City Parks Alliance’s Post

🌳☘️ It’s Love Parks Week! Join us in celebrating Love Parks Week. Love Parks Week is organised by Keep Britain Tidy and highlights the crucial role green spaces play in enhancing the health and wellbeing of our communities. In London, these parks provide a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.  Concept Culture collaborated with LDN Collective and Commonplace in 2020 on the #ParkPower campaign, featured in the London Festival of Architecture 2020. This initiative aimed to highlight the significance of parks and community during a defining moment in the pandemic.  Through a targeted social media campaign, we curated digital content that invited residents to share their aspirations for their local parks, resulting in over 8,000 unique visitors and 3,500 contributions. The LDN Collective created an E-Book with conclusions, recommendations and design proposals based on the feedback from the public. The aim was to help local authorities make the best use of their limited resources and developers create the most successful new green spaces. By reimagining the future of London’s parks as places to exercise, socialise, relax and enjoy in safety. Revisit the Park Power e-book - link in comments.  What's your favourite park and why? Share in the comments below.  📷: Our favourite parks (Unsplash) - Hampstead Heath, Clissold Park, Greenwich Park, Primrose Hill, and Hyde Park.  #builtenvironment #branding #storytelling #loveparks #londonparks

Dive deep into the award-winning approach our experts implemented to transform the County of Monroe's 100-year-old Ontario Beach Spray Park and Playground into an inclusive, sustainable, and collaborative space that enhances community wellness and environmental equity. 💧 Our experts held a crucial role throughout the entire development process, working closely with Monroe County Parks and the City of Rochester to integrate best practices in inclusive design and sustainability to bring new life to the 1.7-acre park while maintaining it's historic charm. The spray park and playground, recognized by The Rochester Business Journal, features two distinct, yet inclusive, play areas that are connected seamlessly for ease of access and mobility. 👉Learn more about the innovative solutions behind the Ontario Beach Spray Park and Playground on our website: https://ow.ly/IXyz50UMx3j #Rochester #LandscapeArch #LandscapeDesign #AccelerateSuccess

Natural Spaces in Cities ++ [improving communities] Transforming urban environments by integrating more natural spaces can significantly enhance the quality of life for residents, attract young talent, and stimulate economic development. Here are several actionable strategies that cities in the USA can explore: *Convert underutilized asphalt areas or parking lots into parks or greenways. Use non-traditional spaces, such as alleys or rooftops, to create community parks. *Transform small, vacant lots or wide sidewalks into pocket parks with seating, greenery, and art installations. *Promote community gardens and urban farms, especially in underserved neighborhoods. Cities can support these initiatives with resources, including land access and funding. *Launch city-wide tree planting campaigns, especially on streets and public spaces. Create a maintenance plan for new trees. *Retrofit parking lots with permeable materials, planters, and greenery. Consider reducing space for vehicles and introducing mixed-use developments. *Cities with ample green spaces are attractive to young professionals and families, promoting a healthy lifestyle, leisure activities, and community engagement.

Parks and public spaces are signifiers of civic vitality, and their maintenance, improvement, expansion, and programming often reflect the economic times. These activities can be made sustainable by re-examining place governance — how people and organizations across sectors collaborate to shape a place's economic, physical, and social dynamics. As San José considers how to deliver on the promise of its public green spaces, it can look to other cities that have created or reformed place governance models. https://lnkd.in/eC8y4nN5

Swipe to see how London borough parks services have performed in the past few Good Parks assessments ⬅➡ How to read this graph: the darker the green shading, the higher the score. White shading means no data is available for that borough in that assessment. Notwithstanding minor changes to the criteria and colour grading over the years, the results speak for themselves: over 75% of the participating boroughs have improved their scores in the most recent evaluation and achieved their best results yet! 🎉 This positive trend underscores the effectiveness of the Good Parks for London assessments as a means of driving progress and fostering innovation in park management. By focusing on key criteria such as quality, community involvement, sustainability, and biodiversity support, these evaluations provide a comprehensive view of each borough's efforts to enhance their green spaces. In the upcoming months, we will collaborate with the heads of each borough's parks services to deliver detailed feedback, helping them to continue refining their strategies and maintain their upward trajectory. For more insights, explore our #GoodParksforLondon reports: https://lnkd.in/emsrZ-SQ

