Every city has one. A self-imposed, planned tattoo that is meant to bring colour to urban sprawl. I am of course talking about a city park. At best, it can be an oasis where nature, culture and art harmonize to yield impressive results. At worst, it can spawn a breeding place for petty crime and become a metaphor for how the city has let things go.
I don't think you can compare Prince Island to the world's best (my favourite is Ueno Park in Tokyo). It lacks the history, numbers and budget of some other larger cities. Thus, it is almost like comparing apples and oranges. However, what one could say is that the park does represent Calgary very well. There are parts where you find such wonderful juxtaposition that stab at the essence of what this beautiful city is about, at least in my opinion.
I think back to the number of times I walked through the paths of Prince Island on a sunny day. At some point I will walk off the path to bury myself into the trees with the objective of reaching the bank of the bow river and become hypnotized by its flow. While staring at the water I can see in my mind the image of downtown Calgary behind me. This thought breaks my concentration so I look up to catch the glimpse of a prominent neighbourhood of houses off in the distance.
This park is really a picture of what the city means to me. A real balance of the wild and developed, the raw and refined, the dream and the reality all rolled into one. It's breathtaking!