Recognizing a city as an organism, Olmsted foretold the long term value of Natural Solutions for Public Open Space:

The time will come, when New York will be built up when all the grading and filling will be done...And when the picturesquely varied, rocky formations of the Island will have been converted into formations for rows of monotonous straight streets, and piles of erect buildings there will be no suggestion left of its present varied surface, with the single exception of the few acres contained in a Central Park. Then the priceless value of the present picturesque outlines of the ground will be perceived, and its adaptability for its purpose more fully recognized. 

- Frederick Law Olmsted 1858