At an October 2025 luncheon honoring the retirement of Houston Parks Board President and CEO Beth White, Beth sat down with City Parks Alliance Executive Director Catherine Nagel for a wide-ranging conversation about parks, partnerships, and the future of urban public space. Below is an edited Q&A from their parkside chat at Discovery Green, a […]
Atlanta, Georgia (October 22, 2025) – City Parks Alliance is excited to announce that Greater & Greener 2028, the premier event exploring the transformational power of urban parks, will be hosted in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference is expected to bring together more than 1,200 urban park leaders, city planners, design professionals, and advocates from around the […]
The Land & Water Conservation Fund’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) grant program is a smart investment for America’s cities and towns. The ORLP is a nationally competitive program managed by the National Park Service that provides matching grants to assist cities that have little to no access to outdoor recreation opportunities. The program provides […]
At the Park Circle Playground in North Charleston, South Carolina, kids can explore a sensory tunnel full of colors, lights, and textures, wide enough for a wheelchair and stimulating yet calming. This sensory tunnel is part of the world’s largest inclusive playground, a place where people of all abilities and ages can be engaged, challenged, […]
On June 22, 2025, the US Conference of Mayors (USCM), at its 93nd Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, adopted a new city parks resolution that urges the U.S. Department of the Interior to continue its strong support and to prioritize funding for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP). The resolution passed unanimously. Cleveland, OH Mayor Justin […]
At City Parks Alliance’s May Board of Directors meeting, the board elected four new members. The board also elected a new co-chair and other officers, while recognizing the service of several board members who are term-limited. Four New Members Elected to Board of Directors Stephen Bentley (Raleigh, NC) is the Director of the City of Raleigh (NC) Parks, […]
As a park and recreation planner with an eye for new technology, I’ve made a two-decade long career of looking into the future. I serve as Director of Digital Engagement at MIG, a planning, design, communications, and technology consulting firm. We were hired by City Parks Alliance to support the Parks and Technology Initiative, examining the opportunities […]
Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, MO, has long been an urban park where history, nature, culture, and community converge. And now, with an innovative stream restoration project, it is a model of how green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) can make public spaces more vibrant, sustainable, and equitable. More than just a physical upgrade, the East Stream […]
First – and only – permanent and dedicated urban parks bill ensures more Americans will have access to safe, quality parks. On December 19, 2024, Congress passed the EXPLORE Act which contains the first – and only – dedicated and permanent city park legislation. The EXPLORE Act includes the Outdoors for All Act which codifies […]
The Rainier Valley neighborhood in Southeast Seattle is known as one of the most diverse urban enclaves in the country, home to immigrants and their descendants from Italy, Japan, the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and other countries. It’s also a dense area with little green space and few places for families living in […]
The coastline in Stamford, Connecticut, is one of the city’s greatest assets. But residents of the Waterside neighborhood, despite the name, have not had much access to the water. That is now changing thanks to a sweeping renovation of Boccuzzi Park, funded in part by the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP). The 12-acre park’s design is being […]
Getting outdoors to play, walk, or just enjoy the fresh air has countless physical, mental, and social benefits, many studies have shown. But underserved communities in urban neighborhoods disproportionately lack access to parks and green space for such activities. The federal Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program aims to change that by providing dollar-for-dollar matching funds for new parks and […]