Park Study Tour: Houston, TX
Houston’s urban parks and green spaces are bold, innovative, and deeply rooted in community engagement.
Park Study Tours Join a small group of urban parks professionals for an intensive, two to four-day behind-the-scenes look at innovative urban park systems across the country. The host city serves as a hands-on learning lab. You’ll hear from park leaders and their partners and learn how these special places are designed, programmed, and managed.
Park Study Tours are developed in partnership with local host cities. They are designed to foster candid conversations and spark ideas for attendees to take back to their home city.
Hear new approaches to park design, management, programming, funding, and partnerships in parks throughout the selected city.
Learn how the selected city has leveraged resources and opportunities to grow and strengthen its parks and recreational programs.
Explore how community-led efforts, cross-agency, and cross-sector partnerships are working together to improve the selected city’s park system and the health and quality of life of its residents.
Network and learn from each other in both formal and informal ways, and build relationships that last beyond the tour.
Park Study Tours are for practitioners from across the urban parks sector, including parks & recreation directors, nonprofit park leaders, foundation program officers, city planning officials, landscape architects, urban planners, and more.
Houston’s urban parks and green spaces are bold, innovative, and deeply rooted in community engagement.
St. Louis has been transitioning from the legacy of its manufacturing economy for several decades. New investment in parks and trails—focusing on access, equity, and connectivity—has played a vital role in revitalizing its downtown and neighborhoods.
Participants investigated how Austin leverages resources and partnerships to meet its growing demand for access, equity, programming, and connectivity through a carefully curated itinerary in partnership with Austin Parks & Recreation and The Trail Conservancy.
During this park tour, participants learned about Cleveland’s innovative cross-agency and cross-sector partnerships and how they are working collaboratively to improve their park system and the residents’ quality of life.
Park Study Tour host cities are selected through a Request for Proposals process about two years in advance of the tour date. City Parks Alliance currently plans up to two Park Study Tours in the off years between the Greater & Greener conference. Host cities are required to be Alliance members and provide local funding.
The next RFP for the 2031 tours is expected to be issued in 2029. If you have questions about the program, contact [email protected].