by Sadia Quddus

With over 275 million visitors to the United States‘ 401 national parks per year, what will be the experience of visitors in the 21st century? The Van Alen Institute has teamed up with the National Park Service to launch a new competition: National Parks Now – a central component of Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape, the Institute’s initiative to investigate how the form and organization of the built environment shapes a need and desire for escape. Operating on the belief, stated by Van Alen Institute Executive Director David van der Leer, that “too few people realize what a huge resource these smaller national park sites are for local communities and for larger urban networks,” this initiative seeks to make parks relevant for the 21st century audience. More on the competition after the break.