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
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
State of Finance for Nature in Cities 2023: Time to Assess
United Nations Environment Program, Report authors: Eugénie L. Birch; Mauricio Rodas; Samuel Geldin; Amanda Lloyd
This report examines the critical need and the challenges and opportunities for Nature-based Solutions in cities.
Report
Greenspace in American Cities: How Access to Parks and Nature Can Improve Health and Well-Being
CityHealth, Beaumont Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Trust for Public Land
This report highlights disparities in greenspace access and outlines policy solutions that can ensure that all communities have access to public land.
Report
The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Report
City Parks Alliance
This report highlights the physical, mental, and environmental benefits that city parks provide and demonstrates how funds from the LWCF’s Outdoor Recreation L…
Member Exclusive
Agreement
Fiscal Sponsorship Program Template
Partnership for Providence Parks
Fiscal sponsorship documents that the Partnership for Providence Parks offers members to support and increase the involvement of neighborhood parks groups.
Member Exclusive
Policy
LA County Draft Displacement Avoidance Strategy
Los Angeles County
Memo outlining strategies to address and lessen displacement and gentrification outcomes as a result of park enhancement projects.
Policy
Infrastructure Principles: Parks are Infrastructure
City Parks Alliance
Parks are essential infrastructure and require investment to meet 21st-century challenges and function as green infrastructure.
Member Exclusive
Report
New York Zoning Law and Practice Report
By Thomson Reuters
Article considers five alternative revenue strategies that show promise for leveraging private dollars for public parks and protected open space.
Case Study
Detroit: Parks & Rec Improvement Plan
City of Detroit Parks and Recreation
Learn about Detroit's equity-focused park planning team, which used equity data to create an improvement plan for 40 neighborhood parks.
Case Study
Fairmount Park
City Parks Alliance
Fairmount Park uses park infrastructure to serve multiple functions; offering green space, delivering clean water, improving the city’s air, providing transpor…