Not long ago, I asked if you’ve ever felt “triggered by a place.”
Today, I’m asking if you’ve ever been triggered by a theme, such as nature in the city and its profound role in mitigating change—when the landscape in two places looks remarkably the same and interweaves with family ties.
The Benches and Battles
This morning, I read about NatureScore, a metric similar to Walk Score but emphasizing access and proximity to essential green space in daily urban life.
My reading reminded me of two park benches that appear similarly in different parts of the world. Each bench has its own story but is also bound by history and personal circumstances.
In Newbury, England, where I recently lived, a green space and bench face off at the site of a major battlefield of the 1644 “Second Battle of Newbury” in the English Civil War.
Thousands of miles away, in Mercer Island, Washington, where I live now, Aubrey Davis Park, a modern terraced lid, straddles Interstate 90 as a testament to citizen opposition to freeway expansion.
As the photos illustrate, green space and bench also face off in the lid park.
Though disparate in time (some 350 years) and context, these two park settings show the adaptability and reuse of urban spaces after conflict. They symbolize resilience and mitigation as nature’s recurring roles.
The Newbury green space, adjacent to the River Lambourn at Shaw House, silently frames the story of Charles I’s eventual downfall and related events in English history. Against sometimes flooded grass, the park bench invites contemplation about forms of government, human rights, the passage of time, and regeneration.
Meanwhile, the Mercer Island park tells the story of a modern “battle” about the impacts of an expanding interstate highway on an insular suburban community. It showcases the delicate balance between nature, human intervention, local politics, and a federal highway. The park bench is set against the backdrop of recreational activity and shows the promise of community advocacy to buffer the consequences of major infrastructure construction.
The Mitigating Role of Green
These two green spaces, each with its unique narrative, offer other insights into urban planning and community development. The Newbury space seamlessly integrates natural and historical elements, allowing reflection about and connection to the past. Aubrey Davis Park is an adaptive reuse of urban space that achieves a similarly tranquil setting.
In both instances, nature is mitigating urban disruption. In both places, one where rebels and royalists once clashed and the other where a community stood against the federal government, nature replaces conflict and creates an aura of reconciliation.
Family Continuity Amid the Green
The interconnectedness of my family history with the towns of Newbury, England, and Newburyport, Massachusetts, adds another layer of meaning to the similarly appearing scenes.
Before my time, my family lived just south of the current Mercer Island bench, about a 10-minute walk away. I now live a 10-minute walk from that bench, just as I did from the bench in England.
My mother and brother were born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Newburyport was settled in 1635 as part of the Newbury Plantation, founded by Thomas Parker of Newbury, England, and his two cousins from nearby Wiltshire County.
Just as the park benches show the roles of green space, they also represent the bonds that connect families who move from place to place.
The presence of two park benches along two grass fields is more than a physical setting or place-based trigger; they show enduring themes of urban spaces and family connection that seem oblivious to space and time.