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This paper examines the significance of Strawberry Fields, the memorial to John Lennon in Central Park, New York City, as a place of secular pilgrimage. Situated within postmodern conceptualizations of secular pilgrimage, Strawberry Fields is shown to be the spatial focus of a variety of discourses related to John Lennon's life and music. Furthermore, this paper illustrates how autobiography as a qualitative research method can reveal the sentiments that motivate particular pilgrims to places associated with major figures in popular music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central Park is an iconic feature of New York City, which was the first and one of the hardest hit cities in the United States by the Coronavirus. State-level stay-at-home order, raising COVID-19 cases, as well as the public's personal concerns regarding exposure to the virus, led to a significant reduction of Central Park visitation. We utilized extensive cellphone tracking data to conduct one of the pioneering empirical studies assessing the economic impact of COVID-19 on urban parks. We integrated the difference-in-difference (DID) design with the recreation-demand model. The DID design aids in identifying the causal impacts, controlling for unobservable factors that might confound the treatment effects of interest. Concurrently, the recreational demand model examines the driving factors of visitation changes and enables us to estimate the welfare changes experienced by New York City's residents. Our findings shine a light on the substantial, yet often overlooked, welfare loss triggered by the pandemic. The analysis indicates that the pandemic resulted in a 94% reduction in visitation, corresponding to an annual consumer surplus loss of $450 million. We noted a rebound in visitation following the initial outbreak, influenced by shifts in government policy, weather conditions, holiday periods, and personal characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of New York City's Central Park. According to the author, the park was a contested ground used and interpreted in different ways by a variety of social, economic, and ethnic groups. Details related to the eviction of people living on the site of the park and to its design by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux are presented. It is suggested that the architects altered and in some cases destroyed the existing natural landscape of the park in order to model the space after English park designs. The use of the park by marginalized populations, including immigrants and protesters, is also discussed.

The article discusses the design philosophy and aesthetics of landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted, particularly focusing on his views on public parks and freedom. It examines his work designing the series of Boston, Massachusetts parks known as the Emerald Necklace and his work designing New York City's Central Park with landscape designer Calvert Vaux. The author considers the influence of several individuals, including theologian Horace Bushnell and authors Sir Thomas Dick Lauder and Archibald Alison, on Olmsted.

Provides information on the rectilinearly of Central Park at the heart of the curviliner island of Manhanttan. Information on what the park represents; Reference to the shooting of `Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One' in Central Park; Detailed information on the integration evident in the Park.