I am committed to ensuring that our city becomes more resilient, healthier, and connected, particularly for our LMI communities. With increasing vulnerability to climate change and environmental hazards, it is crucial that we invest in our public realm and prioritize health and wellness for all residents. I am taking active steps to promote the creation of open spaces, gathering areas, and tree-planting initiatives to improve air quality, reduce urban heat, and build a more vibrant and livable city. My upcoming initiatives will focus on: 🍃Developing green spaces and playgrounds in underutilized areas, designed to foster physical activity, social interaction, and environmental stewardship among our youth. 🍃Planting trees throughout the city to enhance air quality, create shade, and mitigate the effects of climate change. 🍃Creating safe walking and biking paths, connecting neighborhoods and providing green corridors for recreation and transport, reducing reliance on cars. These initiatives are aimed at creating an inclusive, healthy, and sustainable future for Johnstown. We believe that by building a more resilient public realm, we can improve the overall quality of life for our residents and strengthen the community against environmental challenges. #UrbanPlanning #Sustainability #CommunityDevelopment #ClimateResilience #PublicSpaces #HealthAndWellness #GreenInfrastructure #EnvironmentalJustice #UrbanDesign #Landscape #SafeCities

Cities and counties are about more than just buildings and infrastructure. Thriving urban centers need vibrant public spaces that foster a sense of community and belonging, and parks play a crucial role in achieving this. While access to green space is essential, it's not enough. Inclusive city parks go further, making all residents feel welcome and safe. Through diverse programming, you can cater to various interests and age groups with cultural events, festivals, and recreational activities. Equitable amenities ensure all residents can access essential resources like clean restrooms, clear signage in multiple languages, and well-maintained facilities. However, managing these green spaces can challenge park and recreation departments. 🌳 @CivicPlus offers a comprehensive recreation management software solution designed to streamline operations and empower your team. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e9fnc8Ye #LocalGovernment #ParksAndRecreation #WeLoveOurParks https://lnkd.in/e52RYzm2

Next #InsincerelyYoursEarth podcast guest and former NYC Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Mitchell Silver, FAICP, Hon. ASLA: "The key principles are to make a seamless public realm by rethinking the edges, entrances, and adjacent spaces of parks across the city. Open space should be open. Growing dense urban centers need vital public space for all races, genders, and ages across the board." Next podcast launches on May 13th 🚀 #cityplanning #inclusivity #gentrification #urbandevelopment #parks #equity #urbanplanning #climatechange #publicparks

🌱 Cities Need a Breather: Enter the Third Place In bustling urban landscapes, we often find ourselves oscillating between two primary spaces: home and work. But what about the third place—those informal, welcoming spaces where we connect, unwind, and feel part of a community? Coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, the theory of the "Third Place" describes neutral grounds essential for fostering social cohesion, creativity, and well-being. Today, with urbanization and digital lifestyles reshaping how we interact, these spaces are more crucial than ever. Did you know? Studies show that access to green spaces can reduce urban stress by up to 60% and increase social interaction by 25% (WHO, 2022). Green spaces can function as new-age Third Places—offering solace amidst the urban chaos and fostering connections that strengthen community bonds. Surrounded by the soothing presence of trees, flowers, and open skies, these spaces invite us to slow down and reconnect with nature. 🌸 As we reimagine cities, let’s think beyond infrastructure. Gardens, unlike pubs or coffee houses, offer inclusivity and accessibility—welcoming people across ages, backgrounds, and economic statuses. They are spaces where stories unfold, where neighbors meet, and where the city breathes freely. The Heritage Project #UrbanOasis #ThirdPlaceTheory #GreenCities #RPGFoundation #UrbanPlanning #SocialChange

Cities and counties are about more than just buildings and infrastructure. Thriving urban centers need vibrant public spaces that foster a sense of community and belonging, and parks play a crucial role in achieving this. While access to green space is essential, it's not enough. Inclusive city parks go further, making all residents feel welcome and safe. Through diverse programming, you can cater to various interests and age groups with cultural events, festivals, and recreational activities. Equitable amenities ensure all residents can access essential resources like clean restrooms, clear signage in multiple languages, and well-maintained facilities. However, managing these green spaces can challenge park and recreation departments. 🌳 @CivicPlus offers a comprehensive recreation management software solution designed to streamline operations and empower your team. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/gmZunBcD #LocalGovernment #ParksAndRecreation #WeLoveOurParks https://lnkd.in/gtpvdAbK