Based on the design of a simple bench by Aldo Leopold, who was an influential Wisconsin environmentalist, the Good City Group benches are more versatile. Originally, built in the 1930s out of scrap wood around his family shack in Wisconsin, the current designs have two positions: One allows you to sit upright, looking at the scene unfolding in front of you, while the other is for reclining, to look up at the sky. In either position, the benches are an invitation to explore, to walk from one to the next, to be curious about one’s urban environment and embrace it.

Three benches have been left on the parkway locations where they were installed for the neighborhood walks and people have been using them. Local associations have requested more benches and eight additional benches have been commissioned by private donors. Read more about how these adaptable benches serve as “markers for cultural walks.”

The Good City Group is researching scenarios to make the benches more widely available.