “place” when he wrote: “If you don't know where you are you don't know who you are.” People are drawn to Yellow Springs, both to live and to visit, because they experience it as a place that is distinctive, charming and alive.  Ours is the quintessential village that invites walking, shopping, meeting friends, and just people-watching. Our village offers multiple resources that support our social, spiritual, intellectual, mental and physical well-being.  The central village area provides stores and services that support the people who live here, such as a grocery store, hardware store, pharmacy, small theatre, banks, a post office, as well as specialty shops, restaurants, and coffee shops that draw visitors. The quiet, leafy streets that spread from the central business district reflect not only the history of our village through changing architectural styles but function as living neighborhoods, rather than bedroom communities that look the same all over the country.  

We tend to think of the characteristics that draw people to our village as ephemeral and hard to define. However, the factors that create uniqueness, charm, and vitality in a community—a sense of place, or “place identity”- are well researched. Yellow Springs has a strong and carefully nurtured sense of place. Our village has a distinctive identity, is built to a human scale, contains a good balance of order and diversity in its physical environment, has visible historical continuity, and has a busy vibrant downtown. It is also an authentic town, not simply a tourist destination, which further adds to its sense of place.

Virtually all cities, towns and villages recognized as appealing, and even beautiful, have greenspace at their heart.  Yellow Springs was designed similarly to the Philadelphia Plan (explained in more detail on the History page), which recommends building around town squares. Our town square is our Mills Lawn with its green space. From New York City to small towns in New England, to mission towns in California, to town squares in the south, all have greenspace at their heart.  Central greenspace is so vital to a town’s sense of place, that more and more often, central greenspace is being incorporated into new developments, both residential and commercial. The greenspace at The Greene shopping area in Beavercreek, with its splash fountain, lawn, and benches, is an attempt to replicate and commercialize what we already have. In fact, greenspaces are so vital in modern community design that Vermont, for one example, has a state initiative to restore greenspaces in its towns and villages.

The Mills Lawn greenspace is core to our village’s sense of place, a visible connection to the unique history of Yellow Springs and the beauty of the community. While preservation of this greenspace can be justified on historical grounds alone, there are compelling conservation arguments that underscore the value of this piece of land to the community’s health and well-being.

 Positive Impact of Greenspace on Well-being
In 2016 the World Health Organization (WHO) published a comprehensive report on the health and social benefits of urban green space. Access to greenspace significantly improves physical and mental health (decreased blood pressure, increased immune function, improved physical fitness, reduced cortisol levels, measured stress levels, etc.), contributes to a sense of community, and strengthens social and family bonds. The more accessible the greenspace, the more pronounced its health benefits. The WHO recognizes the value of both large greenspaces that include amenities such as playing fields, and smaller more easily accessible centrally located green spaces. Gaunt Park is our large greenspace, Mills Lawn is our more centrally located greenspace, and John Bryan is our space for hiking and immersion in nature. Greenspace is so important to well-being that the WHO considers accessible green space a worldwide health priority and states it is especially beneficial for economically disadvantaged persons, older persons, children, pregnant women, and people with health issues; particularly those with mobility issues.   See - World Health Organization Urban Green Spaces and Health, A Review of the Evidence (PDF).

WHO Statement - 2016: 

“The evidence shows that urban green space has health benefits, particularly for economically deprived communities, children, pregnant women and senior citizens. It is therefore essential that all populations have adequate access to green space, with particular priority placed on provision for disadvantaged communities. While details of urban green space design and management have to be sensitive to local geographical and cultural conditions, the need for green space and its value for health and well‐being is universal.”  

