Resources

Resources for Park and Recreation Professionals

With help from our members and research partners, we make the following resources and tools available to equip parks and recreation departments, municipalities, urban design and landscape architecture firms, and advocacy organizations to enhance capacity and build equitable, healthy, and engaged communities.

Report
Smart Investment for Health, the Economy, and the Environment
City Parks Alliance
City parks play a vital role in the social, economic and physical well-being of America’s cities and their residents.
Technical Tool
Inclusive Healthy Places Companion Guide for Park and Recreation Professionals
Gehl (gehlpeople.com);The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)
Offers a comprehensive approach to leverage inclusion and health equity that inform the planning, design, development and evaluation of public spaces.
Plan
Community PARKnerships Program FY21 Year in Review
Austin Parks and Recreation Department
PARD, in collaboration with over 48 nonprofit partners and community groups, leveraged funds towards improvements and maintenance of parkland
Report
Austin Adopt-a-Park Program: Technical Assistance Panel Report
Urban Land Institute Cohort for Park Equity
Urban Land Institute (ULI) Austin, as part of the ULI Cohort for Park Equity, convened a panel of experts to examine equity issues as they relate to the city’s…
Report
Riding transit to parks in Utah: Motivations, constraints, negotiations, and policy recommendations
Transportation Research
This research studied the motivations, constraints, negotiations, and policy changes for riding transit to parks in Utah’s Wasatch Front region.
Report
A Framework for Assessing Equitable Health Outcomes of Parks
Urban Institute
Provides a framework for identifying how park systems improves health outcomes for users and understand how parks address health disparities.
Case Study
Parks That Protect: Leveraging Waterfronts for Resilient Communities
Urban Land Institute
Explores seven leading-edge waterfront park projects from around the world built to protect adjacent neighborhoods from climate threats.
Member Exclusive
Technical Tool
San Francisco Emergency Child & Youth Care Program
San Francisco Recreation and Parks
A playbook for providing care for children with parents and caretakers on the front-lines of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Report
Neighborhood Park Service: Strategies to create an equitable and activated park system for the District of Columbia
Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness, with assistance from Catherine O’Donnell, GW Climate and Health Institute
This report provides policy recommendations for how the NPS and Congress can leverage greenspaces to create a better park system in Washington, DC.
Report
Leading Together: A New Model for Thriving State Parks
Potrero Group
This report examines how a new nonprofit partner is enhancing the CA park system's ability to meet unprecedented challenges and scale innovation.