June 13-16, 2026 • Austin, TX

Greater & Greener 2026

Greater & Greener is the premier event for innovators and decision-makers from across the global urban parks community. It’s the only event dedicated to exploring the full potential of parks as city-building tools.

Register today for our upcoming conference in Austin, a city made for outdoor living.

Presented by City Parks Alliance, in partnership with Austin Parks and Recreation and The Trail Conservancy.

Why Attend

Greater & Greener is the only conference dedicated to exploring the full potential of parks as city-building tools.

About Austin

At Greater & Greener, Austin’s parks will be a hands-on learning lab. Austin’s parks are a testament to its commitment to a healthier, happier community and respect for protecting and fostering the natural and native environment.

Pricing

Prepare your budgets so that you are able to register right away, including for hotel, transportation, and dining costs.

June 15, 2026 • Austin, Texas

Keynote: The Role of Parks in Social Cohesion

We’re thrilled to announce our Keynote speakers for Greater & Greener 2026! You won’t want to miss the conversation with Eric Klinenberg and Maryam Banikarim, where we will discuss the untapped potential for urban parks to address social isolation and disconnection.

Our speakers will explore how parks can continue to serve as one of the remaining public spaces in our cities where we can learn about each other, form relationships, and open the door for mutual understanding.

Add to Your Schedule

The best thing about Greater & Greener is the diversity of professionals from all disciplines within city, state, and national government. You meet people that you don’t typically and you see people that are doing amazing work across the country on all different levels.

Al Bangoura

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

This experience was life-changing. I was able to network with people who felt similarly to me about the communities we serve and the environment we live in.

Melissa Eakright

Green Team Member, Groundwork NRG

Greater & Greener is one of my most anticipated conferences. Beyond a celebration of parks, the sessions, presenters, and experiencing park life and innovation in the host cities via tours and visits are creatively crafted, well done, and always a delight. I learn more at this meeting from colleagues from all walks of ‘park’ life than any other place. The network I foster become trusted colleagues and a great resource who elevate my work in parks in every way imaginable!

Frederick R. Bonci

President, LBA Landscape Architecture

One of the great things about the Greater & Greener conference is that we get to bring people from different broad-based networks together to share ideas and innovation. And what’s unique about this conference is that people walk away with the tools that they need to get projects implemented.

Maria Nardi

Miami-Dade County

There’s no gathering for our field of practice like Greater & Greener. It is the single largest, single best organized, most generative, and most exciting gathering of the field of urban park management practitioners. I leave every time I come with a dozen new ideas that I’m excited to try and I know that’s the experience that every other participant is having as well.

Maura Lout

Chief People Officer, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Our Cleveland cohort found the whole experience to be tremendously valuable and look forward to bringing the momentum and ideas from the conference back home to support our local work.

Stephen Love

Program Director, Cleveland Foundation

We’re really pleased to be a sponsor. I can just see the energy that people have toward improving their own park systems and their communities.

Rick Olson

Chairman and CEO, The Toro Company

The Greater & Greener conference is one of the most unique conferences we have in the parks world. This is something you have to go to every other year. You walk away with knowledge and also the experience of being in some of the great park systems in this country.

Mitchell Silver

Principal, McAdams

We came back from Greater & Greener inspired, energized, and full of innovative ideas for Los Angeles.

Carolyn Ramsay

Former Executive Director, Los Angeles Parks Foundation

Our work at Fair Park has been deeply inspired by the openness and leadership of the Brooklyn Bridge Park team. Their willingness to share lessons learned and best practices at Greater & Greener helped shape our thinking in Dallas and reinforced that great parks are built through collaboration, opportunity, and community-first planning. We never approached this work as having all the answers, instead, we continue to learn from leading park systems across the country to help us create a greener, more vibrant space for our community.

John D. Jenkins

Director, Dallas Parks and Recreation

I first connected with John Jenkins at the Greater & Greener Conference several years ago, after he attended my presentation on our financial model. That initial conversation led to hosting his team at Brooklyn Bridge Park for a deeper, more meaningful exchange of ideas. Experiences like this underscore the unique power of Greater & Greener to spark collaboration and innovation—and highlight the tremendous value of City Parks Alliance in advancing the future of urban parks.

Eric Landau

President, Brooklyn Bridge Park