In the push to build more housing, cities are grappling with how to balance growth and affordability with the need for livable, connected communities. The U.S. faces a shortage of nearly 4 million housing units, including a deficit of more than 7 million affordable rental homes for extremely low-income households. At the same time, 1 in 3 people nationwide—including 28 million children—lack access to a park or green space within a 10-minute walk. Too often, parks and affordable housing are treated as competing land uses rather than as complementary infrastructure essential to health, belonging, and resilience.
This session, hosted by Trust for Public Land’s 10-Minute Walk Program, challenges that false choice and highlights policy strategies that enable cities to do both. Drawing on new research and partnerships with affordable housing developers, planners, and public agencies, panelists will explore how cities are using park dedication ordinances, impact fees, and other local tools to support both infill development and equitable park access.
Participants will learn how these tools—when well-designed and updated to reflect today’s development patterns—can help cities keep pace with growth while ensuring all residents live within a 10-minute walk of a quality park. Designed for planners, parks professionals, housing advocates, and city officials, the session will offer practical takeaways, cross-sector examples, and space for dialogue on how to make smarter, more equitable use of limited urban land.