Mills Lawn greenspace is a space for families and friends to play, engage in casual sports, and just hang out. A family or group of friends playing disc golf, soccer, softball, or practicing cheerleading are getting physical exercise in a natural environment and deepening their connections. A parent teaching her small child to toss a ball, or helping him take his first steps is teaching him more than physical skills. An individual or several individuals making music, are not only creating art; they are engaging in a powerful cognitive activity.  People chatting as they walk their dogs are doing more than just walking their dogs. Individuals exercising, doing yoga, photography, gymnastics or collecting black walnuts are alone, but they are not alone. Activities such as Art on the Lawn, the newly revitalized Shakespeare on the Lawn, yoga and tai chi classes, and even the organization required of the Boy Scouts to provide parking for the Street Fair all build community.

The benefits of Mills Lawn, in particular, and greenspace more generally, extend beyond its boundaries.  People are attracted to the sidewalks and streets surrounding greenspace. For example, walkers and dogs walking their people often walk the perimeter of the park. Young people venturing out for the first time with their skateboards, rollerblades, or bicycles often use the sidewalks and quiet streets on the western side of Mills Lawn. It is also friendly to people with mobility difficulties.  The area is walkable, bikeable, and navigable.

Positive Impact of Greenspace on the Environment
Greenspace helps offset the negative effects of the built environment. Trees, in particular, are essential in urban green space.  Like all green plants, trees consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen as they create energy for their growth and survival. Their removal of carbon dioxide and air pollutants cleans the air we breathe, while the addition of oxygen helps to cool and refresh the air. Trees also capture rainwater, helping to reduce its flow and prevent flooding and soil erosion. In Yellow Springs, prone to flooding, this is particularly important.  Birds, small mammals, and even some plants depend on trees for food, shelter, and protection, promoting biological diversity in the urban environment. And as they drop leaves in the fall and eventually die, trees improve soil fertility by adding organic material.

Positive Impact of Greenspace on Economic Development
Greenspace is important to economic development because of its vital importance in a community’s attractiveness and sense of place. It draws people in, which attracts investment and strengthens economic health. When people are asked what they look for in a place to live, always high up on everyone’s list is attractiveness, charm, vitality, places for recreation and gathering, walkability, and bikeability, all assets of Yellow Springs, and all enhanced by our Mills Lawn greenspace. One of the priorities in the Land Use Plan is economic diversity. We are fortunate and in an unusual situation, that the Mills Lawn greenspace is surrounded by diversity in our housing. The housing directly adjacent to the greenspace is a mix of traditional single-family residential homes, a variety of architectural styles, rental units, a high-density apartment complex, and a Bed & Breakfast. The surrounding area also has diversity in housing.

Two Challenges Facing the Village: Housing and the Schools
The future of Mills Lawn is connected to two compelling needs in Yellow Springs; the needs of Yellow Springs schools and the need for housing at all price points. Yellow Springs schools are in need of repair or rebuilding, and difficult choices are looming. The School Board has signaled plans to introduce a new levy in November 2021. Given the financial challenges facing the present board, the idea of selling off the property to offset building or renovation costs is on the table. Link to School Board working meeting where levy options were discussed.

Yellow Springs Council, guided by a number of studies, has identified available housing as an important factor to our future. The cost of housing will be a significant problem for Yellow Springs as the nature of the village continues to change. This is, in fact, a national problem.  Every attractive community in the country is facing a housing crisis.

Where We Are Now
In 2019 the former superintendent and School Board commissioned a planning study by McBride Dale and Clarion. Yellow Springs News article. The report estimates Mills Lawn’s land and buildings at $2.7 million and outlines how the current greenspace could be subdivided for residential use.  The report also recommends looking at property considered “underutilized” for development.  Click here to see the McBride Report.

The School Board owns Mills Lawn, including the greenspace and can sell it on the open market to the highest bidder. Additionally, Mills Lawn is zoned for high-density housing which permits the construction of 30-62 residential units.

We fear that the Mills Lawn Greenspace is vulnerable to being sold and developed into high-density residential housing, and we seek to find a way to preserve it.

In November 2020, Village Council accepted the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), a plan intended to guide future development in the village.  While the plan designates the Mills Lawn greenspace as “Public Use,” it is owned by the School Board, which has the right to decide on the future of its land. 

The Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) advises that economic development should actively preserve historically, culturally and ecologically important areas, embrace our sustainability values, and build on the strengths of the community. Further, it states that parks and open space shall be integrated or accommodated into new developments. Citizens who participated in the process emphasized that the plan needed to protect environmentally sensitive areas within the Village and surrounding areas, maintain the character of the village, and embrace sustainability values as priorities. Click here to see the Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

The Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) report suggests that in the event that the Mills Lawn School building is no longer needed, the eastern edge of the property could be developed for commercial use. We are concerned about the green space itself, and trust that the community and School Board will settle on the best use of the land and/or the existing building. The report does not address the approximate western two-thirds of Mills Lawn, its current greenspace. We propose finding a way to protect the western portion of Mills Lawn from development so that it may remain greenspace for all to enjoy, as it has been for the last 177 years.

There are a number possible ways to address our housing challenges that do not depend on the loss of Mills Lawn greenspace, including relaxing zoning restrictions, lot splitting, permitting additional residential units on a single lot, etc.  In addition, numerous other tracts of land are available that do not have such an important role in the character of our village.

We support the School Board in its efforts to provide a quality education for our students, and we appreciate the Council’s desire for additional housing.  However, we urge the School Board, the Village leadership, and the community to work together to find a way to satisfy these needs without sacrificing Mills Lawn greenspace.

The Mills Lawn greenspace has been the heart of the village since its founding.  Once it is gone, it is gone.

Sources, Resources, and Additional Readings 

5 Reasons for creating urban green spaces.   (2019, April 20). https://www.urbanespora.com/en/5-reasons-for-creating-urban-green-spaces/

Active Living Research. (2010, May).  The Economic Benefits of Open Space & Recreation Facilities

Alexander, C . et al (1977). A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press.

Alexander, C. (1979). The Timeless Way of Building. Oxford University Press.

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, New England. (April 2017).  What is Open Space/Greenspace?https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/openspace.html#:~:text=Green%20space%20(land%20that%2

Kastelic, J. (2014, September 11,) The Economics of Greenspace. Trust for Public Land, Ohio.  Land Bank Conference.
https://www.wrlandconservancy.org/documents/conference2014/Economic_Benefits_of_Greenspace.pdf   

McMahon, Ed (2015, January 6). Where am I? The power of uniqueness. Tedx, Jacksonville. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB5tH4rt-x8

Mikan, S. (2019, April 30).  Urban Design: The Value of Green Space. Integrate Sustainability. https://www.integratesustainability.com.au/2019/04/30/urban-design-the-value-of-green-space/

Mohammad,N.,  Saruwono, M., Said, S, Ahmad W, Hariri, H.  A Sense of Place within the Landscape in Cultural Settings.  Procedia, Social and Behavioral Sciences. 105 (2013), 506-512.  Available at www.sciencedirect.com.

Polco News and Knowledge (2018, January). Residents of Every Generation Reveal What Makes a Community Worth Recommending.   
https://blog.polco.us/residents-of-every-generation-reveal-what-makes-a-community-worth-recommending

Rosenfield, K. (2015, March 3). What Makes an Attractive City? Try these 6 Points. https://www.archdaily.com/604984/what-makes-an-attractive-city-try-these-6-points

Simplicity Matters Earth Institute. Wendell Berry on A Sense of Place (2007)
http://www.simplicity-matters.org/guides/dsop/index.php

Walkable Community Design.  https://www.americantrails.org/files/pdf/Economic-Benefits-Active.pdf   

Watson, G.  (2020, July 28). A lot of us have been thinking about where we live. Here’s what research into neighborhoods shows. The Washington Post.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/a-lot-of-us-have-been-thinking-about-where-we-live-heres-what-research-into-neighborhoods-shows/2020/07/23/e641b3b0-cad0-11ea-bc6a-6841b28d9093_story.html

World Health Organization.  (2016). Urban green spaces and health: A review of evidence.
https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/321971/Urban-green-spaces-and-health-review evidence.pdf