How to build a legendary park

Learn how El Retiro in Madrid applies UX to transform its green spaces into one of the best places on Earth.

This is how a park should NOT look like — source

Tinkering with interfaces is cool, but could you apply the laws of user experience to build a great park? Or at least a better one than the one in this picture?

Yeah, the park in this stock image is not a good one. It’s just a green space. A decoration.

When creating parks for users like you and me, designers often default to this same uninspired vision — a stretch of manicured lawn, clean paths, and a few ornamental trees. It’s a classic, almost “golf course” idea of a park: neat, tidy, and entirely soulless.

What is wrong with the UX of the park in the picture above?

• No path leading to the bench. It’s pretty enough to make a photo, but, in reality, people are obviously going to want to walk to the bench. This will create a “desire path,” wear down the grass, and damage the area around the bench:

A classic illustration of “desire path” — “the path represents the shortest or the most easily navigated route between an origin and destination”

• All the water is wasted. I despise the human desire to domesticate the world by turning it into a huge green lawn. The grass in this park isn’t natural; it’s like a massive, artificial carpet. Since it doesn’t have enough shade, this man-made lawn won’t survive without an endless supply of water. It’s unsustainable and impractical, especially in a public space that could work so much better with low-maintenance, naturally adapted plants.
• Awkward layout. From one bench, you’re forced to stare directly at whoever’s on the opposite bench — a setup that feels more awkward than relaxing:

The only two benches in this park are awkwardly positioned to face each other.

• Ignorance of flooding risks. A slight rise in the nearby river’s water level could make this bench unusable. A thoughtful design would consider natural factors like water flow and terrain.

But let’s leave this poor stock image park alone.