Milwaukee's interwoven green space is the lasting legacy of socialist control and influence. The county, having secured 1,977 acres of parkland by 1930, looked to urban planning to translate the social and environmental goals of the Progressive Era into a program of action sensitive to the paramount concerns of human health and leisure. The protection and restoration of natural drainage patterns were seen as vital to public health; forested areas adjacent to streams were valued for runoff absorption, sustaining groundwater levels and ensuring an even stream flow (Erickson, p. 111). With the county's purchase of first lands in 1890, protecting the "lungs of the city" incidentally set the stage for wetland protection, flood control, stream bank restoration, sanitation, environmental education.
And (if you've ever visited Estabrook Park) frolf.
The Oak Leaf Trail
The Oak Leaf trail is Milwaukee County Parks', magnum opus. Not straying far from Charles B. Whitnall's initial design, the actualization of the approximately 100 mi trail loosely follows the Milwaukee River, weaving its way through the heart of Milwaukee, its suburbs, and the Lakefront. A few of the "happening" recreations sites along the trail double as sampling sites within this field study.
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